The share of solar power in the U.S. keeps rising. As of 2022, Americans have installed enough solar panels to power 22 million homes. However, the technical aspects of installing a system are less important to most homeowners than the very fact of owning solar panels.
Most future owners wonder about the type of panels they’re about to purchase – whether they need monocrystalline, polycrystalline, or flexible. But that’s not the only thing to worry about or consider.
One of the critical aspects is understanding how to wire a solar panel. How do you know whether you should connect solar panels in series or parallel, or series-parallel? What is the difference? What are the ups and downs of using each connection type? These are the questions we’re going to answer in this article.
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Satisfying your farm’s energy needs is only possible if the balance between current and voltage is perfectly calculated. Wiring solar panels in series allows you to accumulate voltage and keep the current constant.
Source: Battle Born Batteries
If you look at a solar panel, you will see two terminals: a positive and a negative. Сonnecting solar panels in series implies combining one panel’s positive terminal with another’s negative terminal. Such a system sums the voltage of all panels, and the current remains unchanged.
However, connecting solar panels in series is more than generating energy. It’s about the ability to power your home, so it needs to be converted with the help of an inverter (power supply, portable power station). This device will convert direct current to alternating current to power appliances and devices in your home.
Here are the four essential steps of a connection process:
| Steps Required | Actions Described |
| Determine your energy needs | That’s the first and most important step on which a lot will depend. First, you must determine the required power, multiplying the voltage by the current. Based on this indicator, you will determine how many solar panels are connected in series. |
| Check the condition of panels | While choosing the best approach in a series vs. parallel solar panels battle is important, remember that one faulty panel can knock the entire system out of operation. |
| Create solar panel series | Connect each positive terminal of one panel with wires to the negative terminal of the next one. |
| Connect the last wire | That’s the one you need to connect to the current converter to use the generated power. |
It might seem like anyone with at least some idea of electrical appliances can handle this. But that’s not always the case. The steps described above illustrate the most primitive method, which gives only a general idea of how to wire solar panels in series. Should you require any assistance, contact system installers or solar technicians.
After figuring out how to connect solar panels in series, let’s explore the ups and downs of such a connection.
Pros:
Cons:
While the serial connection is a popular way to assemble a system, let’s examine parallel solar panel connections in more detail.
Unlike the serial method, this one implies connecting the positive diodes of the panels. If you’re dealing with a large and powerful system, you will need a blocking diode in each parallel solar panel chain. It will protect the system against reverse currents. Alternatively, you can also use the charge controller for that.
Source: Battle Born Batteries
The difference between such a system is that the current strength grows and is summed up from all panels, and the voltage will be the same as that of each panel taken separately.
Here’s how you can handle the solar panel parallel connection:
As you can see, solar panels in parallel or series are connected differently, and the latter is more complex. But the benefits it offers make this connection type more popular.
Pros:
Cons:
At this point, you’re probably wondering how to connect solar cells and choose the most optimal way to achieve the mission.
It is difficult to determine the best way to connect a solar panel, in series or parallel, and it all depends on the needs and conditions of each home. Let’s figure it out point by point.
To understand exactly what will happen to solar panels in series or parallel, let’s look at the following example.
A New Year’s garland — the good old-fashioned light bulb chains — is a series-connected system. If one lamp burned out, the whole garland did not work, and you had to find a replacement.
Modern garlands are connected in parallel. One or two lamps may not work, but the rest will give light — the same works for the parallel connection of panels. Therefore, the so-called war of solar panels parallel vs. series can finally end.
As mentioned before, power is the current multiplied by the voltage. How does it change depending on the type of connection?
Suppose we have two devices in which the voltage is the same, but the current strength of one is greater. It means that the device’s power, where the current strength is greater, will also be greater. In other words, the solar panel in parallel is more powerful.
But that’s also true when two devices have the same current strength, but the voltage of one is greater. In other words, the solar panel in series is clearly more powerful. However, you need to consider other parameters to determine which system will be more powerful in your case.
If you have a different power supply, you might wonder which is better: series or parallel solar panels. Let’s consider both cases. When connecting in series, we will get the summed voltage of different panels, and the current strength will be the same as that of the smaller module.
When connected in parallel, the current will add up, and the voltage limit will equal the smaller module’s voltage. The controller will reduce the current to the maximum allowable level if the current is too high.
Now let’s consider solar series vs. parallel:
Using a serial connection when using panels with different technical characteristics is better. But, as always, we recall that these are theoretical calculations that do not consider other data and equipment indicators.
Nevertheless, they are taken as a basis and are always the most important. All other selection criteria for parallel vs. series solar panels will be individual and additional.
The ideal system is initially designed for the household’s requirements. But the circumstances may differ, like the lack of money at the installation time for the system to fully cover the needs, the electricity consumption could’ve, etc.
If you have to add panels, the connection scheme will not be fundamental, but using the correct accessory equipment will be important. However, it’s always the right call to install a system with the possibility of modernization immediately.
This connection method is rarely used for home batteries; it is more common for systems with many panels covering a large area.The principle of the connection is the following:
That’s how 4 solar panels are connected in series-parallel.
It is generally accepted that all the disadvantages are typical for parallel connections, and the serial connection mainly provides advantages.
In fact, solar panel connections are better than parallel for large systems but worse than series. With a parallel-series connection, both voltage and current increase.
It is extremely difficult to independently calculate which connection will be optimal for connecting panels for your home. There is a fairly accurate calculator that makes it possible to determine the best option: wiring solar panels in series vs. parallel. But it is even better to entrust this matter to a professional.
Specialists consider many different parameters – these are the type of panels, amperage, and voltage, as well as the house’s location, the lighting intensity, and the shading of one, several, or all panels.
The fairly strict criteria can ultimately dictate the choice between solar panel series and parallel. In some cases, you can connect solar panels in parallel, and in others, only in series so that the whole system is efficient and meets the expectations of its owners
There’s no denying that solar energy is the future and will soon replace other power sources. But all new technologies need to be approached wisely. Experts highly advise against buying and installing solar panel wiring series or parallel on your own.
It all depends on what you need more in the output. The advantage of a series connection is a higher voltage with a stable current strength. Parallel – high current at a stable voltage.
All panels depend on each other. If one panel fails, the whole system is down. If one of the panels is shaded, overall performance drops.
It all depends on the voltage of the system. Where it is higher, there the charge occurs faster. Usually, in a series circuit, charging occurs faster. But with the same performance, panels connected in parallel charge faster.
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