How to properly connect solar panels of different power (pv modules) - uninterruptible power supply - catalog of articles - vega - professional equipment. Solar batteries for home: application and connection diagrams

The arrangement of a modern private home is not complete without the use of auxiliary mechanisms. Heating boilers, water pumps, pool filtration systems - they were all created to make life easier for people. Each system requires a large amount of energy, not to mention the lighting of residential premises and local areas. If you use a public power grid, you can end up with a hefty utility bill at the end of the month. To save money, you can equip your house using solar panels, and do everything yourself. Initially you will have to spend money, but later you will see that the result is obvious.

Characteristics of solar panels for home

Initially, solar systems were used in space technologies. With the development of progress, they were modified and improved, thanks to which they became widely available. The outdated panels used in calculators are being replaced by high-tech solar cells with higher energy efficiency. All solar cells contain special elements (two silicon wafers connected to each other) that act as a semiconductor.

Advantages of solar panels for home

The main advantages of solar panels include the following indicators:

1. Lightness of the panels.
2. Eco-friendly battery functionality. Solar systems are absolutely harmless to the external environment.
3. Fast system maintenance. You won't spend a lot of time caring for batteries and the electricity generation system and storing electricity.
4. Ease of installation. Solar panel supports do not require additional cabling.
5. Silence. The structure is motionless, due to which the noise level of the functioning system is reduced to zero.
6. Long service life. With proper care, batteries will last for decades without needing repair or replacement.
7. Saving. At first, purchasing and installing a solar system may seem like an expensive undertaking, but over time you will appreciate your choice.

Of course, the most important advantage of such a system is considered to be its cost-effectiveness. It is thanks to this indicator that more and more owners of private houses are choosing solar systems, which adequately provide the building with electricity, while taking care of the safety of your money.

Disadvantages of solar panels for home

If you are planning to make an electricity generation system using solar panels, then it is important to pay attention to all the “cons” of such a project. Although there are few of them, there are some.

The disadvantages of energy-saving batteries made using solar panels include the following:

1. Quite a long and labor-intensive manufacturing process. Creating such a system will require a lot of time and patience.
2. The panels are afraid of dirt, which can reduce the absorption properties of light rays, or completely disable them.
3. In order to power a large house, it is necessary to use bulky panels that will have a fairly large mass. Sometimes it is not possible to install such panels on the roof.
4. Inconsistency of functioning. Due to the fact that the weather is changeable, and with the onset of winter the number of cloudy days only increases, solar panels will not be able to constantly perform their task. The same applies to the night time.

Method of installing solar panels for home

Each house has its own structural features, so it is better to take care of the future location of the solar battery in advance. Sometimes it happens that this is completely impossible, then you need to find a place near your home.

When installing a solar battery, you can use the following methods:

When choosing how to install your battery, consider the weather conditions of the area. It is important to pay attention to the amount of energy consumed. Sometimes it is better to install panels on traverses and spend some money on it, but later the system will perform its task more efficiently.

Features of installing solar panels for your home

Before you begin the actual assembly and installation of the solar system, it is better to consider all the nuances. They will help you avoid mistakes, then the system will work as efficiently as possible.

To install a solar system in your own home, adhere to the following rules:

Do not neglect the installation rules to avoid loss of functionality of the solar system. If you want to achieve maximum efficiency from your battery, then pay attention to each of the above points separately.

DIY solar panels for your home. Step by step instructions

If you are planning to assemble and install an energy saving system yourself, then it is better to be fully prepared. In theory, it may seem that this process is quite simple and straightforward, but it is not. Assembling a solar system may require some of the skills and knowledge used in electrical installation work. In case you have no experience working with electricity, it is better to buy a ready-made kit and install it yourself. As a last resort, you can ask a more competent person, providing him with all the necessary props and material.

Selecting the main components of a solar system

The solar battery plays the role of just a primary converter, absorbing the energy of the sun. To make a workable energy saving and storage system at home, it is necessary to consider each component separately. This will help to better understand the principle of operation of the solar system, as well as other features of its functionality.

Below we present the components of a solar system, using which you can assemble the simplest version of such a design, including:

Material and tools for creating a solar battery

In order to make a solar system yourself, purchase everything you need in advance. Below is a list of all the components that will be needed to assemble one or another element of the system.

These include:

• photocells made of polycrystalline silicon to “absorb” solar energy;
• aluminum corners for the frame;
• plexiglass, transparent polycarbonate or tempered glass for a protective layer;
• a set of conductors for connecting photocells;
• soldering iron, rosin, tin or silver;
• fasteners, construction knife;
• multimeter, drill, drills, Schottke diodes;
• vacuum stands.

Helpful advice: for a future design, it is better to buy components from one company. Such a circuit will be more reliable than one assembled from different components.

How to make a solar battery with your own hands

If you are planning to create a charge controller and a solar panel for a solar system with your own hands, then it is better to immediately buy everything you need. Occasionally you can find a solar battery assembled from improvised materials with your own hands. In this matter, you need to have some knowledge in assembling electrical appliances, and also use a soldering iron well.

To make your own solar battery, you must follow the following instructions, proceeding step by step:

By doing everything consistently, you will get a reliable, long-lasting battery for converting sunlight. Be sure to seal all cracks to prevent moisture from entering. Observe polarity when connecting contacts.

Solar battery connection diagram for home

The final stage of installing a solar battery made by yourself remains.

To do everything right, use the following algorithm:

1. The charge controller is connected to the battery using output terminals.
2. We connect the battery. Be sure to maintain the same polarity (plus to plus, minus to minus). Otherwise, the battery will simply burn the battery.
3. We supply power from the battery by placing the conductors on the input terminals of the inverter.
4. Now you can turn on the controller with the inverter. The electricity will begin to charge the battery.

As you can see, it is possible to assemble and install such a structure if you follow the correct sequence of actions. Use high-quality materials to assemble the solar system, then you will get a durable design that will save you a tidy sum of money. There are also solar panels that are assembled by hand from transistors. For us, the above option remains acceptable.

DIY solar panels, video

Connecting solar panels often raises certain questions, especially when you need to connect several modules. It seems that this is a very complex process that requires specific knowledge. But in fact, the connection diagram is very simple, it is easy to implement and assemble a photo battery of the required power.

There are three options for connecting batteries to a common circuit. These are serial, parallel and mixed (series-parallel) connections.

In this case, the terminals of the same name of the two modules are connected to each other (“plus” with “plus”, “minus” with “minus”). Next, wires are output from the terminals of one of the photomodules, which are connected either to the charge controller or directly to the battery. Thus, you can combine any number of solar panels, the main thing is to connect only terminals of the same name to each other.

This circuit involves connecting the “plus” of the first module to the “minus” of the second, and the output of external wires from the “minus” of the first photomodule and the “plus” of the second. Here it also does not matter how many solar panels will be combined into one battery. The main thing is not to violate the principle. “Plus” of the first to the “minus” of the second, “plus” of the second to the “minus” of the third, “plus” of the third to the “minus” of the fourth, etc. Wires from unused terminals (“minus” of the first module and “plus” of the last) are output to the controller or battery.

A mixed connection scheme is often used. In this case, first you need to assemble two groups of parallel-connected modules (by combining terminals of the same name), and then connect them to each other in series as if they were single modules, not groups. The number of groups (as well as the number of batteries in them) can be any.

Why are different connections needed?

Different switching methods are necessary to obtain the desired output parameters. For example, if you need to provide a power of 160 W and a voltage of 12 V, but the power of one solar battery is only 80 W at the required 12 V, then this means that you need to connect 2 batteries in parallel. As a result, the system voltage will not change (12 V), and the total output power will become 160 W. If it is necessary to obtain an output voltage not of 12 V, but, say, 24 V, then in this case a series connection of two modules is used. The mixed circuit allows you to adjust both parameters simultaneously. Thus, using different types of switching, it is possible to assemble a solar power plant with characteristics optimal for operation.

Connecting to the home energy system

As for the integration of the assembled solar battery into the energy system of a private home, there are several options. Thus, the most popular is a circuit using a charge controller, a battery inverter and batteries. The voltage from the heliofield is first directed to charge the battery and only after that is transferred to the load.

The load is usually divided into 2 categories: redundant (refrigerators, gas boilers, emergency lighting, etc.) and non-redundant (regular lighting, computer, etc.). The power consumption of redundant devices can be any, but the duration of their autonomous operation is determined by the capacity of the battery.

Thanks to the presence of a special battery inverter, it becomes possible to transfer electricity to the loads if the voltage on the battery exceeds a specified value. At the same time, consumers can be powered from solar energy even if there is voltage in the central power grid. Thus, the external energy consumption of the house is significantly reduced.

When the central network is disconnected, the inverter will power the redundant load from the battery. If the heliofield produces energy at this time, then the inverter uses it too. Excess solar energy not spent on the load will be used to charge the battery. This circuit is excellent for providing autonomous power supply; it also works in the absence of a central supply voltage. But at the same time, the non-redundant load will be powered only from the sun (using residual technology); redundant consumers are priority.

If you plan to use the heliofield only to reduce power consumption from the external network, then you can use a simpler and cheaper scheme. It is much more profitable during rare and short-term power outages. During the day, the heliofield supplies energy to consumers; if this is not enough, then electricity is taken from the external network. But when the centralized power is turned off, the inverter will turn off and solar energy will not be used. The redundant load will be powered by the battery.

Having weighed all the positive and negative aspects of using alternative energy sources, and choosing to use the latter as the main supplier of electric current to consuming electrical appliances, you can begin installing the modules at their future place of work: that is, the balcony or roof of your house. It would seem that it could be simpler, but a completely logical question arises - how to connect in such a way as to make maximum use of the possibilities and, if possible, without loss.

The importance of a school physics course

Recalling the compulsory school curriculum in physics, it can be noted that Three connection options are possible:

• parallel,
• sequential,
• mixed, or as it is also called series-parallel.

The name of each compound takes you back to physics class. Even if you can’t remember the exact definition of each of these terms, almost everyone will be able to draw or at least explain in their own words the main differences between a particular connection diagram.

The connection diagram for solar energy sources is subject to the same laws of school physics. It would seem that solar panels, a high-tech unit that until recently was the basis for writing science fiction works, should be connected in the same incomprehensible way as the process of photosynthesis itself that occurs in the panels, but this is far from the case.

Parallel connection of solar panels ensures that the models are connected in such a way that all elements have two common points of convergence or branching of conductors. That is, no matter where and in what order the terminals of the solar panels are connected, all the negative and positive terminals will converge at two main points: plus and minus, respectively.

The serial connection of solar modules makes it possible to connect the elements in such a way that the only possible path remains for the flow of electric current, along which the energy carrier will be transferred from the source to the consumer. The circuit looks like a chain of several solar panels connected through one conductor in such a way that the output end of one battery is connected to the input terminal of the other, and so on from the first to the last panel.

The mixed connection scheme allows you to connect solar panels simultaneously in two ways. With this combination of options, some panels are formed into separate blocks that have a parallel connection, and then these blocks are connected to each other in series or vice versa.

Differences in the operation of modules connected by different circuits

Each solar panel connection diagram ensures their uninterrupted operation. But there are interesting features that will help you more wisely manage not only solar electricity itself, but also save on individual components of the entire autonomous power supply chain.

In practice it looks like this. For example, the required one is 360 W. To gain this power, in addition to the solar panels themselves, you can purchase a pair of inverters with a voltage of 12 V and a power of 180 W. By connecting these devices using a parallel connection, you can reach the specified power.

Certainly, 360 W is extremely insufficient to provide living space sufficient electricity. Therefore, several inverters of the required power are used.

But it should be remembered that increasing the power will increase the load on the conductive elements.

All this has a detrimental effect on fire safety, since an incorrectly calculated wire cross-section can lead to disastrous consequences. That is why it is necessary before installation to make theoretical calculations about the number of inverters and their power.

As for series-connected solar panels, the economic component here is that one 24 V inverter costs more than two 12 V each. But by installing the latter inverters in parallel, it is impossible to achieve a circuit with a voltage of 24 V or 36 V. But with series configuration, you can use several relatively cheap 12 V modules.

The same principle is used to connect all elements of solar panels, starting from the panels themselves and ending with storage devices, that is, batteries.

Currently, there are many suppliers of electrical network components for the assembly of solar modules. A fairly wide range will help you find the necessary elements that can work according to any of the described schemes.

My personal experience of using solar panels without connecting to a distribution network

• Energy and batteries

The article describes the most common experiment with obtaining electrical energy from the sun.

Background

• Not far from Kyiv, areas up to 30 km were considered
• Not far from my parents and wife, who remain in Kyiv
• Fewer people, more nature.

The first experience was interesting. We poured the foundation using a FIRMAN 950W generator, a small concrete mixer (40L) and on weekends. All this was placed in Slavuta. A small house of 18m2 + attic was built on a simple frame, in which we now live from time to time. Mainly in warm weather, of course. In a nearby village we rent a piece of house for the winter. We will talk about the electrification of this house.

Start

We sorted out the equipment.

Here's a snapshot of the specs of one panel:

Here's what the panels display on XX:

Photo immediately after installation on the roof:

Life, consumption

All of the above powers: Macbook Pro 2010, phones, books, tablets, 3G router, HP LaserJet 1020 printer. Charging a screwdriver, 1100W water pumping station, a couple of outdoor floodlights with motion and light sensors. Lighting in the house is LED 12V.

There is also a 2.5 kW Centaur generator. 4-stroke. Oil is separate, and 95 gasoline is separate. Consumption 0.5 l per hour. It will be very economical. It now runs a concrete mixer when needed.

In the kitchen of a small house there is now a 4.8 liter gas cylinder, without a reducer. It’s a “tourist” type, but it’s open all the time. Lasts for two weeks when cooked three times a day. I pass by the gas station regularly, so there are no problems with refueling.

This is what my farm looked like this winter:

Big house and plans for it

There will be a stove from which I will use electricity for lighting in winter (see ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peltier_Element). The following will also be “removed” from the stove: hot water, water heating (floor + radiators). The stove will be a “two-bell” stove. For aesthetics I will add a fireplace.

In the kitchen there is a gas stove and a gas (oh, it was hard to find) oven. Built into furniture.
Questions? Comments?

I’ll say right away that despite getting 4 points in TOE, I don’t remember the basics of electrical engineering at all. Well, maybe Ohm's law, which is a special case of Kirchhoff's Second Rule. Everything was done according to logic and what was read from the Internet.

Connecting solar panels of different power - how to do it correctly? - By the way, there is a gift waiting for you below!
Very often, when expanding a system with solar panels, the question arises: how to connect solar panels of different power and different voltages - in series or in parallel?
Let's look at the solution to this problem using a specific example.
Let's say you already have a system with ,

to which the only one is connected (operating voltage 20V and maximum current 5A). And you purchased another one (operating voltage 24V and output current 5.4A).
It must be remembered that panels can be connected in series until the total open circuit voltage of the panels reaches the maximum permissible input voltage of the controller (for this example, this is 75V, as indicated by the first digit in the name of the controller). In this case, you must ALWAYS take into account that the XX voltage is selected for the lowest temperatures in your region. This information is always provided in the solar panel reference documentation. We remind you that damage to the MPPT controller by high voltage is not a warranty case. Be careful when selecting equipment.

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Looking ahead, we will say that both methods of connecting panels are possible. But each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. Let's look at an illustration to illustrate our example.


The figure shows both options for connecting panels.
As can be seen from the calculations below, in our case we will get more power by connecting solar panels in series, since in this case the voltage is added up, and the maximum current of the system is limited by the module with a lower current. In this case, these values ​​are 44V and 5A, respectively, and an output power of about 220 W is obtained.
When connected in parallel, the calculation is carried out differently. Here the currents of the 2 panels are already summed up, and the maximum output voltage will be limited by the panel with the lower output voltage. In our case, it will be a solar battery with an output voltage of 20V, and the total array current will be 10.4A. Thus, the maximum system power will be equal to 208 W, i.e. slightly less than in the case of series connection of solar panels. But this option for connecting panels also has its own advantage - if, with a parallel connection, the total output current of the panels exceeds the maximum input current of the MPPT controller, this will not lead to failure of the latter. The controller will simply limit the charging current to its maximum allowable level. In the controller from our example it is 15A (this is indicated by the second digit in the name).
Now, we hope you can properly evaluate options for expanding your system.

And one more necessary reminder related to safety rules: NEVER MAKE ANY CONNECTIONS TO A WORKING SYSTEM!!! Be sure to disconnect the battery and the panels themselves from the controller and, if necessary, from the load before connecting additional panels. Remember that when solar panels are connected in series, a life-threatening high voltage appears in the system!!!