Tutorials for Solar PV and Power Back-up Systems RSS
What DC Wire Sizes to use for your Solar PV System?
Choosing the right wire sizes in your Solar PV system is essential for both performance and safety reasons. If the wires are undersized, there will be a significant voltage drop in the wires resulting in substantial power loss. Also, if the wires are undersized, there is a risk that the wires may heat up to the point in which a fire may result.
How to connect batteries to your solar installation
At the heart of any solar PV system sits the battery bank; the battery bank can be either a single or multiple batteries connected to each other. Batteries are connected to each other in order to increase: - the battery voltage (in Volts, V), or- the battery capacity (in Ampere hours, Ah), or- both capacity and voltage. (Always remember power = Volts x Ampere, or W = V x A). You can connect batteries either...
Victron Communication Cables – What to use Where?
Wiring solar panels: Series or parallel?
How you wire your panels impacts the performance of your system, and determines the choice of inverter and charge controller. First, let's remember that: W = V x A. The important difference between wiring panels in series or in parallel is that it affects the voltage and amperage of the resultant circuit. In a series circuit, you sum the voltage of each panel to get the overall voltage of the array. However, the amperage of the overall circuit stays the...
What are the elements of a Solar PV system?
A solar Photo-Voltaic (PV) system includes the following elements: - Solar PV panels- Racking and mounting system for PV panels- Batteries- Inverter- charge controller- wires- switches- performance monitoring system Photovoltaic panels (or simply solar panels or PV panels) collect sunlight and convert it into electricity. Sometimes it is mounted on a roof, but it can be placed anywhere there is sun. The larger the surface of the solar panel, the more electricity it collects when the sun...