BATTERY STATUS IN PARALLEL CONNECTION PLUS
BATTERY STATUS IN PARALLEL CONNECTION SERIES

Proper installation is primarily a matter of sizing a cable to match its task, using the correct tools to attach terminals, and providing adequate over-current protection with fuses and circuit breakers.Ĭable sizing is simple enough. Unfortunately, the most common installation error is to under-size cables to the load/s or from the recharge sources. What ties each of these together are the cables to supply the power to run to or from the batteries or DC distribution. In an independent power system, you generally would find an inverter and battery charger system working for the common goal of providing power. This type of arrangement shown is a 24v, 240Ah bank.

BATTERY STATUS IN PARALLEL CONNECTION PLUS

The battery should then be cross-wired to the system using the plus pole of the first and minus pole of the last battery.

BATTERY STATUS IN PARALLEL CONNECTION SERIES

Series/Parallel ConnectionĪ combination of series and parallel connections is required if you need for example a 24 Volt battery set with a higher capacity. This type of arrangement is used to increase capacity (in this case 12v 240Ah). The plus of the first battery and the minus of the last battery are then connected to the system. Parallel coupling involves connecting the plus poles of multiple batteries to each other and the same with the minus poles. This type of arrangement shown is a 24v, 120Ah bank. The plus pole of each battery is connected to the minus pole of the following one, with the minus pole of the first battery and plus pole of the last battery connected to the system.

Series Connectionīatteries are coupled in series to gain higher voltage, for instance 24 or even 48 Volt. If you have a large battery charger or inverter you want to make sure that the cables are capable of carrying the potentially large currents that are generated or consumed by these pieces of equipment, as well as all your other loads. The main system cables and the cables joining the batteries together should be of sufficient size (diameter) to handle the total system current. This ensures the whole battery bank is charged and discharged equally, providing optimal performance. These main system cables that run to your DC distribution (loads) should be connected across the whole bank as illustrated in the diagrams above. More often than not, the system cables supplying the loads are connected to the first or “easiest” battery to get to in the bank, resulting in poor performance and service life.

Particular attention should also be paid to where the main system cables are connected to the battery bank. This links the batteries together with the same amount of cable resistance, ensuring that all batteries in the system are working equally together. As you can see in the diagrams above, all the short cables connecting the batteries together are the same length and all the long cables are the same length. When connecting batteries in series or parallel or series/parallel the cables between each battery should be of equal length.

Cables that are too small or unnecessarily long will result in power loss and increased resistance. Choosing the correct size (diameter) and length of cable is important for overall efficiency. The cables that join your batteries together play an important part in the performance of your battery bank.

Battery status in parallel connection