Cptnvideo wrote:
TechWriter, nice setup you have there.
Don, that is a thought. I'm planning on adding one more 206 ah LFP battery, so I could go 24 series/parallel or 48 all in series.
From my perspective (admittedly a subjective topic), I see little gain in many cases for switching to a higher voltage - some considerations are as follows (JMO only):
Where the inverter can be located reasonably close to a sufficiently sized battery bank, and with proper cable sizing for anticipated loads - this helps avoids voltage and current bottlenecks…
Higher voltage configurations make sense where certain high current or ‘reactive’ appliances and motors are at a considerable distance from the battery bank (ideal on a yacht!). The higher voltage advantage here being that lighter gauge long wiring runs can be used.
Though somewhat slight, over time some efficiency is spent when stepping back down to 12v.
With LiFePo4 batteries, dreaded voltage sag is mostly inconsequential (throughout usable depth of discharge), often making their application ideal for both 12v and inverter supplied 120v loads - in this way LiFePo4 batteries may negate the advantage of a higher battery bank voltage…
Admittedly (having a truck camper…) this is just my own rational while still open minded, but would be most interested in hearing experiences from others!
3 tons
