parked
Solar Newcomer
Posts: 13
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Post by parked on Jul 24, 2019 15:04:13 GMT
New guy here, my 300 watt kit was easy to set up and get working. When I access the BT on my phone it says my panels are producing anywhere from 5 to 200 watts. Does the app tell me what its using or making? I don't expect to get a full 300 out of them, as I live in Seattle, but 5 watts??
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Post by mediadogg on Jul 24, 2019 17:22:32 GMT
New guy here, my 300 watt kit was easy to set up and get working. When I access the BT on my phone it says my panels are producing anywhere from 5 to 200 watts. Does the app tell me what its using or making? I don't expect to get a full 300 out of them, as I live in Seattle, but 5 watts?? Well, first of all, at night of course your panels produce 0 watts. The main source of variability in the amount of wattage that your panels generate is the amount of sunlight that hits them at the optimal angle and temperature (panels are less efficient when they get hot). So, for now I will assume that you have positioned the panels as best possible for your location, and that you keep them clean, and the wiring is per specifications. The BT app that I use, which is likely to be the same as yours, shows the PV voltage and amperage and the product of those two as "charging power" in watts, that represents how much power is being delivered to the battery, not the amount of wattage that the panels are theoretically capable of producing at the moment. If the battery is full, then the charging power could be very little, even though your panels are in bright sunlight and capable of producing more. The charge controller doesn't use all of the available power if the battery is full. Of course the other reason that the wattage could be low, is that you are producing very little. You can get a hint by looking at the battery voltage and capacity. If your battery capacity is nearly always near 100% and battery voltage nearly always well over 12.9V, then you have the capacity to handle a bigger load. On the other hand, if your battery is not being kept well above 40% when in full sunlight, then you are not generating enough power for the load that is connected to the battery. Unfortunately, the Renogy BT module does not tell you how much power is actually being delivered from the battery, unless your load is connected to the "load" terminals of the controller (not recommended for anything other than small loads such as LED lights - definitely do not connect an inverter to anything but directly to the battery terminals through a fuse).
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parked
Solar Newcomer
Posts: 13
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Post by parked on Jul 24, 2019 17:28:56 GMT
Thanks Dogg, When I first installed my kit the batteries were low, 12.5. In bright light, I saw 140 watts on the BT mod. But my demand right now is very low so my batteries stay pretty much 12.8 to 13.1, sounds like the APP shows what the controller is using not what the panels are making.
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Post by tattoo on Jul 24, 2019 20:37:17 GMT
Thanks Dogg, When I first installed my kit the batteries were low, 12.5. In bright light, I saw 140 watts on the BT mod. But my demand right now is very low so my batteries stay pretty much 12.8 to 13.1, sounds like the APP shows what the controller is using not what the panels are making. No it doesn't tell you what you are using just making..... A KillAwatt meter will tell you how much you are using.........
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parked
Solar Newcomer
Posts: 13
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Post by parked on Jul 25, 2019 15:31:40 GMT
So your saying with 300 watts in bright light I'll probably get 200 watts at best? The panels are mounted flat on the roof of my van. Sunday is supposed to very sunny here, I'll spend some time angling around in the full sunlight and see if I can get my wattage up.
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Post by mediadogg on Jul 25, 2019 17:24:57 GMT
Thanks Dogg, When I first installed my kit the batteries were low, 12.5. In bright light, I saw 140 watts on the BT mod. But my demand right now is very low so my batteries stay pretty much 12.8 to 13.1, sounds like the APP shows what the controller is using not what the panels are making. No it doesn't tell you what you are using just making..... A KillAwatt meter will tell you how much you are using......... Actually I agree with parked. He said what the controller is using (ostensibly to charge the battery). That was correct. The BT app does not tel you what the panels can produce, just the power that the controller is using to charge the battery. That's why that item is labelled "charging power" in the app. Of course the KillWwatt is the best way to know what the load that is connected to your inverter is using.
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Post by mediadogg on Jul 25, 2019 17:32:29 GMT
So your saying with 300 watts in bright light I'll probably get 200 watts at best? The panels are mounted flat on the roof of my van. Sunday is supposed to very sunny here, I'll spend some time angling around in the full sunlight and see if I can get my wattage up. Well it depends on all those factors, amount and angle of sun relative to the face of your panels, how clean the panels are, quality of your wiring, temperature, and maybe other things. The best I have seen, ever, was close to 90 watts from a 100 watt panel. It was a blazing hot day, and the sun passes over that part of my roof such that the angle of incidence to the panel is just about optimal in early afternoon this time of year. Usually it floats between 10 and 60 watts depending on the time of day.
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parked
Solar Newcomer
Posts: 13
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Post by parked on Jul 25, 2019 18:31:45 GMT
Guess I need to stop obsessing with the wattage and just be happy my batteries are charged!!!
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Post by mediadogg on Jul 25, 2019 18:37:08 GMT
Guess I need to stop obsessing with the wattage and just be happy my batteries are charged!!! But your diligence will give you better performance in bad conditions and winter time. So it is time well spent, and you are asking the right questions!
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parked
Solar Newcomer
Posts: 13
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Post by parked on Jul 25, 2019 19:28:25 GMT
Guess I need to stop obsessing with the wattage and just be happy my batteries are charged!!! But your diligence will give you better performance in bad conditions and winter time. So it is time well spent, and you are asking the right questions! True, and we are short of sunshine here in the winter months. So any way I can increase the performance of the panels is always a plus!!
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Post by bupkis on Jul 25, 2019 20:28:50 GMT
parked, check early in the day when the the area just below Temp. (bt app) shows a small battery icon and shows 'Bulk charge mode.' Anytime you are in Bulk mode all the panel power is being used. Once you hit boost (14.6v or whatever) the controller limits power to not over charge the battery keeping its voltage constant (if it can). after 2 hrs or so then you will be in float mode which further limits cuz the controller is try to keep a constant 13.?v at the battery.
In boost or float there is generally extra power that can be used and not disturb battery charging.
So yes the BT app CAN show what the panels are doing if you get the controller in bulk mode, either earlier in the day before the batteries to 'boost voltage' or forcing it into bulk by adding enough loads to the battery to reduce batt voltage low enough (13 of so) for the controller to enter bulk mode.
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Post by tattoo on Jul 25, 2019 23:13:39 GMT
No it doesn't tell you what you are using just making..... A KillAwatt meter will tell you how much you are using......... The BT app does not tel you what the panels can produce I never said that......... Where did I say it can tell you how much it can produce? I said what it is making...........
Read what I said again slowly..........
Plus this is what I was responding to not his panels anyways................
parked Avatar Jul 24, 2019 13:28:56 GMT -4 parked said: But my demand right now is very low so my batteries stay pretty much 12.8 to 13.1, sounds like the APP shows what the controller is using not what the panels are making.
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Post by tattoo on Jul 25, 2019 23:20:46 GMT
The best I have seen, ever, was close to 90 watts from a 100 watt panel. It was a blazing hot day, and the sun passes over that part of my roof such that the angle of incidence to the panel is just about optimal in early afternoon this time of year. What do you get on a very cold day at 1 pm??
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Post by mediadogg on Jul 26, 2019 12:22:24 GMT
The best I have seen, ever, was close to 90 watts from a 100 watt panel. It was a blazing hot day, and the sun passes over that part of my roof such that the angle of incidence to the panel is just about optimal in early afternoon this time of year. What do you get on a very cold day at 1 pm?? Not sure. Last winter when I first started using it, I did not have a good setup. This winter I will be able to better compare - if I still remember it, and you still care!
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Post by mediadogg on Jul 26, 2019 12:24:20 GMT
parked, check early in the day when the the area just below Temp. (bt app) shows a small battery icon and shows 'Bulk charge mode.' Anytime you are in Bulk mode all the panel power is being used. Once you hit boost (14.6v or whatever) the controller limits power to not over charge the battery keeping its voltage constant (if it can). after 2 hrs or so then you will be in float mode which further limits cuz the controller is try to keep a constant 13.?v at the battery. In boost or float there is generally extra power that can be used and not disturb battery charging. So yes the BT app CAN show what the panels are doing if you get the controller in bulk mode, either earlier in the day before the batteries to 'boost voltage' or forcing it into bulk by adding enough loads to the battery to reduce batt voltage low enough (13 of so) for the controller to enter bulk mode. Ah, good to know. Thanks for that.
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