It seems to me that wiring any configuration in parallel would not work very well because the amperage produced would be near or over the EB150’s rated capacity. Being new it seems to me that wiring (3) 12v panels in series is the best way to maximize its potential. I realize I could maybe use 150 or possibly 180 watt panels but I already have 100 watt panels. Am I correct in my assessment?
You are correct. Use the 100 watt panels and connect them in series. It is iffy though. SInce you have a 60V limit (manual says up to 72 before over voltage protection kicks in) the three panels will be right at the upper voltage limit. Connect them up and if you are below the voltage limit all is good.
If it were me, I would get a fourth panel (exactly like the other three) and connect two panels in series as a pair and then connect the other two panels in series as a pair to end up with two pairs of (2) panels. Then take those two pairs and connect them in parallel to get maximum wattage without the voltage limit issue.
That would seem to be the optimum and be great but would that approach the limit on amperage though? I have 100 watt Rich poly panels. Amperage optimum is 5.41 and short at 5.86 amp on these panels.
I see you basically answered the parallel question already in an earlier post thanks again for your response.
I don’t see an error code for over current (amperage) during solar charging in the manual. Only error codes for solar charging are for over voltage and over temp. Most likely the max current you will see is the 10 amps but if your panels produce over 10 amps you will still only see 10 amps being inputed.
Anyone have an EB150 out there that can verify when over 10 amps is applied during charging that no error code occurs but the unit is simply limited to 10 amps?
On my EB150, I connected 4 Bluetti SP120 panels in a 2s2p config and got 38 volts and 7.4 amps 281 watts. I also did 2s3p connection and got 43.7 volts and 8.98 amps for 392 watts. So the MPPT controller increases the voltage in each branch and gets the panels to a lower current point on the IV curve for the panels. Each branch of the SP120 panels is capable of 6.06 amps or a little over 18 in 3 2s3p config but the EB150 controller limited each branch to about 3 amps to keep the total below 10 amps. No errors on the EB150.
I recently bought 2 Newpowa 180w panels and got 151 watts each connected to my EB150 and 320 w in series. The Open circuit voltage of these panels is about 20 volts. I measured them at just about 20 volts each Voc. I just ordered a 3rd panel that will come on 3-11. 3 of these should work in series and stay within the 68 volts limit of the EB150. I am expecting to see around 450 to 480 watts (based on my 2 panel results) for the 3 in series on a good sunny day. The low Voc is the reason that I bought these particular panels. The price is also competitive for 180 watt panels.
Great info thanks. How are you measuring voltage and amps? I was actually looking at those Newpowa panels mainly beause of the voltage also.
My 3rd Newpowa 180 came and I tried it yesterday. With 3 in series on my EB150 I was able to get 465 watts. The open circuit voltage was 57.92. I attached some pictures. One using my “high tech” ladder leaning system. The 150A meter showed 50.73 volts and 9.13 amps and 463 watts after it settled down. The other 150A meter pic showed the open circuit volts for the 3 series panels.
I also connected 3 of my Bluetti SP120 panels in parallel with these and I got 495 watts. The 3 Newpowa panels held the voltage down so that the EB150 did not get high voltage error that it gets when I just connect 3 SP120s in series.
The 150A meter has a max of 60 volts so I measured with my voltmeter before inserting it before the EB150 to be sure that I would not burn that meter out.
Did you notice any difference between panels due to the differing ladder heights, ladder platform presence and construction materials used in the ladders?
Not only do taller ladders increase panel performance, but they also improve cell phone reception!