Solar Charge Controller Panel Selection

Charge Controller Info

Genasun GV-8-WP (Boost) – Product Info Link

Optibike installed connectors:
– 3 Pin to Optibike Battery Port
– MC4 to Solar Panel (Standard Connectors)

Ratings:
Max Input Voltage: 60V
Recommended Max Panel Power: 350W
Recommended Max Panel Vmp: 43V
Recommended Max Panel Imp: 8A
Recommended Max Panel Voc: 50V

Picking Solar Panels to Match

To pick a matching solar panel (or panels), the specs you need to look at are the voltage and current, they will be called Vmp and Imp on the label of the panel and spec sheet. If the panel you’re looking at doesn’t clearly state these it’s best to look elsewhere for a better quality option.

You want to make sure it has MC4 connectors, some panels designed for proprietary power bank systems may come with different connectors and would need an adapter.

Vmp should be less than 45V and more than 10V
Imp should be less than 8A

You can also connect multiple smaller panels together:
If the Vmp is less than half (so 22.5V) you can put 2 panels in series to increase the voltage.
If the Imp is less than half (so 4A) you can put 2 panels in parallel to increase the current.

Examples

1) Renogy RSP150MCB-BB-T-US – 150W CIGS Flexible Solar Panel
CIGS panels are exceptionally, lightweight, flexible, and durable, they can be rolled up for transport.
The tradeoff is lower efficiency (larger panel size) and high price.

Vmp: 19V = Good fit
Imp: 7.89A = Good fit

Since the voltage of a single panel is 19V, 2 of these can be put in series to get 300W of power. Which would result in a voltage of 38V and the same 7.89A of current, still under the maximum ratings for the charge controller.

Charging with 1 panel (150W): Approx. 750Wh per day (with typical 5 hours of solar gain)
Charging with 2 panels (300W): Approx. 1500Wh per day (with typical 5 hours of solar gain)

With a 1630Wh battery on the R17 or R22 and 2 panels you would almost fully charge in 1 day.

Another way of calculating range is to use an average of 20 Wh/mile, which is obtainable with lower speed riding. So 1500 / 20 = 75 miles of range recovered each day with 300W of solar.