Please excuse my lack of experience & knowledge & be nice! I figure I need another cable to connect 2 sets of panels, but I can’t find an accessory on this site that appears to be what I need. What is that cable called & where (I guess Amazon…) to purchase? thanks
And why don’t they sell it on this site?
I think I found my answer already, but as usual now more questions! Which is better? The connector with a little bit of cable/wire or the kind that has only the connecting receptacles?
I am not a solar panel expert, but connecting two of them is simple, depending on the purpose. If you are connecting then in series (one after the other), which increases voltage, then connect the male plug of one panel to the female plug of the other. Finally just connect the remaining plugs as usual to the power station or battery. If the panels are quite apart, get a extension cable with male and female plugs and do the same.
Now if you need to connect them in parallel to increase the current, you need two “Y” cables. One must have two male and one female, and the other must have two female and one male. Connect the male plugs of the two panels to the “Y” cable with two female plugs. Connect the two female plugs of the panels to the two male plugs of the other “Y” cable. Finally, just connect the remaining plugs of the two “Y” cables to the power station or battery. You can also use extension cables if the panels are quite apart.
You can find some help online, and I remember seeing some diagrams at the Bluetti web pages.
Thanks for your reply…like I mentioned I did find my answer but left me wondering if the cable is better than JUST the connector part… It appears instead of a Y cable, one can get just the plastic type part where the connection is made & held together…know what I mean? Have you used either? My guess would be the less cable the better.
You want to connect your two panels in series assuming you have an AC200 series unit which is not specified. As noted above, connecting is series requires no Y connector cable and you can accomplish it with just the cables that came with the PV200. I suppose that Y connectors are not offered because they are not required on a series connection.
Hi Scott,
Never assume! Right? Thanks for your reply, however I do in fact want to parallel them for the EB150 model. Like I mentioned, I did figure it out but wondered which ones were best to use.
You leave me wondering, though, if I did want to connect them in series vs parallel & you say to connect them together, then what’s left to plug into the generator?
You only plug a single connector from each panel to a single connector to the second panel. This leaves one connector from each panel to connect to the Bluetti. This is called a series connection. You want to connect them in series.
Thanks again for replying. I’m learning a lot about several things simultaneously… little overwhelmed. I now understand what a connection in series is. I have the impression that I should connect them in parallel to charge (the EB150) faster. I have 2 PV200 panels & I have a EB150 (1500 W) on the way.
Another scenario; I have a little AC50S (500W) & would only try ONE PV200 to charge that. But would there be any benefit to using both panels either in parallel or series with this smaller generator?
Thanks again!
There would be a benefit on and smaller unit to connect in parallel if the sun conditions were poor or two PV200s in series had a combined voltage greater than the allowable input of the unit in question. If you exceed the solar input amp capacity of the Bluetti’s, the unit will clamp off any amperage in excess of the max allowable.