3. Installation
WARNING: DC INPUT NOT ISOLATED FROM BATTERY CIRCUIT
CAUTION: FOR PROPER TEMPERATURE COMPENSATION
THE AMBIENT CONDITION FOR CHARGER AND BATTERY MUST
BE WITHIN 5°C.
3.1. General
● Mount vertically on a non-flammable substrate, with the power terminals facing
downwards.
● Mount close to the battery, but never directly above the battery (in order to prevent
damage due to gassing of the battery).
● Improper internal temperature compensation (e.g. ambient condition battery and charger
not within 5°C) can lead to reduced battery lifetime.
● Battery installation must be done in accordance with the storage battery rules of the
Canadian Electrical Code, Part I.
● The battery connections (and for Tr version also PV connections) must guarded against
inadvertent contact (e.g. install in an enclosure).
3.2 Grounding
● Battery grounding configuration: the charger can be configured as a positive- or negative-
ground system.
Note: apply a single ground connection to prevent malfunctioning of the system.
● Chassis grounding: A separate earth path for the chassis ground is permitted because it is
isolated from the positive and negative terminal.
● NEC requires the use of an external ground fault protection device (GFPD). These MPPT
chargers do not have internal ground fault protection. The system electrical negative
should be bonded through a GFPD to earth ground at one (and only one) location.
● The charger must not be connected with grounded PV arrays.
WARNING: WHEN A GROUND FAULT IS INDICATED, BATTERY TERMINALS AND
CONNECTED CIRCUITS MAY BE UNGROUNDED AND HAZARDOUS.
3.3. PV configuration (also see the MPPT Excel sheet on our website)
● Provide means to disconnect all current-carrying conductors of a photovoltaic power
source from all other conductors in a building or other structure.
● A switch, circuit breaker, or other device, either ac or dc, shall not be installed in a
grounded conductor if operation of that switch, circuit breaker, or other device leaves the
grounded conductor in an ungrounded state while the system remains energyzed.
●
The controller will operate only if the PV voltage exceeds battery voltage (Vbat).
● PV voltage must exceed Vbat + 5V for the controller to start. Thereafter minimum PV
voltage is Vbat + 1V.
● Maximum open circuit PV voltage: 75V.
The controller can be used with any PV configuration that satisfies the three above
mentioned conditions.
For example:
12V battery and mono- or polycristalline panels
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