I would like to build an RV electrical system with an Xantrex Freedom SW inverter/charger, 4 AGM Optima blue top batteries, an on board generator, and a solar array.
Can the Xantrex act as a solar battery charger? or do I need a separate charger to go from the solar array to the batteries?
Should I simply hook the solar charger, and the Xantrex directly to the batteries? Will there be any issues if both the Xantrex and the solar charger are actively trying to charge the batteries at the same time? Do they need to be isolated or integrated in any special way?
Any circuit layout suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Submitted
9 years 10 months ago
Comments
Chris,
The Xantrex does charge the batteries using either generator or shore power through its internal transfer switch. The PV modules will need to have their own charge controller and it connects to the house batteries directly. They will both have the ability to charge the house batteries simultaneously. The attached diagram shows how the components are connected.
If you have any follow-up questions feel free to add them here.
Adam,
That is exactly the diagram I was looking for.
Thanks!
In the diagram posted, does the charge controller protect the solar panels from the charge current coming from the inverter while the generator is running? If so, do all charge controllers prevent back feeding to the panels, or are there specific ones?
Thank you for your question. For this question, you should contact Xantrex, the manufacture, directly. Thanks again.
I am using a thunderbolt magnum, solar, 100 white system from Harbor freight and it won’t go over 12.6 V even when it is on boost which should take it to 14 V. I’m wondering if there’s some sort of protection going on from the xantrex. Maybe I need to have my RV inverter or charger button on at the same time to allow it