This is great. Looks like alot of work went into it. Only one question regarding the Receiver Device specs. Is the max input and voltage the watts, volts and amps (max) coming off of the solar array? Or something else. I ask because there is not spot in Solar panel specs for number of strings. Just a little confused but once I understand it I will be good.
Yes, the max input and voltage of the Receiver device specs refers to the input limits from the solar array. To calculate based on the number of strings, use the "In Series & Parallel") section to input the # of panels in series and the # of sets in parallel. Then it will populate the green fields to the right of those yellow input fields. I hope that makes sense.
Thanks to viewer input, I created a second tab/sheet in this calculator file that is for solar arrays up to 30 panels. The first tab/sheet is for up to 8, and I wanted to keep it clean and simple for beginners so they don't get overwhelmed with numbers, but the 2nd tab/sheet should help with more advanced systems. Here's a link again to where you can download the calculator free, no email required even. www.amplifymarketers.com/solar-panel-calculator
Perfect timing! Used your spreadsheet to calculate my panel requirements for a Deye 16KW Single Phase Hybrid inverter in order to go fully offgrid in the Philippines. Suggestion is to perhaps expand beyond 8 panels in the spreadsheet for both parallel and serial for larger systems, like 3 Phase and 60KW systems. But for my use case it was just enough. Thanks for putting this out there!
I am so glad that you found the video and calculator. Thank you for providing feedback. I thought about making it larger for more panels, but then it would get even more overwhelming visually, and I wanted to keep it less intimidating for new solar panel users like me. Plus, I figured that anyone using more than 8 would be more advanced and less likely to need the calculator. Maybe I could add a 2nd tab that is for larger arrays. Do you think that's a good solution? Thanks again for the feedback. It means a lot - to know that all I am doing is not just for myself.
@@MIoffGridAdventures Definitely a second tab would be useful. I'm by no means an advanced user. In the remote areas here in Philippines, and probably other areas in Asia, we're experiencing extreme heat conditions. Aircons, fans fail when the voltage drops to 150VAC at night. Frequent planned and unplanned power outages by the utility company, 15 PHP per kwh gets expensive real quick. The only way out is to invest in large panels like the 600W Trina Vertex N, and hybrid inverters with separate lifepo4 battery systems, all connected. Luckily the cost here is about a third of what it would be back in Canada.
I just updated the file on my site so that there is a 2nd tab with up to 30 solar panels. I also added a hyperlink to a solar position calculator from NOAA. Love to know what you think.
