19.7 volt panel problem

[saulgonzalez]

hi all, thanks for looking.

i am a newbee at solar cells, i made a 36 cell panel, 4 wats each with 0.534v per cell. at the time i finished i had 19.7 volt cell, the problem is that i have a 11 to 15 volt inverter and dont know what to do, either try to reduce the voltage or get another inverter. i did try to use the one that i have but after turning on the inverter the power starts to drop from 125 AC to almost 0 AC. at least thats what my tester tells me.

please help, should i try to reduce the voltage ? and how do i do that , or get a bigger inverter ?

thanks !!

[MJLorton]

Hello,

I would say you need to evaluate the time and effort (and possible risk) of reconfiguring your DIY panel to a lower voltage vs the cost of a new inverter. Have you tested to see if the inverter works ok with a DC power source between 11-15 volts like a 12 volt battery?

Cheers,
Martin.