Solar panels: Parallel or Series?

I have read everything I can possibly find on whether wiring in series or parallel is a faster charge. I still have no clear answer!

I have a very simple overlanding system on my Tundra that consists of 2 LiTime LiFePO4 batteries (230ah each), a Renogy 3000 watt inverter, LiTimr 60 amp, 150 VOC MPPT charger and 2 suitcase panel kits. The first kit is (4) 48 volt panels that are factory wired in parallel and produce 400 watts and give me 10 amps. The second set of panels is a 2 panel kit that are factory wired in series and produce 24v and 10 amps. In another post I learned that I cannot wire these in parallel due to the voltage difference, so these 2 kits aren't ideal matches. But let's say these two panels were identical and on a bright, sunny day in full sun, would my batteries charge faster if the panels were wired in series or parallel? The wattage would be identical either way, so does that mean the charging speed would be the same? The charger I have could easily handle a series or parallel connection and remain well below the limits of either voltage or amperage.

I know that if shady areas or panels that may not be in full sun would say that parallel would be best, as a series connection only operates as good as the weakest panel, but my question is "In full sun, no shading whatsoever, would it matter which way I wired it?" Again, my question is being asked what way is best (is there would be a difference at all) if ideal conditions exist. In ideal conditions, does the wattage alone dictate the rate of charge?

Thank you in advance for any insight. This is the first solar array that I have ever built and I am hell bent on having a rock solid knowledge base of the do's and dont's, and the pros and cons. Everything on this side of "how fast does each individual electron move", I want to know and understand. Thanks again!

 

Unless you’ve got long runs of wiring, you likely won’t see an appreciable difference between series and parallel arrangements when in equally distributed sunlight. You hit the nail on the head with the issue of partially obstructed panels in a series arrangement. Watts are just amps X volts, so it doesn’t make a difference which way you go.

But… Some controllers won’t start feeding current till the PV voltage is 5 volts higher than the battery.

I run my pair of panels in series, but only because it made the wiring a little cleaner on my topper roof.