Going over amp should not reduce your wattage, in fact, it is often a tactic applied to get better charge rates in less than perfect conditions (not high noon on a perfectly sunny and cold day). I suppose you won’t get the sum of the name plate wattage from your panels, but in practical terms, going over amp by say 30% is totally OK as most panels only get about 75% on a good day. For 100% rated output, you will need tropical sun with artic temps.
I over amp my system by 50% and enjoy a broad power peak across much of the day.
Put 2 of those Rich 200 watt panels in series. You’ll have 48.6 volts, which is within specs, and you be able to get 400 watts in through the enhancer.
The amps are limited by the MPPT controller, so you don’t have to worry about having too many on your panels. Actually, over paneling is specifically having more current available than the max allowed so that there are more amps available to charge during less-than-ideal solar conditions. As long as you can get as close as possible to the max input voltage without going over you will be good.
Thanks again for your valuable input.
Say, I was just researching more information.
I am grounding my solar array with a ground rod, deep into the ground & tying it with a heavy copper ground wire.
Then the wires of course head to the Bluetti Max.
Do I need any kind of surge protection between my panels & the max?
Just ran across some info on that & had not heard about it.
thanks
Jeff
My arrays (I have the AC300, so I’m making 2 solar arrays) will also be grounded, but I don’t currently have anything planned for surge protection and haven’t really looked into that. I will have a 20-amp circuit breaker on each and those will function as disconnect switches as well. The picture shows what I ordered for that. The breakers are specifically for DC circuits, and that is important to handle arcing when interrupting DC current.
on your breaker & box listed above. Are you hooking both arrays into this breaker (4 wires) or are you having 2 of these breakers - one for each array?
I will be having 2 wires coming in from my 1000 watt array & 2 wires coming in from my 400 watt array.
Yes, I suppose that was not clear. I have 2 of the breakers, each of the arrays will have its own, and from there each will go to it’s own MPPT controller in the AC300.
I am guessing, the surge protector would go in line before breaker. I know in regular grid hook ups, the surge protector goes in the panel, tied to the main breaker.
I like the idea of your breaker & the box, will look into that more. I was thinking that maybe I would just mount the box & breaker in the house, right before they go into the MAX inputs. But the surge protector could be installed out by the panels or in the house. Am not sure which would be better. Possibly no difference at all. I guess at this stage, the main purpose would be to protect the MAX.
Say I have a Bluetti Maxoak EB150.
Max watt input is 500 watts
The max voltage input is 60V & the max amp input is 10a on the Bluetti.
I am looking at two solar panels that are 210 watts each.
Each panel is 19.83 volts and 12.48 amps.
I will be wiring them in series, so the voltage will be 39.66 which is way under the maximum of 60 volts.
But even though the amps won’t change, the amps will be 12.48
Can I hook these two panels to the EB150?
thanks
jeff
Yes, you can. The EB150 will limit the input to its rated 10A, but can take in the two panels in series. You will probably get about 390 watts maximum input power.
Hello:
I am thinking about also getting the AC300. I am working out what panels I will be putting onto the PV input.
What I am wondering though is:
Can you also connect solar panels into the AC input like you can with the AC200MAX?
And if so, how is that done & what is the watt / volt & amp limits?
thanks
I am a woman with no electrical experience. I purchased the AC2000 with one solar panel. My intent is to power up two refrigerators and one freezer, maybe the hot water heater if I can, plus the panel to connect to my electrical box if it ever comes back in stock. I am thinking I will need more than the AC2000. Can you guide me or shall I call customer service? I will hire an electrician to install. Plus my generator will be inside and the panels are placed up to 30 feet away. What kind of connection cable shall I buy to daisy chain any additional panels that I need to buy. Thanks Betsy.
The AC300 has two PV (solar panel) inputs. To connect solar panels into the AC input you will need more hardware such as a DC to AC inverter which adds cost. The PV inputs are rated at 150 VDC maximum and up to 12 A, but the documented maximum input is 1200 watts per port.
I believe you mean the AC200 which has a 2,000 watt rating. Since it is a 120 VAC power station, you have to add the power rating of each refrigerator and freezer to know if the AC200 can power them. I doubt you can add the water heater as it is very power consuming, unless you shut down the other appliance to use the water heater,
If adding up the power ratings of each appliances adds up over 80% (about 1,600 watts) of the AC200 rating, then you need a bigger power station. The electrician can easily install the AC200 and any electrical extensions you may need to reach every appliance.
You should ask about a transfer switch if you wish to add the generator to the circuit, such that the AC200 can continue to supply power to your appliances when a utility blackout happens, then the transfer switch can connect the generator to the AC200 and resupply power until the utility power returns. The electrician can also do this for you.
To daisy chain (connect in series) your solar panels, check the DC cables your panels have now. All known panel manufacturers use the MC4 connector, so you can order the MC4 cables online or have the electrician buy and fabricate the cables to the predetermined lengths, then attach the needed MC4 connectors to the ends.
I hope this information is what you need and you can complete your project successfully.
I would also add that running things like freezers and fridges, which are ‘on’ all the time, can be quite energy intensive for the smaller to medium sized battery packs, ideally you need to know the power draw from each unit to be able to do the math to ensure you have enough power in the batteries for it to work, e.g. the basic formulae is:
Battery Pack Wh*0.85/Power of the device/s = duration of use (Hrs).
So in the case of the AC200P which has 2000Wh battery, you would use 2000*0.85/Power of devices used.
I agree with Raymondjram, that probably your water heater would be too much, but you need to know the power draw of that at start up (like is it more than the AC200P’s Surge capacity) and it’s overall power draw in use.
For general hardware performance reviews i would recommend the Hobotech youtube channel, as he gives a very complete breakdown of most of Bluetti’s Solar Battery packs, and you can get a good idea on what is possible with them.
I have noticed in testing videos that equipment will exceed their rated limits for periods of time before actually shutting down. Could you be exceeding the 12A limit to get your 1219 watts? I’m curious to know if you are getting 1219 watts continuously under these conditions or is it intermittent. You say you’ve seen 1219 watts. Have you confirmed that input persists for an extended period of time?
I’m also curious to know if this stresses the equipment and affects the life of the product. I’m looking at getting 7 210 watt panels, connected in series, that will produce nearly 15 Amps at 50 degrees if I’ve done the ISC coefficient calculation correctly. They are rated at 13.09 A Isc
Am putting together another array for my AC200Max.
I will only be installing (2) 200-watt panels in this set up.
I am about 200 foot from the house & will be using 8 AWG wire.
Am wondering if I should go with 12- or 24-volt panels?
Research tells me that I should go with 24 volts.
Does the MAX work with 24-volt panels?
