Wiring Solar Panels In Series vs Parallel: What’s The Difference + Free Calculator

Are you unsure if wiring solar panels in series vs parallel is best? Use our solar panel series and parallel calculator & discover the ideal way to wire your solar panels for an optimized camper solar setup. Our comprehensive guide provides practical step-by-step guidance, using clear diagrams and personal experience.

In this post, you’ll learn the various methods for wiring multiple solar panels together to optimize your camper solar setup.

We’ve got you covered with an interactive solar panel calculator to help you determine the ideal configuration for your solar array.

Our guide starts with easy-to-follow diagrams outlining the different wiring configurations and explains how each affects the necessary components.

We’ll even tackle the complexities of mismatched multiple solar panels.

As seasoned, full-time RVers who have experienced hiccups while setting up our RV solar system, we created this post to help you avoid these mistakes.

Consider this post a vital part of our series on RV solar panel systems.

If you’re new to electrics or van builds, start with our beginner’s guide to camper van electrics.

Solar Panel Series And Parallel Calculator

Depending on the number of panels and sizes, your set up could have many different configuration options.

This calculator allows you to enter up to three different panel specs and as many of those panels as you choose.

Aim to choose a configuration that balances the least loss of total power output and a high enough voltage to charge the batteries all day. Calculations are rounded.

We aim to get the best combination of watts (power out) and voltage, so we can spend more time off-grid and make our batteries last longer.

Suppose you’d prefer to wire your mix of panels without losses. In that case, you must wire each panel variant with a dedicated solar charge controller.

We’d need an MPPT controller to handle the string of 95w panels and another for the 130w panel with our setup.

It becomes an expensive pastime, so best to install matching products wherever possible.

Use our other electrical calculators to help size your camper’s electrical system.

Ways Of Wiring Multiple Solar Panels

There are three different ways of wiring multiple solar panels on your RV camper:

• In series
• In parallel
• A combination of series & parallel

We’ll look at each of these in turn before comparing.

Solar Panels Wired In Series

Each solar panel has a positive and a negative terminal. A series connection is created when one panel’s positive terminal is connected to the negative terminal of another.

When solar panels are wired in series, the array’s voltage is added together while the current (or amps) stays the same.

In the diagram above, 4 x 100w panels, each with a rated voltage of 17.9 and current of 5.72A, wired in series could produce 71.6 volts and 5.72 amps – a total of 409 watts.

Note, solar panels’ wattage is rated under standard test conditions. So, for example, these 100w panels will provide 100w then but slightly more in colder temperatures.

Read more: How To Wire Solar Panels In Series

Solar Panels Wired In Parallel

A parallel connection is created when the positive terminal of one panel is connected to the positive terminal of another, and the negative terminals are connected to each other.

The connections are made with branch connectors. 

When solar panels are wired in parallel, the array’s voltage stays the same while the current (or amps) are added together. 

In the diagram above, 4 x 100w panels, each with a rated voltage of 17.9 and current of 5.72A, wired in parallel could produce 17.9 volts and 22.8 amps – a total of 409 watts.

Read more: How To Wire Solar Panels In Parallel

Solar Panels Wired In A Combination Of Series And Parallel

There are no surprises for figuring out what wiring solar panels in a combination of series and parallel means.

Taking the same 4 x 100 watt panels, you’d wire a pair in one string (i.e. in series), the 2nd pair in another string, then wire the two strings in parallel.

When solar panels are wired in a combination of series and parallel, the voltage in each string is added together while the current (or amps) stays the same.

Then, the two strings’ voltage stays the same while the current (or amps) are added together.

In the diagram above, 4 x 100w panels, each with a rated voltage of 17.9 and current of 5.72A:

• The 1st pair of panels wired in series could produce 35.8 volts and 5.72 amps
• The 2nd pair of panels wired in series could produce 35.8 volts and 5.72 amps
• These two strings wired in parallel could produce 35.8 volts and 11.44 amps – a total of 409 watts.

When the solar panels in the array are all the same, the power output is the same regardless of how they are wired (at least mathematically), but the current and voltage differ.

It’s important when it comes to selecting a solar charge controller for your RV camper.

But there are two caveats to all of this. 

1. Firstly, the calculations only hold when all the solar panels in the array are the same. 
2. Secondly, the power output calculations are based on optimal operating conditions.

The following sections look at each of these in turn.

Mismatched Solar Panels & How Best To Wire Them

Ideally, your camper solar setup will consist of identical solar panels.

They’ll all be the same brand, type, and wattage, so operating currents and voltages will all be the same.

But we don’t live in an ideal world.

Perhaps you have a few mismatched solar panels to kick off a budget solar setup. 

What if you’re on the road, living in your van full-time, and need to replace an existing solar panel or want to add another to your setup but can’t source the same panels?

Can you add a different panel? 

Yes, you can but determining how best to configure the system isn’t as straightforward.

The Maths

The calculations explained above for series, parallel, and series and parallel combinations still hold.

When wired in series, the lowest amp rating of all the panels is used in the calculation.

Parallel wiring uses the lowest voltage.

When a solar array uses a mix of panels with different ratings, the power output is no longer the same across all configurations.

Let’s take an example, which happens to be an identical setup to that on Baloo, our Sprinter van conversion:

We have 2 x 95w panels, each rated at 4.5A and 21.1 volts, and a 130w panel rated at 7.5A and 17.3 volts.

Wired in series, we add the volts together and use the lowest current rating. So we get 21.1v + 21.1v + 17.3v = 59.5v at 4.5A.

We can get a total of 267.75 watts from our 320 watt panels – a loss of over 16%.

Wired in parallel, we add the amps together and use the lowest voltage rating. So we get 4.5A + 4.5A + 7.5A = 16.5A at 17.3v.

We can get a total of 285.45 watts from our 320 watt panels – a loss of over 11%.

Or we can wire them in a combination of series and parallel. We’ll wire the 95 watt panels in one string because they are identical and keep the 130 watt panel in a string.

At this point we have a further three options. We can either:

• wire the 2 identical panels in series, then connect them to the third panel in parallel, or
• wire the 2 identical panels in parallel, then connect them to the third panel in series, or
• use 2 solar charge controllers so we have two solar arrays with no mismatched panels.

And it makes a difference to how much power the panels can produce. So, let’s take a look.

Wire Identical Panels In Series & Connect To A Third Panel In Parallel

• The 95w panels wired in series could produce 42.2 volts and 4.5 amps
• The 130w panel could produce 17.3 volts and 7.5 amps
• Combined, these two strings wired in parallel could produce 17.3 volts and 12 amps – a total of 207 watts, a loss of 35%.

Wire Identical Panels In Parallel & Connect To A Third Panel In Series

• The 95w panels wired in parallel could produce 21.1 volts and 9 amps
• The 130w panel could produce 17.3 volts and 7.5 amps
• Combined, these two strings wired in series could produce 38.4 volts and 7.5 amps – a total of 288 watts, a loss of 9%.

Install 2 solar charge controllers & Separate The Solar Panels

We can see from the above scenarios, that mixing mismatched panels in any combined configuration inevitably leads to a loss of power.

But you can avoid any losses by separating the different solar panels into a solar with no mismatched panels, each with a dedicated solar charge controller.

Using our example of two 95w panels and a 130w panel, we could wire the two 95 panels in series or parallel, and connect them to a solar charge controller.

Separately, we can install the single 130w panel and connect it to a different solar charge controller.

Now the battery bank is being charged from two separate solar arrays, and neither has a mismatched panel. As a result, there is no power loss. Result!

Which is Best? Series, Parallel, or a Combination?

The calculator will give you a good idea of the total power output, current, and voltage you might expect from each wiring configuration.

But keep reading. The decision isn’t black and white. 

While the calculated results are interesting and useful for sizing your solar charge controller, don’t wire your solar panels based on the minimum power loss.

The calculations are all based on the optimal operating conditions for the given solar panels.

In reality, though, those conditions may not always be met.

Series v Parallel in Shade

The sun’s height in the sky affects the energy produced, varying throughout the day and the year.

Cloud and shade fall on the solar panels. It may not be much of an issue for solar farms in wide-open fields, but it is on an RV or camper.

Parking under a tree or in a building’s shadow varies power output from the panels, depending on how they’re wired.

When shade hits any part of a solar array wired in parallel, the power output from that panel reduces significantly. BUT, any other panels in the configuration are unaffected.

Conversely, when shade hits any part of a solar array wired in series, the power output from that panel reduces a lot. AND every other panel in the configuration is dragged down with it.

Battery Charging Affect

With a parallel wiring configuration handling mixed panels and coping with a partial shade better, you might think this is the best approach for a camper’s solar setup.

But first, we must consider the other solar setup components, specifically the batteries.

We have a detailed post on camper batteries for the full detail. The critical point is a 12v battery needs at least 12.6v to charge (or thereabouts).

So consider all the calculations we’ve used above and your own too. 

The voltage solar panels produce in a parallel configuration is low – around 17 – 22v, depending on the panels. And this is when environmental conditions meet the optimal operating conditions of the panels.

Anything less, and the voltage will fall. 

Let’s take a look at some numbers to prove the point:

4 x 100w panels, each with a rated voltage of 17.9, could produce 17.9 volts when wired in parallel.

The same panels wired in series could produce 71.6 volts.

Both scenarios produce enough volts to charge the battery bank when conditions are good. 

But when wired in parallel, the panels must perform at least 70%. Anything less, the volts will fall below 12.6v needed to charge the battery bank, rendering them next to useless.

When wired in series, performance would need to fall to around 18% before they stop charging the batteries.

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So What’s Best?

We had our mixed panels wired in parallel for a long time.

Why wouldn’t we? Parallel wiring handles the mixed panels far better than in series, and we wouldn’t suffer as much loss when we parked in the shade.

And then we sat around a campfire with fellow overlanders and discussed it all at length.

Convinced we might have it wrong, we spent 5 minutes changing the setup from parallel to series the next morning.

We’ve not needed hookup since!

The last six months, we’ve been in Patagonia, throughout the southern hemisphere winter and not driven anywhere – there’s a global issue preventing us from travelling.

We’re not hooked up; our mixed 320w panels are now wired in series with an MPPT controller, and with careful management, we’re doing much better.

Why? 

Though we suffer slightly more losses during the optimum operating conditions, we produce a high enough voltage to charge the batteries from dawn to dusk.

So, we charge our batteries for longer.

Result!

Our Recommendations

• Wire your camper solar setup in series. 
• Wherever possible, use the same solar panels throughout the entire array.
• If you must use a mix of panels, try to make them as close to each other’s specs as possible. Avoid putting a 50w 3A 18v panel with a 200w 9A, 21v panel.
• If you have mixed panels, configure them to maximise the current by wiring appropriate pairs in series.
• Pay special attention to anything on your roof that could cast a shadow on your panels, including aerials, satellite dished, and vents.
• Avoid parking in the shade to maximise performance.
• Clean solar panels regularly.
• Remove any broken or damaged panels for the series, so the rest aren’t affected.
• Use an MPPT controller to handle the higher system voltage when wiring in series.

Need More Guidance On Your RV Solar Setup?

5 Best Flexible Solar Panels for RV Adventurers – Your Ultimate Guide!

Wiring Solar Panels In Series vs Parallel: What’s The Difference + Free Calculator

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