Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-08-2022, 04:35 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 211
Sizing a solar charge controller

I am putting together an upgrade on my 2021 surveyor. I am replacing the stock battery with a 200Ahr LI and for starters one 200 W 24V portable panel. I will leave the existing 80W rooftop panel and stock PWM charge controller in place and operational. it is likely that in time I will add a second 200W/24V panel to be connected in parallel with the first one.

I am looking at the Victron 100/30 MPPT smart solar controller. the step up to a 50 amp output controller is about 50% more in price and seems like it would be overkill for a 200Ahr battery.

comments/suggestions?

thanks in advance

Ken
faithie999 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-08-2022, 06:42 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 120
So 400watts / 14.4volts = 27.8 amps. If you ever see 400w pulled in from your panels (doubtful) you won't see the battery pull 30 amps let alone 50.
unyalli is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-08-2022, 07:16 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2020
Posts: 740
You need to know the Vmp and Isc values of the panels you are going to use now and in the future. You need to also know how you are going to wire them. Then do the math to get your input V and input A to the controller. Those along with the total wattage determine what size controller, fusing and wiring you need.

The battery size generally has nothing to do with what panels you use, how you wire them or how big of a controller you have.
__________________
2021 Flagstaff 21DS
2015 Silverado 2500HD (overkill but convenient)

Renogy bits: 3000W Inverter/Charger, 400Ah LiFePo4, 40A DC-to-DC
Rich Solar bits: 400W of panels, 40A MPPT
Misc bits: LevelMatePro+, SolidRemote based wireless controlled LED storage lighting
jbflag21ds is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-08-2022, 07:19 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2020
Posts: 740
Quote:
Originally Posted by unyalli View Post
So 400watts / 14.4volts = 27.8 amps. If you ever see 400w pulled in from your panels (doubtful) you won't see the battery pull 30 amps let alone 50.
PV panels do not work that way. Most 12v panels output 21-22v. Most 24v panels output 37-28v. The 100/30 controller is built for those as inputs. The 14.4v charging at the battery has nothing to do with the controller rating
__________________
2021 Flagstaff 21DS
2015 Silverado 2500HD (overkill but convenient)

Renogy bits: 3000W Inverter/Charger, 400Ah LiFePo4, 40A DC-to-DC
Rich Solar bits: 400W of panels, 40A MPPT
Misc bits: LevelMatePro+, SolidRemote based wireless controlled LED storage lighting
jbflag21ds is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-08-2022, 07:26 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 120
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbflag21ds View Post
PV panels do not work that way. Most 12v panels output 21-22v. Most 24v panels output 37-28v. The 100/30 controller is built for those as inputs. The 14.4v charging at the battery has nothing to do with the controller rating
Wow. The 100/30 can take 100 volts dc in and put out 30 amps dc. If charging Li your probably shooting to top out at 14.4 volts. Pretty simple.
unyalli is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-08-2022, 08:23 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
nvs4602's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 1,171
You should read this information about wiring solar panels.

https://battlebornbatteries.com/sola...rage%20system.

Also I would just do the 400watts up front. Especially since you'll already have the tools out and your panels will match. Not that you can't mix panels but for aesthetic appearance as well.

As for charge controller sizing I always use 10amps per 100watts. So a 40 amp SCC is what I would use. Now I know the argument oh you'll never see full output. But I would rather run a scc at half input and not worry about then running a potentially underrated scc at near full capacity.

Victron
Renogy
EPEVER

Are 3 of the brands I would use. I've said this before pick your price point and build your system using one of them.
nvs4602 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2022, 09:25 AM   #7
Senior Member
 
PhilFromMaine's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Maine
Posts: 1,544
Quote:
Originally Posted by faithie999 View Post
I am putting together an upgrade on my 2021 surveyor. I am replacing the stock battery with a 200Ahr LI and for starters one 200 W 24V portable panel. I will leave the existing 80W rooftop panel and stock PWM charge controller in place and operational. it is likely that in time I will add a second 200W/24V panel to be connected in parallel with the first one.

I am looking at the Victron 100/30 MPPT smart solar controller. the step up to a 50 amp output controller is about 50% more in price and seems like it would be overkill for a 200Ahr battery.

comments/suggestions?

thanks in advance

Ken
If you are going to keep the 80w panel and PWM you want to keep the two systems completely separate if possible. The point being each SCC being directly connected to the battery.

The 100/30 (from their data sheet) can input up to 440 watts into your battery and the 50 will input up to 700 watts into your battery. You should be able to run up to 400 watts of panels on the 100/30. Your 200 watt panel should be fine. You could probably run two 200 watt panels in series safetly.
PhilFromMaine is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2022, 11:30 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 211
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhilFromMaine View Post
If you are going to keep the 80w panel and PWM you want to keep the two systems completely separate if possible. The point being each SCC being directly connected to the battery.

The 100/30 (from their data sheet) can input up to 440 watts into your battery and the 50 will input up to 700 watts into your battery. You should be able to run up to 400 watts of panels on the 100/30. Your 200 watt panel should be fine. You could probably run two 200 watt panels in series safetly.
I was planning on maintaining the connection from the PWM contoller to the battery and connecting the MPPT controller to the battery as well.

thanks for the info
faithie999 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2022, 12:47 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Hclarkx's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Granite Bay, Ca
Posts: 1,083
Back to the question about how much panel Wattage for a 200 Ah LiFePO4 battery. 400W is on the low side from my experience, but is just fine if it does the job you want done. I have 800 W per 200 Ah battery and could have used more a couple of times (almost had to run my generator!). How much solar you want depends on 1) your nightly load; 2) where and when you camp; 3) battery size; 4) how long you camp; 5) whether the panels are on the roof or ground; and 6) how adverse you are to getting the generator out to charge the battery during less ideal sun conditions.

The following is based on roof-mounted . . . . ..

There are places and times where 200W would do the job even with 75 Ah of after-sunset energy draw from the battery. And there are places and times where my 800W isn't enough (e.g., the California central and north coasts in fall and spring and about 90 Ah of use). By "do the job" I'm talking about very rarely needing to fire up the generator.

So, the smart thing is to allow for expansion of the solar. Rarely needing to run the generator is addicting and your energy usage may drift up over time.
Allowing for expansion mostly means use a roof panel layout that allows for more panels in the future. ((I didn't do this and have had to move panels twice and finally remove some panels and replace with larger panels))..

It's always possible to pull additional wire and add a second or third solar controller so those are not so important. But, moving panels to expand the array is a bit painful.

Beyond the above, an option is to "over panel" the solar controller. The solar controller will have a "maximim" solar rating that is above and possibly well above the nominal rating. Solar controllers simply raise input voltage to limit power when the solar produces more than the controller can accommodate. At one time I had 40% more panel wattage than the controller could make use of. This sounds wasteful, but most of the time, particularly in fall/winter/spring and summer morning and afternoon I was not maxing out the controller and so was getting 40% more energy than I would with 100% panel wattage. Of course, for an hour or two per day around noon on very sunny days in the summer, the solar controller was maxed out and I was "wasting" solar. However, unless one is running A/C during those hours, this "clipped" power isn't needed and won't be noticed. That said, over paneling by 20% is more typical (and where I am today). Home solar systems are usually over paneled by 20%. With 20% one only loses about 4% of the annual energy production, and that occurs on clear sunny late June days when the production is well above requirements.

For example, my sub-$200 Epever 40A controllers have a rated charge power of 520W but a "max PV array power" of 1500W. Max voltage is 138V at 25C. I currently have 600W on them.
__________________
2020 GMC Denali 2500HD Crew 4X4 Gas 6.6L
2015 30' 8280WS Rockwood Ultra Lite
Solar, LiFePO4, 12V fridge, mini split
100% dry camping and boondocking.
https://hclarkx.slickpic.com/gallery/?viewer
Hclarkx is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
controller, solar


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:45 PM.