Samlex 24v 2kw inverter install
New 24v inverter is in and working fine. Here's the 24v side with my Outback60 solar controller wires attached. The inverter sits on top of the battery compartment. It's not secured yet so it'...
Forum Discussion
pianotuna wrote:Good question.
What was the rationale for going to 24 volts?
6 batteries are nice but, my solar never gets them completely charged. I reasoned that I may be better off having 4 charged batteries...and that's better for the batteries. Also, when running high-draw appliances (including my air con!) I noticed a couple battery terminals getting pretty warm. Given my interconnect wire size of 1/0, that seemed strange to me. The 4/0 (to the inverter) was fine, but I had no desire to change my interconnects to 4/0. It's just too hard to work with.
A 24v system immediately came to mind - solves a lot of problems (but creates a few too - like.. where do I get 12v?). It was easy to find a decent 24v PSW inverter, and given that my Outback solar charger will charge at 24v, I decided to give it a go. Heck, nobody else is doing it so I'll be a test case.
I am hoping that a 24v system will be more efficient - that's the usual result of going with higher voltage. My series solar has worked out just fine. Nothing heats up there, even with #10 from the roof. Being able to use wire 1/2 the size of a 12v system is appealing to me. After all, when wires and battery terminals heat up, that's wasted energy.
Hope that answers your query.
