Can a 12V Solar Panel Charge a 24V Battery?
If you have a 24V battery and you’re wondering if a 12V solar panel can charge it, the answer is yes!
You can charge a 24V battery with a 12V solar panel, but it’s not going to be as efficient as using a 24V panel.
Since the 12V solar panel won’t be able to produce as much power as a 24V solar panel, it will take longer to charge the battery.
The best way to charge a 24V battery with a 12V solar panel is to use an MPPT charge controller.
The MPPT charge controller will help regulate the power by adjusting the voltage and current to get the most out of your solar panel.
If you don’t have an MPPT charge controller, you can still charge a 24V battery with a 12V solar panel by connecting the panels in series, or using a voltage regulator as well.
The voltage of the panel isn’t really the determining factor here. What matters is the amperage output of the solar panel. As long as the amperage output of the 12V panel is higher than the amperage rating of the 24V battery, it will charge just fine.
How to use a 12V solar panel to charge a 24V battery?
There is more than one way to charge a 24V battery with a 12V solar panel. However, not all of these methods are going to be the most efficient.
Here are a few of the most popular ways to do it:
Use two 12V solar panels in parallel
If you have two 12V solar panels, you can connect them in parallel and increase the amperage output of the system. This will allow the solar panels to charge the battery faster.
However, you’ll need to make sure that the two panels are compatible and that they have the same wattage output. Otherwise, you could damage the solar panels or the battery.
Use a 12V solar panel with a higher wattage output
If you have a 12V solar panel with a higher wattage output, you can use it to charge a 24V battery. You very likely know the formula of:
Amps = Watts/Volts.
So, if you have a solar panel with a higher wattage output, it will produce more amps, which will allow it to charge the battery faster.
Use MPPT charge controllers
MPPT charge controllers are designed to maximize the power output of the solar panel. In this way, they can charge a battery with a lower voltage solar panel.
So, if you have a 12V solar panel and an MPPT charge controller, you can use the charge controller to increase the voltage of the solar panel and allow it to charge a 24V battery.
However, you’ll need to make sure that the MPPT charge controller is compatible with the 12V solar panel and the 24V battery.
Use a voltage converter
If you don’t want to use an MMPT charge controller you can also use a voltage converter. This will take the 12V from the solar panel and convert it into 24V.
However, this is a less efficient way to do it because you’re losing some of the power in the conversion, but it will work as long as the voltage converter is rated for at least 24V.
This method is going to be less efficient than using an MPPT charge controller, and it will also take longer to charge the battery.
It is also important to note that most solar panels produce 30% more than what they are rated at. A 12V solar panel is typically a 36-cell module that produces around 18V. Similarly, a 24V solar panel is typically a 72-cell module that produces around 36V – 44V.
There are also a lot of 60-cell modules on the market that are rated at 24V, but they actually produce closer to 30V – 40V.
So in reality, 12V solar panels aren’t truly 12V, and 24V solar panels aren’t actually 24V.
PV modules generate a constant current provided the constant daylight level is maintained.
If you check the back of your solar panel, you will notice two values Isc (short circuit current) and Imax (maximum current). These two values are typically very close to each other.
This is the current that your solar panel will produce regardless of the voltage. Remember that by connecting a “12V panel” to a 12V battery, you are actually reducing the 22V of the panel to 12V.
That means the current (amps) produced by the solar panel will also be reduced causing the overall charging process to take longer.
This is where an MPPT can help. An MPPT is essentially a self-adjusting DC-to-DC converter that automatically adjusts itself to run your PV module at the optimum power level and then down-convert the voltage so that you can charge your 12V battery at the full current.
An MPPT can help to increase the charging current and overall efficiency of the system. This is because it is able to extract more power from the solar panel, which will result in more amps being put into the battery.
Conclusion
Yes, you can use a 12V solar panel to charge a 24V battery. However, it is not as efficient as using a 24V solar panel. Using a solar panel with a smaller rated voltage than the battery will result in a slower charging time.
You can use an MPPT charge controller to increase the efficiency of the charging process, wire the solar panel in parallel to increase the amperage or use a voltage converter to convert the 12V to 24V.
However, it is best to design a solar system around the voltage of the battery to avoid any unnecessary efficiency losses and complexities that may occur.