micro panels

oldsmart

Hi, sorry don't know a great deal about PV however i am sure someone on here does so.. I want to achieve 3.8kw of power but have South roof space for only 1.0kw + 0.5kw west, can anyone advise me where to get small micro mcs solar panels with >250w output or a micro device that optimises the output of 250w panels ?

rogerblack

What is the area of the roof sections?
A good rough idea is that the rating of solar panel is 150W or so per m^2.

So, if the southfacing roof is 8m^2, 8*150 = 1200W.

In general, you hook all of the panels facing one way (that won't be shaded differently) together, and connect them into the inverter.
You need seperate channels for panels arrays facing in different directions, or if they may be shaded differently.

oldsmart

Thx Roger, I only have 7m2 south, but do you know of any smaller panels that give out the same or more power or a voltage optimisation system that can increase the output ?

rogerblack

oldsmart wrote: »

Thx Roger, I only have 7m2 south, but do you know of any smaller panels that give out the same or more power or a voltage optimisation system that can increase the output ?

The efficiency of current solar panels is 17 percent. there aren't any panels more efficient than this. You could only ever from 7 meter squared get 1.2 kilowatts or so.
(45% panels for space applications are available at around a million pounds a kilowatt. However these are not MCS approved)

oldsmart

Roger, If I had a million pound budget I would...ummm, anyway I think I found the solution on another long thread with an optimisation device that the panels plug in to, it then amplifies the output through an inverter to give more power, I am going to see it on Friday which should be interesting if it works effeciently !

ctdctd

oldsmart wrote: »

..........anyway I think I found the solution on another long thread with an optimisation device that the panels plug in to, it then amplifies the output through an inverter to give more power..........

Sounds like snake oil to me - caveat emptor!

Martyn1981

oldsmart wrote: »

Roger, If I had a million pound budget I would...ummm, anyway I think I found the solution on another long thread with an optimisation device that the panels plug in to, it then amplifies the output through an inverter to give more power, I am going to see it on Friday which should be interesting if it works effeciently !

Any new info / update?

Please be careful, I was rethinking your last post, how can you amplify the panels output. Panels produce power measured in watts. A watt is a measure of energy so I don't see how it can be amplified. You can lose energy through system losses, but you can't create more energy without adding more from another source.

A bit like 1kg weighs 1kg, you can squash or stretch it, and change it's density, but you can't make it heavier without adding more to it.

I think?

Mart.