Quote:
Originally Posted by mikegascon1
I am still at the thinking stage for solar. If I were to install a solar setup up, I would definitely want to install an inverter so my AC would work. How does that get wired in? To the power box under the shower? I assume they come with detailed instructions? I am not an electrical whiz bang and this is stumping me. I assume I am over thinking it and it is straight forward. Right?
Thanks
2007 3124
Vancouver, WA (close to Portland, OR)
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To address your original question:
Technically, the inverter is totally separate from the solar. All the solar does is "CHARGE" the batteries, that's IT.... nothing magic here.... just an expensive battery charger.. All the "inverter" does is convert your 12V DC battery power to 110V AC (until the battery goes to low voltage) Lots of magic going on there...
It's just the solar panel's job to keep the batteries from going to low voltage.
The amperage draw from the 12V battery to the 110V inverter is approximately 10x the demand from the appliance. In other words, a 10A appliance is run off of the inverter, the inverter will pull (approximately) 100A from your 12V battery (which is hopefully, actually at 13.2V or higher). This is an important and easy formula to keep in mind when thinking about running your 110V appliances on your inverter.
Knowing all this, helps you understand why the inverter MUST be installed as close as possible to the batteries. The cables from the batteries to the inverter must be large enough to handle 10x the load that the appliance itself is demanding. I used the 16" long, 2G wire from my 225AH batteries to my 2000W inverter (the cables came with the Powall inverter). I placed a 300A inline circuit breaker near the battery positive terminal to avoid problems from a short. DO NOT switch the circuit breaker to the "ON" position until both cables are connected. The negative cable can go straight from the inverter to the negative terminal on the battery. If you select a larger inverter, larger cables and circuit breaker must be used if you are going to have a larger load. The largest load that I have is a 900W (approx 10A) microwave oven.
Having said all that, now that your inverter is all ready to go, there are a few ways to get the 110V current from your inverter to your appliances. Some people simply run a 12G extension cord from the inverter to the appliance and forgo the complications of wiring it through the trailer's wiring all together. This is actually easy and very efficient. It may be the best way to go until you've done a couple trips to see how everything goes.
Other people simply plug the trailers 30A power cord directly into the inverter, thereby powering up everything in the trailer. However, if doing that, one should disable the campers "converter" or you will have the converter trying to charge the battery from the inverter which is quite inefficient. The Air Conditioner breaker should also be switched off.
Another way is to run romex (or other 14G stranded wire) from the inverter to the bus bar in the power panel of the converter. Again, the converter and A/C must be bypassed.
I chose to stay away from the converter altogether. I installed 3-dedicated 110V outlets in our trailer. One is located on the back of the bathroom wall, in the hallway. The 2nd is on top of the counter, next to the stove-top (next to the existing 110 outlet). The third is next to the existing outlets by the refrigerator. Each outlet is labeled "inverter" to avoid confusion. Running the 110V wiring through cabinets is pretty straight forward. I originally used 14G romex to run to the outlets but I just bought 3, 20' long 12G extension cords to replace the romex wiring for wiring my outlets. I didn't feel comfortable with the romex (that's just me).
By the way, I am quite impressed with the Powall 2000W pure sine wave inverter. I also purchased the remote control so that I could see the power reading (both 12V and 110V) from inside the trailer and I can turn the (very silent) inverter on/off from inside. Although, I now just leave it on as it draws about nearly 0W when at idle (as you can see in the second picture).