At last, I have found a definitive answer on what really happens when one of your solar panels or portion is shaded. There has been a lot of info and technical data posted on this forum, but now an independent test by none other than Adam Welch is available. His is the best explanation and demonstration of how shade affects multiple panels whether connected in SERIES or in PARALLEL. At the 2.50 minute point, he explains the problem simply and how losses can be reduced and the benefits of using Schottky diodes instead of the standard silicon rectifier type most commonly used on solar panels. Schottky diode voltage drop of 0.163 volts is less than one third of standard silicon type which has a 0.543 voltage drop. This confirms my upgrade as being very beneficial with my 3 folding panel setup with each panel now having 2 Schottky diodes in place of the two silicon types. He even introduces an even better type to reduce voltage losses, but getting close to the ultimate would be too hard to incorporate on my panels. From this story, it would appear that connecting multiple panels in SERIES will result in less possible voltage losses than connecting in parallel with leakage losses back through the standard silicon diodes. Something for the "Tech Heads" to think about anyway. Well worth watching!!!