Hello, I’ve only just bought an AC180 myself so am no expert, however I have a few other panels and power stations. I believe the key statistic for the panel is the Open Circuit Voltage or VOC, this gives the voltage that goes from panel to the battery. If I’m looking at the right panel on Amazon, its VOC is 35.12v, well within the AC180’s 60v maximum, so you should be good to go (I’m getting a 435w panel next week so am in a very similar position). I know there can be spikes in the voltage depending on weather, temperature and so on, but you/we should be comfortably within the AC180’s limits.
Hi did you get your 435 watt panel if so, which one. Also what kind of wattage are you getting from it on our cloudy days. I finally ordered the jasolar 405 watt whic is due to be delivered next week
Hi, I went with a LONGi 425w panel (my memory was 10w out) from a company called City Plumbing. On a grey day (like today) I typically get 20-25 watts an hour (10am-2pm), I’ve been advised that this panel isn’t great in cloud but that’s about what I expect for the time of year. My highest reading has been 262w, which I think was pretty good for mid-October. In thicker cloud it can go under 10w which is about what the AC180 uses in self-consumption, so I unplug it altogether.
I should stress that I basically know nothing about proper installation and my ‘mounting’ is literally a couple of bricks on the garage roof, so I could probably do more to optimise the set-up. That said, I think the biggest factor is the time of year: I wouldn’t expect to get much on short days with Welsh weather and a haphazard set-up, next Spring is when I’d expect to see better results. I hope you get on well with your panel when it arrives.
Edit: I’ve been tracking my input the last 5 minutes, the degree of cloud makes a huge difference. In lighter cloud I’m pushing much closer to 50w, still not a great deal but an improvement on when the cloud was thicker.
I was also going to say that I’ve read about over-panelling, which might be a good idea but would involve a) money and b) connecting panels in series to increase the wattage, which probably isn’t complicated but sounds it.
Hi, we are in Wales too so i know what u mean about the cloud, i plan on siting ours on the shed roof so on a sunny day it should be ok. I have been using a Renogy 200 watt portable panel and in partial sunshine i have had briefly 157 watts going into the 180, quite happy with that but thats for when we are away in the caravan.
No two cloudy days are the same, that’s one thing I’ve learned since starting up solar power. Running 2 panels in series is easy. You just plug the male mc4 on one panel into the female mc4 on the other panel, or vice versa. Then plug your solar cable into the two remaining mc4’s. Be careful that you don’t go above the voltage limit though, as it will be doubled. A parallel connection may be better for you, which doubles the amperage.
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Thank you, yes I got my series and parallel confused, apologies. I am not available for putting together anyone else’s solar installations, thankfully.
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Haha. Well parallel connection is you just pick up a pair of mc4 Y (2 into 1) wires. Plug the single side of each Y wire into your main solar wire. Then, plug the 2 male mc4’s into one female mc4 on each of the 2 panels, then repeat with the male connectors.
Hi Chris, has your panel arrived yet? I hope you’ve been able to use some of this late Autumn sun we’ve had this week (I’m near the Bristol Channel, hopefully it’s been sunny where you are too).
Hi yes solar panel arrived unfortunately it was smashed, they are sending another tomorrow