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There are three ways to wire a solar panel array; series, parallel, and series-parallel. If the needs of your solar electrical system call for parallel wiring of your solar panels, this blog post will teach you how to wire your solar panel array in parallel.
Wiring solar panels in parallel simply means combining all of the positive wires together into one wire that will go to the charge controller and combining all of the negative wires together into one wire that will go to the charge controller.
To combine the wires from the solar panels, you will need to use MC4 branch connectors.
- 2 to 1 MC4 Branch Connector
- 3 to 1 MC4 Branch Connector
- 4 to 1 MC4 Branch Connector
- 5 to 1 MC4 Branch Connector
Depending on your choice of panels, you may also need to incorporate fuses into your parallel wired solar panel array.
- 15 Amp MC4 Fuse
- 20 Amp MC4 Fuse
All of the diagrams below show a parallel wired solar panel array with fuses in their proper place. If your setup does not need fuses, simply ignore the fuses and connect the positive wires directly to the branch connector.
How to Wire Two Solar Panels in Parallel
How to Wire Three Solar Panels in Parallel
How to Wire Four Solar Panels in Parallel
How to Wire Five Solar Panels in Parallel
Thanks
My GoPower 160W panels came with 10 AWG wire and MC4 connectors. When I combined the three panels, should I have used 8 AWG or 6 AWG to run the single combined line to the charge controller?
If the panels are wired in series, you can use 10 awg wire.
Do I need a double pole circuit breaker for both the positve (red) and neutral(black) cable going to the charger controller as you showed in one of your diagrams or can I just use an inline fuse on the positve cable to the MPPT? Thanks!
The dual pole disconnect as per my diagrams is in accordance with NEC 690.17 (B).