wiring the dc side of the inverter

im a little lost here. does the inverter dc wiring have to go directly to the battery bank or can it go to the mx60 output? and what size cable is required?
exteltech 1100
mx60
48 volt array
600 amp hour 12 volt bank
thanks guys

Comments

  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: wiring the dc side of the inverter

    Ideally, you create a central point where all of the DC cabling goes to... A Bus Bar.

    So, the battery connects to the bus bar. The MX60 connects to the bus bar through a fuse/breaker. The inverter connects to the bus bar through a fuse or breaker, etc...

    You could connect to the MX60, but it would cause issues. One, you have to make sure that the wiring from the battery/bus to the MX60 can also carry the inverter current.

    Also, you have to understand where to put the fuse/breaker(s)... For example, say you have a 60 amp MX60 and a 60 amp inverter. Put a 60 amp breaker to the battery connection. Now if the MX60 is running at full current (60 amps) plus the 60 amps available through the battery breaker, you now have 120 amps available to the inverter.... But because you only wired it for 60 amps, you now need another 60 amp breaker/fuse between the inverter and the MX60+Battery wiring...

    So, it is just easier for a whole bunch of reasons (usually) to create a "bus area" where all of your various DC appliances, chargers, inverters, and batteries all connect to a low resistance place than can safely manage all of the current available.

    The battery / bus bar is almost always picked for this point because the battery is typically the one device that can sink/source the most current--and has the heaviest wiring to support this. Everything else is typically fused/breaker-ed off of this one point to local loads/sinks (this can also be a DC Distribution panel with breakers/fuses).

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset