Do Solar Panels Put Out Very Little Amperage

Measure the battery voltage.

Do solar panels put out very little amperage.

This information can be found from the solar panel manufacturers data sheet please see example here. Rarely do you achieve stc output because in the hot sun the panels heat up and their output is reduced to normal operating cell temperature noct output. Not a very good chance at a 150watt panel putting out 10a. Solar panel voc at stc.

To ensure that you don t blow your device s fuse set the maximum amperage sensitivity to well above your expected reading. Standard temp and conditions stc is how panels are rated. I had the exact panel op did and in direct summer sun the highest i measured off the back of the panel was just over 7 amps. The solar panel with the highest watt is the sunpower e series a commercial solar panel line.

In order to benefit from the cold temperatures which raise vmp you will need an mppt controller. The second fuse between your solar panels and charge controller is a little bit different to figure out. To test solar panel amperage output put your solar panel in direct sunlight set your multi meter to the dc amps setting. It may be that you can never get more than 12 13v.

A panel can only put out so many amps so while the voltage is reduced from say 33 volts to 13 6 volts the amps from the panel cannot go higher than the rated amps so with a 175 watt panel rated at 23 volts 7 6 amps you will only get 7 6 amps 12 volts or so into the battery. Measure the solar panel controller output voltage try to get maximum voltage by angling the panels. If the panels are connected in series the voltage of each panel is added but the amperage stays the same. Connect the ve solar controller output lead to the ve.

The size of this fuse is dependent on how many solar panels you have and how they are connected series parallel or series parallel. Hopefully it is less than the solar panel controller output voltage. This is the open circuit voltage the solar panel will produce at stc or standard test conditions stc conditions are the electrical characteristics of the solar panel at airmass of am1 5 irradiance of 1000w m 2 and cell temperature of 25 o c. If it is proceed.

For example if the solar panel is rated at 175 watts and the maximum power voltage vmp is given as 23 6 volts then calculate the current as 175 watts divided by 23 6 volts which is equal to.