Broken Chipped Solar
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How much do edge chips on a solar cell reduce its maximum amperage?
I'm sixteen and I've been building a 100 watt solar panel for a few months now. I'm using 44 .5v 4 amp cells, and I'm almost done now.
A few cells I have unfortunately didn't make it through shipping, and they are about 1/3 broken.
I don't want to put broken ones into my panel or else it will screw up my final amperage of the panel.
Should I bite the bullet and just use them or is it better to just order more?
What if the cell is about 85% in tact, can I use it? Or will it affect my output too much?
Thanks
If the conductors in or to or from the cell are broken, it will reduce amps by one cell's worth. If possible, measure the output of the individual cell before connecting it. I don't know enough about the details to know for sure but your math suggests you are not building a 100 W panel, you are building a 88 W panel. As far as affecting your output too much, that depends on what you are doing with the output. As you probably know, something rated for 20 volts will operate at 20 +/- some number of volts. How much +/- depends on the details. sounds like a good project! Good luck
