portable panels

keetre101
keetre101 Registered Users Posts: 1 ✭
edited November 2017 in Solar Beginners Corner #1
can 2 100 watt portable panels with their own charge controler be hooked to same battery
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  • myocardia
    myocardia Solar Expert Posts: 118 ✭✭✭
    edited November 2017 #2
    Hi, and welcome to the forum. While you absolutely cannot share a solar panel/series of solar panels between two or more charge controllers, you absolutely can have as many charge controllers to one battery/bank of batteries as you desire. You will "just" get double the charging amperage as you are currently getting, with your current 2x50 watt/"100 watt" foldable panel.

    edit: As BB. says below, all of the charge controllers must be PWM, and not the more expensive MPPT version. The panels you are considering buying do in fact have PWM charge controllers bolted to their back, so they will work just fine with one battery.
    DoD= depth of discharge= amount removed from that battery   SoC= state of charge= amount remaining in that battery
    So, 0% DoD= 100% SoC, 25% DoD= 75% SoC, 50% DoD= 50% SoC, 75% DoD= 25% SoC, 100% DoD= 0% SoC
    A/C= air conditioning AC= alternating current (what comes from the outlets in your home) DC= direct current (what batteries & solar panels use)
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,662 admin
    #3
    In general, as Myocardia says, yes, you can wire two panels to one charge controller (assuming specifications match), or panel+charger to battery bank x 2 (or more) in parallel).

    Details do matter--What solar panels, what charge controllers, and details about the battery bank (voltage, AH capacity, and type of battery(ies)).

    You can, with PWM controllers, share one solar array across several PWM type charge controllers--But, again, the details do matter (brand/model of charge controllers, battery bank sizes, are battery banks sharing a common electrical ground, size of solar array, etc.).

    In general, you want to keep things pretty simple--Makes it easier to debug if (when) something goes wrong down the road with the solar power system.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • myocardia
    myocardia Solar Expert Posts: 118 ✭✭✭
    #4
    @BB. These are the all-in-one solution to which the OP seems to be asking about: https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Watts-Monocrystalline-Foldable-Suitcase/dp/B00HR8YNK6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1509603345&sr=8-1&keywords=Renogy+100+watt+folding+solar+panel
    DoD= depth of discharge= amount removed from that battery   SoC= state of charge= amount remaining in that battery
    So, 0% DoD= 100% SoC, 25% DoD= 75% SoC, 50% DoD= 50% SoC, 75% DoD= 25% SoC, 100% DoD= 0% SoC
    A/C= air conditioning AC= alternating current (what comes from the outlets in your home) DC= direct current (what batteries & solar panels use)
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