Battery Wiring Configuration

Batteries need to be configured to obtain the desired voltage and amp-hours. For instance, to achieve a 12V/400 Ah battery bank, you would do the following:

Two separate six-volt batteries rated at 200 Ah each are wired in series to obtain 12V direct current and 200 Ah. Two of these series strings are wired in parallel to achieve 12V direct current and 400 Ah.

The following figures show examples of wiring configurations for 12V, 24V and 48V battery banks, respectively.

Note: To create an equal path length for electron flow through the batteries, you must wire into opposite sides of the battery bank keeping the cables equal length.

12-Volt Battery Configurations

 

24-Volt Battery Configurations

 

Source: “PHOTOVOLTAICS - Design and Installation Manual” by Solar Energy International.

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