I'm building a solar system w/ battery for my camper van. Two identical 110W panels wired in parallel, going into an MPPT charge controller and battery (a Yeti 1000 by Goal Zero, 96.8Ah (10.8V) lithium).
When I measure the voltage and amperage directly from the panels, disconnected from the charge controller / battery, in peak sunlight with a multimeter, I got 20.4 volts and 4.69 amps or so for panel #1, and 20.4 volts and 4.58 amps for panel #2. When I disconnect the final cable that ultimately plugs into the charge controller / battery, and measure in the same way using the multimeter, I get 9.82 amps and 20.8 volts total.
However, when I connect it all back up, in peak sunlight, on the charge controller display, I'm seeing 85 watts or so. By disconnecting each panel, I determined that panel #1 gives around 30 watts, and panel #2 gives around 55 watts. This is on a ~40% charged battery. My main question is this — why do the panels have similar measurements when measured in isolation from the rest of the system, but have this large difference (30 watts vs 55 watts) when it's all connected together?
I know the charge controller does some voodoo which necessarily drops the efficiency, but this is a pretty big drop. And it doesn't explain why the wattages of the two panels themselves are different. Also I'm in the middle of a heat wave, 105F+… could that somehow explain something?
Any ideas, or diagnostic tips? As a beginner, this is a great opportunity for me to learn about electricity. Thanks!
P.S.
Here's how it's all connected:
The two 110W panels have + and – MC4 cables coming out of them, which are plugged into MC4 "branch connectors" (MMF and FFM) to make them in parallel. Then the branch connectors are plugged into an MC4 extension cable (to be able to reach the battery), ~10 feet or so, with MC4 connectors at each end, which are then connected to an MC4 to Anderson PowerPole adapter, which plugs directly into the MPPT charge controller module of the Yeti 1000 battery.
Panel specs:
Peak power: 110W
Solar cell efficiency: 23%
Maximum power voltage: 17V
Maximum power current: 6.47A
Open circuit voltage: 20.06V
Short circuit current: 7.12A
Power allowance range: +/-3%
Maximum system voltage: 500V
Values at standard test conditions: Air Mass – AM1.5, Irradiance – 1000W/m2, Cell Temperature – 25°C
Battery specs:
Cell Chemistry: Li-ion NMC
Peak Capacity: 1045Wh (10.8V, 96.8Ah)
Single Cell Equivalent Capacity: 290.44 Ah @ 3.6V
Best Answer
In this system there are too many things that we don't know how they work. My suggestion is to, if possible, independently validate things. To test your solar panels, use a power resistor that will extract near the maximum REALISTIC power from the panels. The idea is you connect a power resistor to the panel, put it in full sun, and measure the voltage on the resistor. The two panels should give similar voltage readings assuming you test them at very close to the same time when the view of the sun is not obstructed. The power delivered to the resistor is V^2 / R, where V is the measured voltage and R is the resistor value.
Resistor value: approximately Vmpp/Impp. From the lensun link, that would be 17/6.5 = 2.6 Ohms. 2.7 Ohms is a standard value. I think a 50 or 100 Watt resistor should be OK provided you only connect it for about 1 second (look for a resistor with short-term overload rating). Use this to test both panels independently. They should be close to the same. If they are, then stop worrying about the panels.
I don't have full details for the Goal Zero. Does it do MPPT? We don't know. If it doesn't, then you shouldn't necessarily expect to get anywhere near the rated power of your panels.
By the way, MPP for solar panels is given under unrealistic test conditions. Mainly, the temperature is at 25C. In general, when solar panels are held in full sun, they will be much hotter, like 40C. The maximum power will be lower at higher temperatures. And if they are not pointing absolutely perfectly straight at the sun, then there will be further reduction do to reduced projected area. So don't expect to see 220Watts.
The only way I can think of to validate the Goal Zero device is to connect it to a known good solar panel such as the type they actually recommend. And verify that it performs according to their advertised specifications.