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diy solar

Do charge controllers need to be connected directly to battery?

BradP

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Jun 29, 2020
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I'm upgrading my travel trailer to include a Renogy 2000w inverter/charger among other things for dry camping. The converter will be removed of course but currently connects directly to the main DC power panel in the middle of the trailer. When on shore power it provides power to the DC side of things as well as charges the battery down the line. Most of this you all know already, but I have some questions.

The system uses a chassis ground path back to the battery. My solar charge controller that was installed by the dealer runs positive and negative all the way back to the battery on the tongue.

1) Is this done this way to prevent the system drawing power directly from the charge controller? In other words, does where you connect your charger matter?
2) What would happen if the charge controller was connected to the same location as the VCC from the converter?
3) Could the charger use the chassis ground path instead of running the second negative wire and still function the same?

Thanks in advance!

Brad
 
Best to mount the controller close to the battery for best voltage control. The long distance described might already be an issue.

Electrically it is all the same. Power will always come from the highest voltage source first and that is probably the controller if the sun is shining. Of course if the load exceeds the available power from the controller the battery or another source will start feeding the load.

Wire or chassis connection is electrically the same. Although chassis connections are sometimes exposed to the elements that can degrade the connection.

I believe the primary reason to wire direct to the battery is to bypass any disconnect switches. Some controllers do not like being disconnected from the battery when solar power is connected. This is easily forgotten if the controller and connection is made in another location.
 
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