Has anyone got any experience / advice in running used panels in a combination of series and parallel ?
I've got an off grid property (no AC available) and I'm looking for a way to maximise the cheap used panels that are readily available.
I'm planning to build a 'solar carport' - using the panels as the actual roof. If for no other reason, these used panels are essentially he same price as using tin roofing!
I've got 10x 250w panels that will be used as my main source of power but these will be on my my roof in a fashion that isn't ideal (around 11 degrees and facing roughly east).
In summer they should provide enough power for my needs (charging a 20 kwhr battery) but based on what I've been seeing from my home 6.6kw system lately now in winter (usually around 16-18 but a few bad days where I've only pulled in 10kwhr) this would leave me well short if I only bank around 5kwhr in the day from my sub-optimally set up 2.5kwhr system.
So I'm trying to think of a way to use the supplementary solar carport if needed. This could potentially be only be when I'm physically there so it could be manually switched / plugged in.
Can I run 2 separate arrays into the one input in the inverter ? I'm not sure how this would go with slight differences in voltage / current output. Though potentially it's not much different to having a lower voltage system with parallel strings if one is in the shade and putting out a little less current or voltage ?
The real cowboy in me wonders about having a 2 in series bank pumping 60v odd straight into a 48v pack for a few hrs if push came to shove.
