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  • Home
  • Where You Live Matters
  • DO THE MATH
  • Installation Manual
  • Sunchaser8 Specifications
  • DIY Powerwall
  • What is a slew drive?
  • Grid Failure Means?
  • Commercial Projects
  • DUAL AXIS TRACKER DATA
  • How to DIY Solar and WHY?
  • Power Everything by Sun
  • Why Clean Solar Panels
  • SOLAR SYSTEM PRICE LIST
  • Solar Wiring for Dummies
  • Solar Permitting is Scary
  • Help Wanted
  • Sunchaser 8 Customer Pics
  • Terms of Use and Sale
  • More
    • Home
    • Where You Live Matters
    • DO THE MATH
    • Installation Manual
    • Sunchaser8 Specifications
    • DIY Powerwall
    • What is a slew drive?
    • Grid Failure Means?
    • Commercial Projects
    • DUAL AXIS TRACKER DATA
    • How to DIY Solar and WHY?
    • Power Everything by Sun
    • Why Clean Solar Panels
    • SOLAR SYSTEM PRICE LIST
    • Solar Wiring for Dummies
    • Solar Permitting is Scary
    • Help Wanted
    • Sunchaser 8 Customer Pics
    • Terms of Use and Sale
  • Home
  • Where You Live Matters
  • DO THE MATH
  • Installation Manual
  • Sunchaser8 Specifications
  • DIY Powerwall
  • What is a slew drive?
  • Grid Failure Means?
  • Commercial Projects
  • DUAL AXIS TRACKER DATA
  • How to DIY Solar and WHY?
  • Power Everything by Sun
  • Why Clean Solar Panels
  • SOLAR SYSTEM PRICE LIST
  • Solar Wiring for Dummies
  • Solar Permitting is Scary
  • Help Wanted
  • Sunchaser 8 Customer Pics
  • Terms of Use and Sale

solar wiring for dummies

Solar Wiring is Intimidating but can be EASY

When I first started this project I thought we had put all the pieces and expensives together.  WRONG!  TheSunchaser 8 Dual Axis Solar Tracker and all it's components had to be wired together.  The panels connect to the combiner box that connects to the Hybrid inverter that connects to the Grid and the batteries.  AND, they all have different wiring requirements.


So what to do?  EASY, break it down step by step.

Step 1 wiring solar panels

Parallel or Series?

Parallel or series?  As we got deeper into this project I read an in depth article about this question.  My takeaway is panels should be wired parallel.  Why?  If panels are wired in series and one panel is damaged or fails, the entire array suffers the loss.  If the panels are wired in parallel and one panel fails, you only lose the power from one panel.  The only downside we see is you are transmitting power at higher amperage requiring heavier wire.  That is a one time expense.


Wiring the panels will probably be the easiest task as the panel leads are all plug and play and come in a generous combination of sizes.  In this system you will wire the panels to an 8 panel combiner box at the Sunchaser 8 tracker that is fused and switched.  Danger! Be careful! At this point you will be handling 48v at 90AMPs.  Once the panels are exposed to light, they will be producing electricity.

step 2 getting the panel power to the smart hybrid inverter

How Heavy a Wire do we Need?

This part becomes a little more difficult, especially if you only use math when you need it, like me.  Actually started using this to design the Sunchaser 8 panel wiring harness to the combiner box.  We chose to go with the AWG-American Wire Guage as it is more robust than international standards. To make the math work you need this table and equation below.

AWG Universal Wire Sizing chart

the equation and results

How to do the math

Under Construction

step 3 connecting to the grid

Hire a Professional Licensed Master Electrician

Under construction

step 4 setting up powerwall or battery backup

DIY Powerwall

Under construction

  • Home
  • Where You Live Matters
  • Installation Manual
  • Sunchaser8 Specifications
  • DIY Powerwall
  • What is a slew drive?
  • Grid Failure Means?
  • Commercial Projects
  • DUAL AXIS TRACKER DATA
  • How to DIY Solar and WHY?
  • Why Clean Solar Panels
  • SOLAR SYSTEM PRICE LIST
  • Solar Wiring for Dummies
  • Solar Permitting is Scary
  • Help Wanted
  • Sunchaser 8 Customer Pics
  • Terms of Use and Sale

Howtodiysolar

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