Solar Panels Need Diode Protection

Bypass diodes should exist in nearly all factory made panels.

Solar panels need diode protection.

Such a panel can be divided four groups of 15 cells. If your panels are a grouping of other panels then you won t need a diode. Commonly for hot spot protection one bypass diode per group of maximum 15 solar cells is used. There may be however some instances when a blocking diode can still be helpful.

We will discus both blocking and bypass diodes in solar panels with working and circuit diagrams in details below. Suppose we have a solar panel of 60 solar cells. Need for bypass diodes in solar panels. This causes the solar panel to heat up and have some power loss.

The diode is wired in parallel with the cells. In different types of solar panels designs both the bypass and blocking diodes are included by the manufactures for protection reliable and smooth operation. Those shaded solar cells become consumers of electricity instead of producers. The blocking diode is used in solar panel to block the reverse power flow.

If only one solar cell in a group is shaded we loss the solar power from the whole group. It is necessary to add the additional components to bypass or circumvent the shaded or damaged parts of pv photovoltaic cells to continue the producing of power usually. If your panels are made up of individual cells you ve soldered together and put in a housing or frame then you will need a diode. If your charge controller is an mppt type you should be able to wire panels in series.

Store bought panels will typically have a protection diode already in place. These additional components which allow the flow of current through pv cells when the cells are not able to produce power can be. Watch our video below to learn more. Blocking diodes will be of benefit in any system using solar panels to charge a battery.

Blocking diodes are usually included in the construction of solar panels so further blocking diodes are not required. Suppose we connect a solar panel to a battery for charging. Nowadays most solar power systems have a charge controller between the solar panel and the battery and this charge controller prevents this backflow of electricity eliminating the need for a blocking diode. If it s a pwm type you must use parallel wired panels.

If you have two 175 watt panels each at 42 volts you will need two 8 amp 45 volt diodes. Your charge controller should provide the night time blocking action and so i don t think you need any extra diodes at all. When the solar panel getting proper sun rays it creates sufficient voltage to charge the battery and in this case the current will flow from the solar panel to the battery. Now let s consider what happens if one of the panels in the above diagram is shaded.

Bypass diodes inside a junction box of a solar panel provide a low resistance path for the current go around a series of solar cells that have been shaded.