Which solar charge controller

[Irish Rover]

Moving on from my recent thread about solar panels I now want to source a suitable mppt controller. I had Victron on my previous boat and I'll probably stick to that brand. I'm planning to fit 2 panels of approx 550W each so total 1,000W feeding a house bank of 630Ah 12V AGM batteries. So which Victron do I need to handle this load 100/30, 100/50 or more than one controller?

 

[PaulRainbow]

Moving on from my recent thread about solar panels I now want to source a suitable mppt controller. I had Victron on my previous boat and I'll probably stick to that brand. I'm planning to fit 2 panels of approx 550W each so total 1,000W feeding a house bank of 630Ah 12V AGM batteries. So which Victron do I need to handle this load 100/30, 100/50 or more than one controller?

You need a 50a controller for each panel, or a 70a controller for both.

Separate controllers are a little cheaper.

 

[GHA]

Personally Victron with a smartshunt, then the regulators know how to properly charge the batteries. And a 100/50 per panel if they 12v panels? Must be bigguns

 

[noelex]

If you are considering a single controller, the 100/50 is too small for 1100 W and a 12v battery system. Victron recommends a maximum solar array of 700w for this model.

The ideal would be two Victron 100/50 controllers, one for each panel. You could drop down to two 100/30 controllers, but you will lose a significant amount of solar production in good conditions. It would also be exceeding Victron’s specifications and would be depending on the protection mechanism built into the controller to prevent damage (although failures are not common). All in all not a good idea.

Victron also produce a 150/35 and a 150/45, but these are often more expensive than the 100/50 and you don’t need the higher voltage input capability nor the ability to deal with higher battery voltages.

Two 100/50 units are your best choice out of the Victron lineup.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Personally Victron with a smartshunt, then the regulators know how to properly charge the batteries. And a 100/50 per panel if they 12v panels? Must be bigguns

They won't be 12c panels, they will be more like 40v or so.