A Question about battery charging thru an Outback FX2524T

Flyingvranch
Flyingvranch Registered Users Posts: 2
in General Solar Power Topics #1
I am a little confused and need to ask a few basic questions about this inverter. If my battery bank gets too low I understand that the inverter will begin charging the bank via either a grid supply or generator. Is this correct? If I have this inverter connected to a grid supply on the "AC in" terminal, then will this supply the inverter to charge the battery? Also while this is happening (Charging from the grid) will the inverter continue to supply the downstream ac circuits also?

What I am trying to configure is a way to use my battery bank and inverter to supply some of the 110v loads in my building while keeping the bigger loads on the traditional grid supply. If my panels do not supply enough power on say cloudy days to keep the batteries charged then the inverter would kick in and charge the batteries via the AC in from the grid while still supplying the load circuits seamlessly. I hope that makes sense. In other words I will not have a generator to supply the batteries but will use the grid supply as one.

Thanks in advance for your help!
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  • vtmaps
    vtmaps Solar Expert Posts: 3,741 ✭✭✭✭
    #2
    Re: A Question about battery charging thru an Outback FX2524T
    Flyingvranch wrote: »
    If I have this inverter connected to a grid supply on the "AC in" terminal, then will this supply the inverter to charge the battery? Also while this is happening (Charging from the grid) will the inverter continue to supply the downstream ac circuits also?
    Welcome to the forum,

    When presented with AC the inverter stops inverting and becomes a battery charger. The AC (from grid or generator) is passed through the inverter to your AC distribution panel.
    Flyingvranch wrote: »
    What I am trying to configure is a way to use my battery bank and inverter to supply some of the 110v loads in my building while keeping the bigger loads on the traditional grid supply. If my panels do not supply enough power on say cloudy days to keep the batteries charged then the inverter would kick in and charge the batteries via the AC in from the grid while still supplying the load circuits seamlessly. I hope that makes sense. In other words I will not have a generator to supply the batteries but will use the grid supply as one.

    You will need some sort of battery monitor that can control the AC to the inverter/charger. What charge controller do you have? It may have an aux output that can control a relay to do what you want.

    More importantly, why do you want to do this? It takes more grid power to run your loads if you store that power in a battery. There are hybrid inverters that allow you to do grid-tie with battery backup.

    --vtMaps
    4 X 235watt Samsung, Midnite ePanel, Outback VFX3524 FM60 & mate, 4 Interstate L16, trimetric, Honda eu2000i
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  • Flyingvranch
    Flyingvranch Registered Users Posts: 2
    #3
    Re: A Question about battery charging thru an Outback FX2524T

    Thank you for the welcome!
    I am upgrading from a smaller system that I have been running for a couple of years. I have learned about battery capacity and care etc., during that time. Now i am getting ready to install a larger battery based system for several reasons, most of which have to do with security and independence and the fact that I just plain enjoy tinkering with my solar setup also.

    I suppose a better way of stating my question is I basically want to know if on that rare occasion that if my battery bank gets too low will the inverter charge it from the grid and still supply power to the downstream ac loads while in the charging mode?

    Thanks again for your help!
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