There are three ways to wire a solar panel array; series, parallel, and series-parallel. This blog post is not going to cover when to use which one, but this blog post will show you, once you’ve made that decision, how to wire your solar panels in a series array.
Wiring solar panels in series simply means that you are going to connect the positive wire from one solar panel to the neighboring solar panel. The remaining positive and negative wires on the ends of the array will then be connected to the charge controller.
Here is a video that will guide you through this process and below the video, I have several examples of how to wire two to six solar panels in series.
How to Wire Solar Panels in Series Video
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How to Wire Two Solar Panels in Series
How to Wire Three Solar Panels in Series
How to Wire Four Solar Panels in Series
How to Wire Five Solar Panels in Series
How to Wire Six Solar Panels in Series
7 Responses
How far away can the solar panels be away from the controllers?
Thanks
They can be pretty far away. It depends on the voltage & ampacity flowing through the wire from the panels to the charge controller. Play around with some of those numbers with this calculator: https://www.explorist.life/wire-sizing-calculator/
It would be nice if you would just let me know what charge controller and inverter I need for the 3 Renogy 300 watt 24 volt solar panels I purchased. Actually got 6 300 watt panels for 2 different locations. I am lost here. I have electrician in family that can hook up, but that looks like the simple part. I filled out solar charger calculator but am not sure. RNG-300D-G1 solar panels. I purchased from Home Depot.
Sure! You can use those panels with this setup here: https://www.explorist.life/3000w-inverter-400-600ah-400-to-1200w-solar-camper-solar-kit
Newbie: connecting the panel in series won’t increase the voltage as it does in batteries?
Yes, connecting solar panels in series will increase the voltage. More info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ5zCY5EBeQ
Is it possible to wire the panel array in series (2 panels) 24V and leave the batteries in parallel 12V? Would the charge controller lower the voltage from array going to the batteries?