Hi i’m after some advice, purchased your ac180 model, but i want to install a 12v solar to my roof to charge while working at home, can you tell me is this spec of solar panel ok for my AC180 please. spec below, it’s 12v and mc4 connectors and VOC within range, ac180 says max amp 10 input, just cant see the max amp input on the attached spec, unless its the short circuit current ?
Max Power at STC: 200W
Open Circuit Voltage: 23V
Short Circuit Current: 11.05A
Optimum Operating Voltage: 19.2 V
Optimum Operating Current: 10.42 A
Operating Temperature: -40°F~194°F / -40℃~90℃
Maximum System Voltage: 600 VDC UL
Maximum Series Fuse Rating: 20A
Watt: 200W
Voltage: 12V
The important part when searching for the right solarpanel is the Open Circuit Voltage. This needs to be within the values of the MPPT, because Voltage get pushed from the panel to the MPPT.
Current on the other hand gets pulled. So when the AC180 only support max 10 amps input, you can connect a panel that can deliver more, but the AC180 only use a maximum of 10 amps.
The panel will work just fine @DaveC1 the only thing to mention is that because the panel volts are under 30v the AC180 will limit the amps 8a max. Only recently found This out of when installing a new panel on my second AC180.
The better option would be to use 2 panels connected in series. Although the amps are slightly higher, this is ok, but the voltage would double to 46Voc. Being over 30V you would get close to the full 10A input and around 380W in good conditions. In poorer conditions you may only get half that, so 2 in series will still give you a good charge in poorer sun conditions.
Go for a higher Voc if you can especially if you live where it’s warm most of the time. In real world conditions it’s pretty easy to drop below that ridiculous 30V threshold where charging is artificially limited to 8A. The Operating Voltage you show is 19.2V (2 x or 38.4V) and you are not likely to see that unless the temperature is 25C or less. Also the standard test condition of irradiance at 1000 watts per square meter is not commonly achieved. Avoid shadows if at all possible. Good luck.