modue mis matching

[poheZ]

Hey,

I saw an install today that had 5 sanyos strung together with 8 larger monos (not sure what they were). Looked for any optimsers or micro inverters and could not see any.

If we assume they are all one a single mppt inverter, would we see any 'problems arising from this mismatch initially? Is this something that would only happen after time, any thoughts?

 

[SpitfireW'sale]

There would be problems yes. It would only work properly if the array was feeding either a dual MPP inverter, or 2 inverters.
If you string, say 5 X 230W panels, and 5 X 240W panels of the same brand and model together, the 240W would essentially behave as if they are 230W. If you string together 2 different brands with completely different power outputs and different voltages, currents etc. it would likely cause major efficiency problems. I do not know if it would cause the array to stop working, but it would certainly be a very bad design.