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Charge Controller Question: 12v or 24v Input?

R

Richard P.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Should I be configuring my PV's for 12 or 24 volt input into a MPPT type
charge controller? I've been told that the charge controller will work more
efficiently at the 24 volt input level. My wire run from the panels to the
battery bank is approximately 10 metres (30 feet).
 
S

Scott Willing

Jan 1, 1970
0
Should I be configuring my PV's for 12 or 24 volt input into a MPPT type
charge controller? I've been told that the charge controller will work more
efficiently at the 24 volt input level. My wire run from the panels to the
battery bank is approximately 10 metres (30 feet).

Generally-speaking you'll be better off at the higher input voltage.
It isn't so much the charge controller that works more efficiently as
a result, it's the fact that you will lose less power in the wire
between the panels and the controller. Doubling the voltage cuts the
current in half, all other factors being equal, and power lost in the
wire is [current squared times wire resistance].

Cheers,
-=s
 
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