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Old 01-09-2022, 23:13   #1
Nor
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Victron 150/45 for 550W 13A panel

The Victron calculator says I need a Victron 150/45 controller for a single 550W 13A 42W panel. As I understand it the 150 in the title refers to Volt and the 45 means A. So why do I need a 45A controller for a 13A panel? Is it correct?

https://mppt.victronenergy.com/
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Old 01-09-2022, 23:31   #2
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Re: Victron 150/45 for 550W 13A panel

I'm wondering if you have your panel specs right - is it a single 550w panel as you say? But you wrote 550W 13A 42W - some of these numbers may be incorrect, it can't be both 550w and 42w.

I am thinking it is 550w at 42vdc, which would equal 13a, but 13a at 42v has to be "massaged" (by the controller) into 42a at 13v in order to feed it into your 12v battery bank (unless you have a 24v batt bank in which case it has to massage it to appx 21amps at 26v.).

So, if you have a 12v bank, you do need the 150/45. If you have a 24v bank, I think you could use the MPPT 100/30 (because final output will be @ 21amps at 26v).

Hope this helps.
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Old 01-09-2022, 23:50   #3
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Re: Victron 150/45 for 550W 13A panel

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Originally Posted by jordanbigel View Post
I'm wondering if you have your panel specs right - is it a single 550w panel as you say? But you wrote 550W 13A 42W - some of these numbers may be incorrect, it can't be both 550w and 42w.

I am thinking it is 550w at 42vdc, which would equal 13a, but 13a at 42v has to be "massaged" (by the controller) into 42a at 13v in order to feed it into your 12v battery bank (unless you have a 24v batt bank in which case it has to massage it to appx 21amps at 26v.).

So, if you have a 12v bank, you do need the 150/45. If you have a 24v bank, I think you could use the MPPT 100/30 (because final output will be @ 21amps at 26v).

Hope this helps.
Thanks! Yes, that was a typo, it should be 42V not W. And thanks for the explanation showing why I need the 45A.
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Old 02-09-2022, 00:05   #4
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Re: Victron 150/45 for 550W 13A panel

One thing I haven't thought about is if the 42A is too much current to charge my two 90A batteries. I was planning to upgrade the batteries in the future, and thought the 550W panel will give benefits of also having more power available during the daytime for charging phones, tablets, fridge etc.

But can 42A be too much for two car batteries? It seems CCA is >650, is that relevant to charging also?
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Old 02-09-2022, 05:54   #5
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Re: Victron 150/45 for 550W 13A panel

Your batteries will only accept 42a when they need the charge, otherwise the expensive blue regulator will be doing what it is designed to do,manage the charge profile.
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Old 02-09-2022, 06:46   #6
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Re: Victron 150/45 for 550W 13A panel

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Your batteries will only accept 42a when they need the charge, otherwise the expensive blue regulator will be doing what it is designed to do,manage the charge profile.

Is it necessary to have a "load"? Does the controller direct current to the "load" only if the batteries are fully charged?
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Old 02-09-2022, 07:04   #7
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Re: Victron 150/45 for 550W 13A panel

You can adjust Victron controllers to limit their output current, so you could set your controller to output a max of 30A (or whatever). Note that your solar panel will only output full power under ideal conditions anyway. Most of the time you will only get 3/4 or 1/2 the maximum possible, so you aren't really losing much by restricting the maximum output. Thus you could use a 30A controller without losing much.
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Old 02-09-2022, 07:07   #8
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Re: Victron 150/45 for 550W 13A panel

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Is it necessary to have a "load"? Does the controller direct current to the "load" only if the batteries are fully charged?
No, you don't need to use the "load" output on Victron controllers. The load output has some extra controls, like being able to turn it on or off at night, but it is perfectly fine to ignore the load output.
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Old 02-09-2022, 07:10   #9
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Re: Victron 150/45 for 550W 13A panel

The "load" connections on the MPPT are optional, they allow you to wire up something which will draw power directly from the controller. The only thing I have ever heard it being used for was to power an external cooling fan (presumably for keeping the MPPT cool, I guess). I suspect other people have found other uses for this which I am unaware.
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Old 02-09-2022, 08:51   #10
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Re: Victron 150/45 for 550W 13A panel

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Originally Posted by JBP View Post
You can adjust Victron controllers to limit their output current, so you could set your controller to output a max of 30A (or whatever). Note that your solar panel will only output full power under ideal conditions anyway. Most of the time you will only get 3/4 or 1/2 the maximum possible, so you aren't really losing much by restricting the maximum output. Thus you could use a 30A controller without losing much.
Thanks!
How should I set the limit? The batteries are car batteries and I haven't found any detailed max charge limit, only the >650 CCA.
For two 90A batteries is 30A a safe setting?
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Old 02-09-2022, 08:55   #11
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Re: Victron 150/45 for 550W 13A panel

The Victron 100/50 would also be an acceptable alternative to the 150/45 (and it appears to be a few dollars cheaper).
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Old 02-09-2022, 09:57   #12
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Re: Victron 150/45 for 550W 13A panel

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Thanks!
How should I set the limit? The batteries are car batteries and I haven't found any detailed max charge limit, only the >650 CCA.
For two 90A batteries is 30A a safe setting?
I believe the rule of thumb for car batteries is to charge them at no more than 10% of their Amp hour capacity, thus two 90 AH batteries in parallel should be charged at no more than 18A. However I expect your batteries would have to be very dead before they would accept 18A. You also have other stuff running. Perhaps limit it to 20A and see what happens. You can always adjust the settings.
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Old 02-09-2022, 17:11   #13
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Re: Victron 150/45 for 550W 13A panel

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Originally Posted by jordanbigel View Post
The "load" connections on the MPPT are optional, they allow you to wire up something which will draw power directly from the controller. The only thing I have ever heard it being used for was to power an external cooling fan (presumably for keeping the MPPT cool, I guess). I suspect other people have found other uses for this which I am unaware.
I wondered what it could be used for. Maybe heating water, bilge blower......?
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Old 02-09-2022, 19:01   #14
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Re: Victron 150/45 for 550W 13A panel

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I wondered what it could be used for. Maybe heating water, bilge blower......?
on off grid houses they are used for things like outside lights. the load can be set to turn on at dusk. and stay on for a few hours. or turn off at daylight (based on the controller seeing sun)

I have never used it on a boat. I think I've read people using it for the anchor light. basically it can turn the light on and off based on if the panels see sun or not. so night time or bad weather the anchor light comes on
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Old 02-09-2022, 19:06   #15
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Re: Victron 150/45 for 550W 13A panel

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Originally Posted by Nor View Post
Thanks!
How should I set the limit? The batteries are car batteries and I haven't found any detailed max charge limit, only the >650 CCA.
For two 90A batteries is 30A a safe setting?
I would not limit the controller. the batteries will limit themselfs

the problem with limited the controller is it has no idea how much is going into the batteries or how much is being consumed. if you are running a bunch of stuff one day drawing 20a. and the controller is set to 30a max. then only 10a is left going into the battery, and you are limited the solar for no reason. you could have had 20a going to the batteries

generally flooded batteries take 20% and AGM take 40%. so 200ah of flooded will take 40a no issue. you will likly never see 40a from the panels and some of that will be used before it reaches the batteries anyways. lights fridge etc

the fireflys and lifelines actually want min 40%
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