Good afternoon,
I have a AC180 with 2 120 watt bluetti solar totaling 240 watts. I have hooked up my jackery 100w solar panels in series totalling 440 watts. When I do that it says over voltage and shuts down. I can run the jackery panels by themselves or the bluetti panels by themselves. Can someone please explain what is happening?
@valiquette You can only have a maximum VOC/OCV of 60v for the AC180. Your 3 panels if in series may be over that and causing the overload which will damage your Bluetti. Over voltage is also not covered by warranty. So if you are connecting in series you need to add up all 3 panel’s OCV/VOC voltages and if that is more than 60v then that is your issue. It’s actually best to be at least 10% below the max, say 54v total, to allow for higher voltage in cooler temps.
You may need to connect the panels in Parallel to avoid damaging your 180.
It’s also not recommended to mix panels of different types and voltages.
Also, is the other panel 100w or 200w as your math appears incorrect.
Yes, when you get the message “over voltage” it means that you have connected too high a voltage to the input port. If you connect your sets of Bluetti and your set of Jackery panels in parallel together, it should work. Not in series.
I have tried to use them in parallel and I have tried them all in series. I am unsure how to get this AC180 at around 500w. The specifications of the panels are below. Thanks for your help.
I have two of Jackery 100W with these specs:
Peak Power:
100W±5W
Power Voltage:
20.0V±5%
Power Current:
5.0A±5%
Open Circuit Voltage:
24.8V±5%
Short Circuit Current:
5.4A±5%
I also have two Bluetti PV120
Power:
120W
Lamination:
ETFE (Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene)
Cell Type:
Monocrystalline Silicon
Cell Efficiency:
Up to 23.4%
Voltage at Max Power(Vmp):
19.6V
Current at Max Power(Imp):
6.1A
Open Circuit Voltage(OCV):
24.4V
Short Circuit Current(Isc):
6.43A
Bottom line, you MUST stay below the max 60 volts Voc. That is your most important spec.
Ideally, you want to wire panels so you get as high a voltage as possible while staying below 60 Voc.
Voltages add in series wiring.
Amps add in parallel wiring.
From your panel specs, you won’t be able to wire more than two panels in series, as that puts you just shy of 50Voc. A third panel in series puts over over 60Voc.
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Now what you can do with the panels you have is wire 2 sets of 2 panels in series, then parallel those 2 sets together. That will be about 50 volts max at 11 amps max. This it the theoretical MAX power of 550W. In the real world It will be less than 500W but it’s about all you can do with these four panels. I don’t know the Amp rating of the AC180, but no matter how many Amps your panel is putting out, the AC180 will only use up the it’s max rating. Excess Amps and Watts won’t hurt anything, just watch the Voc.
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If you go shopping for more panels, shop by Voc spec. Large panels generally have higher wattage without a high Voc. You might look at your local Craigslist for them. If you buy used then bring a voltmeter to check the voltage in sunlight and compare it to the ratings placard on the back side. Don’t bother trying to read amps on your average voltmeter as they normally can’t read more than 10 amps and you’ll blow the internal fuse. Really old panels are blue tinted cells. All the newer panels are black under the glass.
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Panel ratings are a bit exaggerated. Example: a 100 watt panel might give you 80W on a good day.
Thanks for the information! Appreciate the breakdown for a newb like me
First a newbie, then one day an expert…! 
Hi @valiquette the ac180 takes a max of 60v and maximum of 10a .
Looks like you just need ent over volts which you should never do it’s an easy mistake when you are new to it all.
don’t go over volts but you can safely go over amps as the AC180 will only draw a maximum of 10a unless the volts are under 30v the AC180 will only draw a maximum of 8a.
We all started at the same point we all make mistakes. it’s the only way we learn. Have fun and enjoy your new bluetti.