how much solar

[socaldmax]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

"How much is solar panel can this controller handle. "
Well, you can d*** around for a while, or you can look up the manuals and specs for it on the Morningstar site. There will be an exact answer from them, and the odds are it will be the correct one.

Like I've already posted, the correct answer is 800w with a 12v battery system, and 1600w with a 24v battery system. If you don't believe that, you can look it up yourself.

As has already been posted, you can exceed that with no damage, as long as you don't ever go over 150Voc on the input.

[motion30]

thank you gentleman. Without this site I would have bought 700 watts of solar and missed all that power

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by susswein

Since solar panel wattage is quoted at open circuit voltage (around 20 volts) the controller will actually handle a bit more, around 1200 watts.

No, this is wrong. Watts = volts x amps. By definition, at open circuit voltage there's an open circuit - which means ZERO amps = zero Watts.

Solar panel outputs are quoted at maximum power voltage, which is usually, for a nominally 12 volt panel, somewhere around 16 volts.

[monte]

Take a look on the Morningstar site. You will see a link for a string calculator. Input all the panel details and it will give you recommendations on the setup

[motion30]

Originally Posted by monte

Take a look on the Morningstar site. You will see a link for a string calculator. Input all the panel details and it will give you recommendations on the setup

That is the rub, i dont have the panels yet. I am trying to figure out which ones to get
...

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by motion30

That is the rub, i don't have the panels yet. I am trying to figure out which ones to get
...

Doesn't matter! Manually input various and it will tell you the answer to what the controller will handle. Since they are all about the same for the same watt it will work out to give you the answer

[socaldmax]

This is straight from the Morningstar owner's manual. This for the TS-45 and TS-60, so 2 sets of specs. are given.


8.0 Specifications
Electrical
TS-MPPT-45 TS-MPPT-60
Nominal System Voltage 12, 24, 36, or 48 Volts dc
Maximum Battery Current 45 Amps 60 Amps
Maximum Solar Input Voltage 150 Volts dc
Battery Operating Voltage Range 8 - 72 Volts dc
Nominal Maximum Input Power:
12 Volt 600 Watts 800 Watts
24 Volt 1200 Watts 1600 Watts
48 Volt 2400 Watts 3200 Watts
Voltage Accuracy 12 / 24 V: ≤ 0.1 % ± 50 mV
48 V: ≤ 0.1 % ± 100 mV
Self consumption (tare loss) 1.3 - 2.7 Watts
Transient Surge Protection 4500 Watts / port