Flexible Panels, Mounting Methods and Heat

[T1 Terry]

The diode is there to stop the battery powering up the solar panel, 6mm auto cable is 4.35mmsq and will handle 50 amps before it starts to melt the insulation, the No Ark 40 amp circuit breakers we use are enough to protect that so your 30 amp circuit breaker will do the job fine. The cable from the panel is 4mm sq but that will never see anything more than 5 amps or so coming out of the panel and the diode will protect it from the full battery capability in the case of a dead short. Once a solar panel is shorted to ground the current might increase to the short circuit current of near 7 amps but the voltage reduces to zero, so only an intermittent short could produce any heat.

T1 Terry

[Barboots]

Duh... I didn't think about the newly-introduced diode eliminating the need for the fuse. Where were you 36 hours ago when I was trying to fit all that stuff in the J-box! [emoji23]

[T1 Terry]

Duh... I didn't think about the newly-introduced diode eliminating the need for the fuse. Where were you 36 hours ago when I was trying to fit all that stuff in the J-box! [emoji23]

Trying to sort out a multitude of 12v and 240vac cabling into groups, wire up 15 solar panels, run 2 lengths of 6 B&S cable from roof to solid state relays via 2 x 40 amp circuit breakers and then how to power 2 inverters when on mains but split them into 2 separate circuits when on batteries, all from the bits of cable that appeared in either the battery box or where the main entry RCD was located.
Today's effort was sorting out how to connect all the earth cables so the mains RCD still worked, the RCD in one of the inverters worked when on inverter power but didn't trip the mains RCD when on mains power and the RVD for the big inverter still functioned no matter where the supply came from but not causing both circuits to trip if a fault was sensed on only one circuit ...... That left my sparkie mate scratching his head Run out of time to test it so it can wait till after Christmas to see if I got it right

T1 Terry

[Barboots]

Well if it makes you feel better we're sitting in the aircon off-grid having lunch. Seriously... thanks mate [emoji106]

[bagmaker]

what "work" is done at night when a solar panel is powered by the battery without these diodes?

[Barboots]

what "work" is done at night when a solar panel is powered by the battery without these diodes?

The controller used will prevent the return of energy to the idle panels.

[bagmaker]

Hmmm, I have been ambiguous.
try this= IF there were no diodes,
Does the panel emit light in the dark?
Does it create heat, noise or vibration?

I suspect some heat but dont actually know.
Interested in the physics part of it, the pane NEEDS light to create lectricity but what does it CREATE in reverse - We know it creates something because the battery flattens.
But what? And why heate, that doesn't make sense to me either.

Sigh, another nights lost sleep. Damn steroids

[Barboots]

My call is heat... resulting from the current passing through the effective electrical resistance of the panel.

I hope you can find some sleep.

[dapope]

Hmmm, I have been ambiguous.
try this= IF there were no diodes,
Does the panel emit light in the dark?
Does it create heat, noise or vibration?

I suspect some heat but dont actually know.
Interested in the physics part of it, the pane NEEDS light to create lectricity but what does it CREATE in reverse - We know it creates something because the battery flattens.
But what? And why heate, that doesn't make sense to me either.

Sigh, another nights lost sleep. Damn steroids

Phenergan 25mg will help qith the sleep.

[bagmaker]

thanks for the thoughts, only short term meds for gout killing.
The festive season has its drawbacks.
A google search failed me on the panels in revers, too many ads. Will keep it in the back of my head, there will be potential for something from it