Wiring Two Different Solar Panels Together

In this first image there are 3 solar panels.

Wiring two different solar panels together.

The problem is in different electrical characteristics of the panels together with different performance degradation. There are two ways to wire up solar panels. Wiring solar panels in parallel implies connecting positive terminals of each panel together and wiring the negative terminals of each panel together as well. They can be wired in parallel.

The white line is the negative connection all 3 panel negative wires are just simply tied together and to the wire that runs back to the negative connection on the charge controller. Wiring solar panels in parallel causes the amperage to increase but the voltage remains the same. What we can do is wire the two 12v panels in series plus to minus and then we can wire it in parallel with the 24v panel. Another option is to take multiple solar panels and wire them together to equal the same output as the other mismatched panel.

If we have two solar panels with the same voltage but different wattage there is no problem. In a solar power system the higher the voltage and the lower the energy losses along the cables to know the maximum system voltage we usually just need to turn the panel and read the label where the value is reported. We put solar panels together to increase the solar generated power. If you look at the arrows along the white and red lines they are showing the direction of flow.

Does off grid solar confuse you. When you intend to wire two panels produced by different vendors the vendors are not the problem. Then they are connected to the charge controller or to the inverter of the solar system. Solar panels are usually connected in series to obtain higher output voltage.

After these clarifications let s see how the series connection takes place. Both have their own purpose and applications and both have different outcomes when hooking up solar panels of different wattage together. Connecting solar panels in parallel. For instance in the demo below we have a 100w 24v panel and some 50w 12v panels.

On the other hand if our two solar panels have both different wattage and different voltage then parallel connection is not possible since the panel with the lowest voltage would behave like a load and would begin to absorb current instead of producing it with the. With parallel solar panels the positive terminal from one panel is connected to the positive terminal of another panel and the negative terminals of the two panels are connected together.