Xantrex RV Series Inverter/Charger Owner’s Manual

Battery Hookup Configurations

Battery banks of substantial size are generally created by connecting several smaller batteries together. There are three ways to do this. Batteries can be connected in parallel, series, or series- parallel.

Parallel Connection

Batteries are connected in parallel when all the positive terminals of a group of batteries are connected and then, separately, all the negative terminals are connected. In a parallel configuration, the battery bank has the same voltage as a single battery, but an amp-hour rating equal to the sum of the individual batteries. This is usually only done with 12-volt battery-inverter systems.

EACH BATTERY

CAPACITY:

100 AMP HOURS

@ 12 VDC

+

+

+

+

+

12 V

12 V

12 V

12 V

12 V INVERTER

TOTAL BATTERY BANK CAPACITY:

400 AMP HOURS

@ 12 VDC

Series Connection

When batteries are connected with the positive terminal of one to the negative terminal of the next, they are connected in series. In a series configuration, the battery bank has the same amp- hour rating of a single battery, but an overall voltage equal to the sum of the individual batteries. This is common with 24-volt or higher battery-inverter systems.

EACH BATTERY

CAPACITY:

200 AMP HOURS

@ 6 VDC

+

+

+

+

+

6 V

6 V

6 V

6 V

24 V INVERTER

TOTAL BATTERY BANK CAPACITY:

200 AMP HOURS

@ 24 VDC

Series-Parallel Connection

As the name implies, both of the above techniques are used in combination. The result is an increase in both the voltage and the capacity of the total battery bank. This is done very often to make a larger, higher voltage battery bank out of several smaller, lower voltage batteries. This is common with all battery-inverter system voltages.

EACH BATTERY

CAPACITY:

200 AMP HOURS

@ 6 VDC

+

+

+

+

+

6 V

6 V

6 V

6 V

12 V INVERTER

TOTAL BATTERY BANK CAPACITY:

400 AMP HOURS

@ 12 VDC

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