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Basic Solar Setup (About Polarized Circuit Breakers)

bbazor

New Member
Joined
May 30, 2022
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I have an electronics background, but new at solar. I want to do a small starter solar setup. Please see the attached sketch. My question is, if I use polarized DC breakers, is the diagram correct? My plan was to use them as disconnects/protection for the panel to SCC, SCC to battery, and battery to Inverter. The only markings on the breakers is a + sign on one terminal (top left corner) of the breakersBasic Solar Setup.jpg. There is no other marking. From what I understand, I should connect the + terminal of the breaker to the supply side positive for each device. I realize the danger of incorrectly connecting a polarized Circuit Breaker so I want to double check before proceeding. Is that correct?
 
My main concern is the SCC to Battery connection. The solar panel to SCC should be correct because the + side of the CB is connected to the panel (power source). The inverter should be correct because it the + side of the CB is connector is connected to the battery (power source). I am not sure about the SCC to battery because they are both power sources. Any input?
 
You're right with your analyze.

I would put it with the + on the battery side as the SCC is inherently current limited (both by design and because panels themselves are current limited) but the battery could dump kA in the SCC if it goes shorted for some reason. It's also far more probable for the SCC to fail shorted than the battery.
 
I read some quite a few posts since I created this post. That seems to be the consensus and it does make sense. I noticed that some of the experts on this forum had different opinions on the direction between the PV and SCC, but all agreed on the SCC/battery side. I did find a video that says to hook up the +(Line) side to the battery for the SCC/Battery side, and to the PV on the PV/SCC side. My initial concern was on the battery side. However, more people seem to disagree on the SCC/PV side. Anyway, I will go with the expert that is an Engineer for the circuit breaker manufacturer. Thank you for your input.
 
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