Proper connection of your solar panels to each other within your solar array and to the other balance of system components is crucial to the overall performance of your solar power system. Without proper wiring, power from your solar array may be unnecessarily lost before it travels to your battery bank or inverter.
The solar panel interconnects and panel output cables listed below make it very easy to make clean, code-compliant and water-tight connections. Please call our knowledgeable team of solar experts at 877-878-4060 if you have any questions!
Wiring Your Solar Panels to a Combiner Box
Now that many solar panels come with multi-contact Solarline connectors, wiring modules in series is as simple as connecting the positive lead of one module to the negative lead of the next module and so on. If you plan on wiring the modules in parallel, you may be confused about what to do with the MC connector leads on the modules since you can’t connect positive to positive using only the connectors.
If you are going to be wiring your modules in parallel, you have two options. The first is to use MC connector cables, one per module. Measure the distance from the module to the combiner box. If it is 3 feet, you’ll need a connector that is double that, like the multi-contact 6 FT MC3 connector extension #10 AWG. Plug the male and female ends of the MC connector in to the corresponding solar module leads. Cut the MC connector cable in half and run the bare ends of the connector to your combiner box. Repeat this process for each solar module. Do not cut the MC connector leads on your solar module! This may void the warranty.
The second option available to you is to use branch cable couplers, one each MC Branch Cable Coupler F-2M and MC Branch Cable Coupler M-2F for each pair of modules being paralleled.
Wiring Your Solar Power System
Do you still have questions? Please feel free to watch our video on wiring your solar power system or give one of our solar experts a call at 877-878-4060.