Is there a way? 24v battery bank and two 12v inverters?

tom-from-texas
tom-from-texas Registered Users Posts: 3
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
I would like the advantage of a 24v battery bank (smaller wire, less charger controllers) but already own two 12v inverters.

Can I wire the four 6v Golf cart batteries in series and then pull 12v off the first two to feed an inverter and 12v off the second two to feed a second inverter?

If not, what other options are there as I increase the size of my system? I know I could keep a small 12v system and then build a new larger 24v system; that is the classic solution.
· Share on Twitter

Comments

  • westbranch
    westbranch Solar Expert Posts: 5,183 ✭✭✭✭
    #2
    Re: Is there a way? 24v battery bank and two 12v inverters?

    Don't side tap your batteries they will die a premature death...sell the 2 12V inverters and buy 1 24v inverter.

    what CC and panels wattage do you have to charge you bank of ~ 450Ah at 24V?
     
    KID #51B  4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
    CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM 
    Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
    2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
    Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
    West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
    · Share on Twitter
  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: Is there a way? 24v battery bank and two 12v inverters?

    Welcome to the forum.

    Yes, you could do it. But it won't work very well. That's because the load draw on the two halves of the 24 Volt bank will never be equal. So with them discharging unevenly they will also recharge unevenly. You'd would have to do a lot of battery management to keep one half from 'aging' well before the other.

    You could divide the array in two and have two separate 12 Volt systems. You'd need another charge controller, and you may run into problems if the number of panels isn't divisible by 2. Wire sizing and circuit protection will need to be double-checked.

    You could sell the two 12 Volt inverters and buy one 24 Volt inverter. Quite likely the easiest route and the one that will give you the best performance results.
    · Share on Twitter
  • tom-from-texas
    tom-from-texas Registered Users Posts: 3
    #4
    Re: Is there a way? 24v battery bank and two 12v inverters?
    westbranch wrote: »
    Don't side tap your batteries they will die a premature death...sell the 2 12V inverters and buy 1 24v inverter.

    what CC and panels wattage do you have to charge you bank of ~ 450Ah at 24V?

    Thanks for the quick answer. I will start a new thread to discuss the details of my system and get recommendations.
    I will keep this one open for general comments and thoughts about running the two 12v inverters from a 24v bank.
    I am sure I am not the first beginner that has thought of this as they were upgrading.
    · Share on Twitter
  • bill von novak
    bill von novak Solar Expert Posts: 891 ✭✭✭✭
    #5
    Re: Is there a way? 24v battery bank and two 12v inverters?
    tom-from-texas wrote: »
    Can I wire the four 6v Golf cart batteries in series and then pull 12v off the first two to feed an inverter and 12v off the second two to feed a second inverter?

    You can do that but you must use a balancer whose energy output exceeds the difference in energy used between the two inverters. Wind and Sun sells a 20 amp version of this. So if the _average_ current difference between the two inverters is less than 20 amps (~240 watts) then it could work.
    · Share on Twitter

Categories