How much power would a solar pannel channel if a solar pannel could channel ... power?
Question:
A) What is that output power measured in? Volts? Watts? Other?
B) If I connect a second, identical pannel to the same battery, would I necessarily be getting 2X units of power?
C) What would the difference be if those two pannels were connected to the battery in series or in parallel?
Answer:
Power, by definition, is measured in watts.
It's PANEL, not PANNEL.
Hypothetically, two panels in parallel would supply double the power, but there are usually complications that restrict it to a lower amount. A parallel combination should output double the current at the same voltage
If in series, the panels would output double voltage at the same current. However, if the battery voltage is much lower, then you'll just waste the power by heating up the battery and not storing the energy.
The maximum available solar power influx is roughly 1100 W/m^2 for about 1 hour on a perfect day. The total energy flux on a perfect day is about 800 kW*hr.
This is called engineering. You are designing a system using photovoltaic panels to charge a battery. What do you want to accomplish? Maximum power out of the panels? Maximum energy per day? Maximum energy per day per dollar spent? Just keeping a standby battery topped off?
If this is more than a toy, you'll want to avoid damaging the battery, and instead maximize the battery life. So with today's technology, you'll want an intelligent controller. It will limit the charging amount and rate to keep the battery healthy. Knowing the panel output and the battery characteristics, will you ever throw away panel output to safeguard the battery? If not, what if you add a second panel? If the answer is still no, what if you add a third panel? If yes, do you gain enough from the third panel to justify the cost? Only the customer can answer that. Connect the panels in series or parallel according to which makes the whole system work better. There are always lots of choices to make. You need to evaluate all the combinations of choices to see which is best.
If I just want to keep a backup battery charged, I'll chose a panel which can just barely meet the need. If I can use all the power I can capture, I'll choose the maximum number of panels I can fit on the roof, minimize the battery, and use the power as it is generated, perhaps to pump water.
Or I might choose the maximum number of panels I can fit on the roof, have no battery, sell power to the local electric utility company during sunshine, and buy power from them during darkness.
Or if I have no local electric utility, I might buy as many panels as I can afford, choose just enough battery to meet most of my need, and use a backup generator for the rest.
It's all fun and rewarding.
It would channel less power than a woodchuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood.
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