Shallow Well Pump Setup

Sounds like a plan, if your skys are not especially cloudy. The smoke from forest fires
lately I find costing more PV output than similar looking clouds.

Near the equator your panels mount nearly flat? If you need more energy but have
increased the panels to the limit (clipping?) of your system at noon, adding more
panels splitting all between tilted east and west could considerably increase the
number of peak hours running a day. The east strings are simply wired in parallel
with the west strings. Here at 42 Lat this current curve was produce by arrays
1 + 3, nearly the same peak as S array 2, but for 8 hours.

This will have the additional benefit of considerably more output under clouds,
which has been working well here for 8 years. Bruce Roe.

PVm17Jn16.jpg

Thanks for the information.... If I use the 4" pump the maximum input current is 12 amps. The 400 watt solar panel has an IMP of 10 amps.
What happens when you parallel two panels together like you outlined. Do you not run the risk of twice the current? If you reduce the wattage of each panel would you risk not having enough current when there is no overlap of the panels.

With your E and W panels in parallel, the MPPT controller does not care which
supplies most current. By elevating the panels toward E or W, the peak noontime
current is reduced as much as desired. In this plot a 61 degree tilt toward E or W
gives a close to flat output all day, here the noontime sum (1 + 3) peak is actually
a bit lower than a single alignment. You can fine tune that angle for your application.

Energy available will also vary with season, I chose that axis alignment directly
toward E or W, to optimize at Equinox, half way between min and max length
days. That causes a bit of misalignment in peak summer, tending to equalize
that more intense sun (less atmosphere and dust to penetrate). Winter is not
great, but it never is, a lesser loss. At the equator I expect this effect will not
be significant. But probably my 61 deg tilt toward E or W will need ADJUSTMENT
for you.

Understand MPPT driven PV equipment can adjust over a considerable range
to make best use of the available energy. MPPT solar will adjust to use less
than available current by allowing the panel voltage to go up, closer to Voc. The
E-W arrangement elevation angle can actually be adjusted to have a LOWER
peak current than a single alignment, while still delivering more total energy.

One more point, your panels may be put on a 2 sided mount, costing less than
a single alignment mount for the same number of panels. So all your equipment
except the actual panels is more effectively used.

The original purpose of this arrangement here, was to double the PV output
under my so frequent clouds, always keeping the rest of the equipment busy.
Of course pointing double panels at the noon sun would produce double
current at that time, which would simply be clipped and unused since inverter
capacity would be exceeded. The E-W arrangement fully uses the peak from
each, at different times of day. It still works for the dispersed light under
clouds, when alignment is less critical. This first 2 sided array was not best tilt.
good luck, Bruce Roe

NStrench.jpg