Report your peak amps from your panels, curiosity...

[Bbasso]

Out of curiosity could everone who's willing, report your peak amps you're getting from your solar panels so we could all compare notes.

I'll start.
Renogy 100 watt w/ Sunforce 60032 30 Amp Digital Charge Controller
= 5.6 amps.

the reason I'm asking for this is. I'm not sure if I'm getting all the available power.
if my math is correct? but 5.6 amps equals 67.2 watts, so that seems like there is a 32% loss?

Update : saw 6.1 amps for a little while the other day.
Nice.

 

[urbex]

These panels will be rated like your internet connection - UP TO xxx watts...and you'll never get 100% of claimed capacity

In all seriousness though, they are typically rated at maximum output in a lab setting. In the real world, it means you'll need to be in the artic, no clouds blocking the sun, with the sun shining directly on the panels to get the maximum output of them. Ironically, the hotter these things get, the less they will output.

While I don't have direct experience with the Renogy panels, I don't think I've ever seen better than 90% out of any panel I've played with over the years, and typical panel losses are 15%-25%. Then factor in any losses from wiring/connections (though these should be minimal due to short runs in a vehicle), losses through the controller, and depending on your location, and orientation of the panels to the sun, a 32% loss wouldn't really surprise me.

 

[228B]

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Panels become less efficient with higher surface temps. At what panel voltage output are you getting this amp reading? Too, what wire size and how long is the cable run (add the positive and negative length together; simply double the actual cable length)? You may be experiencing more than the optimum 3% volt drop from too-small a diameter of the stranded conductor in the PV cable. Chances are, too, that it's stranded aluminum rather than stranded copper (better).
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At this time of year I see [Edit: 11.67 amps] at this Morningstar SunSaver MPPT 15L solar charge controller from two 100W Renogy monocrystalline panels through a long run of #10 copper stranded conductor and trolling motor connections at the trailer wall.
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It seems that this MPPT charge controller is crediting the PV array with providing 5.83+ amps per panel when what's printed on the back of each Renogy panel a label reading: "Optimum Operating Current (Imp, or lmp) 5.29 A". I can't explain it. Perhaps someone else can.
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[Haf-E]

Also - unless you have a type of charge controller called a "maximum power point tracker" or "MPPT" then the solar panels is forced to operate at the voltage level of the battery - so its not operating at its highest power level possible. There are small MPPT controllers available - but they are more expensive. Most solar panels are designed to put out there rated power at 16 volts or so to allow for some voltage drop and to work in very hot conditions. That additional voltage is lost unless you have a step-down converter circuitry in the controller.

With an MPPT controller I've seen output over the solar panel's rated wattage (my controller records the peak watts output) but its usually under colder conditions and may also be when there is an effect called "edge of cloud" which momentarily increases the available sunlight due to a prismatic effect of the clouds - so its not always applicable.

As previously mentioned the temperature of the solar panel has a big impact on the performance - the hotter the lower the output watts. This is why having the modules mounted with an air gap behind them is important.

 

[calicamper]

Renogy two 10watt baby panels full CA sun at Sea Level I get a solid 1amp or very very slightly more. Cloudy conditions I get an easy .5 amp. After talking with a few folks with various sized panels it seems like every 10watts you can count on about 1amp of capability in perfect conditions.

 

[228B]

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Edited my above post to include pictures.

 

[IdaSHO]

Im currently seeing a touch more than 7amps @ 14V out of each 100 watt renogy panel.

Mine are 36 volt panels, with a MPPT charge controller stepping it down to 12V (currently set to 14.8V bulk)

14.8V X 14.25AMPS = 210Watts I have two 100Watt panels.

So Im actually seeing a bit better than rated.

All wiring is overkill though. Zero (negligible) voltage drop.
All runs are in 10G

 

[urbex]

Wow...looks like I really do need to get some new panels, lol...plenty of 90%+ outputs here.

 

[228B]

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Maybe the MPPT aspect helps... dunno.
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Pretty neat, IdaSHO. When you say "all runs are 10 ga" does that include controller-to-battery? or simply your PV runs to the controller...

 

[DiploStrat]

5x AMSolar GO100 panels. 18 months of use.

Peak >30A with good sun, typical 25A

Super hot weather: Max 25A.

With the MPPT controller you generally see a few extra amps but in really hot weather you see the opposite. That is the charge into the batteries is lower than the output of the panels.

 

[AndrewP]

I have a single Renogy 100 watt folding panel and a Morningstar SunSaver 10 Controller.

Best I've seen is 5.9 amps with the watt meter between the controller and the battery. That's about 80 watts so not bad, considering that takes all wiring and controller losses into account. When the panels get hot, the output is more like 5.7 amps, still pretty decent.

http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/rubicon-solar-power-experience.867614/#post-9828304

 

[228B]

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With the MPPT controller you generally see a few extra amps but in really hot weather you see the opposite.

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With which controller manufacturer are you seeing this?
The results I posted earlier in this thread were produced on a 90-degree day.

 

[DiploStrat]

Blue Sky, but I am talking about well over 90F. When the panel gets hot, the voltage drops. In cold weather, I see much higher amperage. When the panels get really hot the voltage drops and thus the controller must actually boost the voltage rather than converting the excess to amps.

 

[IdaSHO]

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Maybe the MPPT aspect helps... dunno.
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Pretty neat, IdaSHO. When you say "all runs are 10 ga" does that include controller-to-battery? or simply your PV runs to the controller...

All conductors from panels to controller, and controller to battery bank, 10G PV cable

See here.

 

[LeishaShannon]

the reason I'm asking for this is. I'm not sure if I'm getting all the available power.
if my math is correct? but 5.6 amps equals 67.2 watts, so that seems like there is a 32% loss?

5.6amps could be 80W if the battery is charging at 14.4v...

I'm not sure which panel / controller you're using but a quick google for 100W renogy brought up http://www.renogy-store.com/100W-12V-Mono-Solar-Panel-p/rng-100d.htm which has a Vmp of 18.9v , if you're using a PWM controller its throwing away Vmp (18.9v) - Vbatt (14.4v) = 4.5v or ~25% of the panels output.

For a panel with a Vmp that high I'd look at using a MPPT controller to minimise the losses associated with PWM controllers.

(The Vmp won't actually be 18.9v due to temperature and solar insolation at your location but its still going to be quite high compared to Vbatt...)