Hooking All In One Solar Unit into RV power center

[Whitemystery]

I have been searching and searching for a video or thread that would give an example of hooking up an All In One Solar Unit (like Growatt or MPP both offer) to an existing standard RV panel/power center.
This would be like your standard Magnatek, WFCO, Progressive Dynamics board you find built into any manufactured RV.

I can’t seem to find anything that actually shows how they tied the All In One back to the main Power center so it could charge batteries from Solar or Shore Power. So it could convert shore power to the 12v loads. So it can automatically switch between charging the batteries from Solar or Shore Power based on conditions. So it can do all of the things that an All in One is supposed to do!

What I’m really looking for is simply a proof of concept before I begin ordering supplies. If you know of any helpful videos or threads about this subject, or even if you can confirm that you have actually done this yourself, I would be most appreciative!

I am building out an enclosed cargo trailer from scratch and I’m looking to order my primary power center/converter first that will allow me to hook up to shore power and power 12v DC loads and also charge batteries (like a standard RV) before I save up to add Solar later on.

Here is one RV power center I’m actually considering in case you need a visual:
Boondocker 75a converter

I’m thinking this makes a lot of sense as a starting point because it’s designed for vehicles in motion requiring shore power hookups. It serves as both the AC circuit breaker panel and the DC fuse block. It will charge the 12v DC battery I’ll be starting out with. It also seems really economical at under $300 considering all of the roles it plays on its own.

I just want to know that there are no major pitfalls to being able to add an All in One Solar unit to this type of panel in the future.
Or unexpected major components I’ll need to add in order to do so.
Or if anyone can convince me that it’s actually much better to buy all of the individual components for a 30a 120v AC panel, plus the necessary 12v DC components and wire them all together!

I appreciate any guidance or affirmations you can offer!

Cheers,
Aaron

 

[Bobert]

I use a powmr 3500 watt AIO in my travel trailer. It is a 48 volt unit so I set it up as a internally mounted solar generator. The wire from my shore power inlet on the rv goes directly to my AIO ac input and the ac output of the AIO goes to the original circuit breaker and fuse panel box in the rv. I have an upgraded converter/charger that charges an additional 12 volt lifepo4 battery whenever ac power is present. I reduced the potential losses of inverting and converting by adding a single dedicated solar panel to the 12volt battery so that much of the time the converter/charger is simply turned off. I like the redundancy this gives me in keeping the essential 12volt system operating.
Many people go the route of using a dc to dc converter to supply the 12 volt loads and generally that works great and is slightly more efficient. I prefer the way I did it because in the event of a dead AIO or the eventual time consuming upgrade of it’s battery bank I wanted to have a shore power setup that could function independently of the AIO and the ability to still have the essential 12v system operational even if the AIO batteries are exhausted.

 

[Bobert]

I have been searching and searching for a video or thread that would give an example of hooking up an All In One Solar Unit (like Growatt or MPP both offer) to an existing standard RV panel/power center.
This would be like your standard Magnatek, WFCO, Progressive Dynamics board you find built into any manufactured RV.

I can’t seem to find anything that actually shows how they tied the All In One back to the main Power center so it could charge batteries from Solar or Shore Power. So it could convert shore power to the 12v loads. So it can automatically switch between charging the batteries from Solar or Shore Power based on conditions. So it can do all of the things that an All in One is supposed to do!

What I’m really looking for is simply a proof of concept before I begin ordering supplies. If you know of any helpful videos or threads about this subject, or even if you can confirm that you have actually done this yourself, I would be most appreciative!

I am building out an enclosed cargo trailer from scratch and I’m looking to order my primary power center/converter first that will allow me to hook up to shore power and power 12v DC loads and also charge batteries (like a standard RV) before I save up to add Solar later on.

Here is one RV power center I’m actually considering in case you need a visual:
Boondocker 75a converter

I’m thinking this makes a lot of sense as a starting point because it’s designed for vehicles in motion requiring shore power hookups. It serves as both the AC circuit breaker panel and the DC fuse block. It will charge the 12v DC battery I’ll be starting out with. It also seems really economical at under $300 considering all of the roles it plays on its own.

I just want to know that there are no major pitfalls to being able to add an All in One Solar unit to this type of panel in the future.
Or unexpected major components I’ll need to add in order to do so.
Or if anyone can convince me that it’s actually much better to buy all of the individual components for a 30a 120v AC panel, plus the necessary 12v DC components and wire them all together!

I appreciate any guidance or affirmations you can offer!

Cheers,
Aaron

Those with a more robust budget and more available space than I have usually go with a modular system for an rv especially if the intend to moochdock a lot. I thought you might find this thread helpful as it explains one of the largest drawbacks to using a AIO in an rv application the issues related to using a generator in conjunction with an AIO. https://diysolarforum.com/threads/the-challenges-of-using-a-generator-on-an-all-in-one-system.34845/

Also I did a review on the AIO that I am using and covered some of the work arounds that I use to make this system work for me. You probably won’t use this unit but they are all similar in principle of operation and my review is from the viewpoint of using an AIO in an rv application.

PowMr 48 volt 3500 watt hybrid inverter review

I initially wrote this review for Amazon but never posted it. I thought those who were considering purchasing this might find this review helpful. This review is probably a bit more basic than necessary for this audience so much of what I mention you probably already know and You may want...

diysolarforum.com

I hope these help you to make an informed design decision.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

How old is your camper?

Anyway, with an AIO you don’t need the power center anymore, just disconnect it. It’s a power hog.

You feed the aio with the shorepower cord, and feed a breaker panel with the aio. When shorepower is not available it runs on battery power, when on shorepower it provides AC pass through and battery charging.

There is a grounding issue to solve for- or not if it is made to not create the ground loop or ungrounded problem- but it’s that simple. I essentially have my shorepower cord plugged in to an inverter and have for 4+ years, offgrid.

 

[Bobert]

I have a 2000 Keystone Springdale. I’m not sure what you mean by a power center but it came with a circuit panel / 12 volt fuse box combo. At the bottom of the “combo” is a converter charger that I upgraded before I even considered solar because the old charger was single stage and didn’t charge any kind of battery very well or very fast. It just so happens that this converter charger is adjustable and will work with lifepo4 batteries. I don’t generally have the converter turned on since the 100ah Lifepo4 battery that runs my 12v electrical system has it’s own solar panel. I can’t directly power the 12v from my AIO batteries as it is a 48 volt unit. I do have a 48v to 12 volt converter on hand just in case Of emergency but I can’t replace the “house” battery with it as the electric motor that runs my hydraulics for the slide outs has a hefty amp draw. The converter/charger was noticeably inefficient before I swapped my fla batteries with the Lifepo4 but once I eliminated the faradaic efficiency loss of the fla battery the inefficiency of the converter/charger is not significant enough to actually affect the way we camp.

 

[John Frum]

I’m not sure what you mean by a power center but it came with a circuit panel / 12 volt fuse box combo.

Power center is just another name for ac/dc distribution center.

 

[Bobert]

Power center is just another name for ac/dc distribution center.

That’s what I was thinking but I don’t know how you could eliminate it with an AIO. He must’ve been referring to the converter/charger.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

That’s what I was thinking but I don’t know how you could eliminate it with an AIO. He must’ve been referring to the converter/charger.

That’s why I asked how old- newer stuff is usually different.

And yes, I would bypass the converter / charger and power from your solar equipment instead.
A 100W solar panel would probably be enough to keep up the 12V house battery and I’d do that

 

[Lt.Dan]

I did it in my Momentum, originally with just 1x LV6548, then added a second one. Check the link in my sig.