Connecting A Solar Panel To A Leisure Battery

Then you decide you want a roof mounted solar panel and a permanently wired second leisure battery.

Connecting a solar panel to a leisure battery.

Connecting two solar panels in parallel. Connecting a solar panel to a 12 volt battery is not a hard thing to do. You can set the desired voltage on the charge controller depending on the capacity of the battery. For us though the straw that broke the camel s back was the fitting of a hydraulic levelling system and the requirement for yet another pair of leads to connect to the battery.

Connecting a solar panel to your leisure battery may be as simple as attaching a couple of clips but some caravan and motorhome manufacturers provide specific adaptors so it s worth checking with your local dealer before you buy a new panel. The battery is connected to the battery terminals of the charge controller same like pv panel wiring i e. Connect the wires from the controller to the solar panel. Connect the negative wire of the solar panel to the negative terminal of the battery.

In this article i will explain how to connect a solar panel to a battery step by step. If both panels are rated at the same maximum voltage then you ll get maximum output. Solar panel converting dc electricity for charge or run ac device use inverter. Check the charge controller.

If it is the usual 12 volt battery set the controller to 13 8volts. To power a dual battery system you ll need to connect the panels in parallel. Provided the solar panel has a charge controller then connecting the positive terminals of leisure and vehicle batteries together with quite light wire 10 amp is more than enough will do the job. Connect the solar panel to the charge controller.

Positive terminal of battery is connected to the positive terminal of charge controller and vice versa for negative terminals. Connect the negatives to the negatives and positives to the positives. 3 step to charge battery with solar panel. The dc load light fan etc is directly connected to the charge controller and can be fed up by two power sources.

Connect the battery cable to the charge controller. By now it s getting tough to find room for all the cables. Match up the male and female connectors with the opposite ones coming away from the solar panel and snap the mc4 connectors into place. To wire the battery requires two further pairs of leads one quite heavy.

Connect battery to charge controller. I will also share a few tips you need to know along the way. Connecting charge controller to battery once the voltage has been stabilized by the charge controller it can now be channeled to the battery for storage. Bet it costs a whole lot more than a piece of wire and a fuse holder with fuse.