Interaction Between Victron Inverter, Solar Charge Controller, and Alternator

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cc5084 asked Apr 22, '24

Interaction Between Victron Inverter, Solar Charge Controller, and Alternator

I am looking to have a system with 5 auxiliary 100Ah relion batteries hooked up with solar panels, a 3000W multiplus inverter/charger, and the vehicle alternator (rated at about 265A). Basically, the batteries will charge via the mppt solar controller as long as there is sufficient light on the panels, as well as via the alternator when the truck is running. There will be DC and AC loads applied at any given point during the charging/discharging throughout the day.

So, my question is, will there be any unintended interference between all 3 of these systems? Meaning, when the alternator is charging the battery, will the solar charge controller get thrown off in how its trying to charge the battery? Or any other kind of scenario like shore power being plugged in. I just want to make sure that the victron components won't be affected by a back feed of any type when multiple output/inputs are connected to the batteries.

battery charging MPPT SmartSolar alternator

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Answer 1 · 2024-04-22T12:05:29Z

pwfarnell answered · Apr 22 at 12:05 PM

They work together, my boat is similar, the solar charge voltage is set a little higher than the inverter charge voltage so shore power for DC charging does not stop free solar. The same for the alternator. If you have a Victron shunt and Venus device like a Cerbo or Ekrano then you can share the battery voltage from the shunt with the other Victron devices which makes this hierarchy of charge voltages work better.

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kevgermany ♦♦ commented · Apr 22 at 03:26 PM

@cc5084

To add to the reply.

Don't charge direct from the alternator. Use Orion DC:DC charger(s) for this.

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cc5084 commented · Apr 22 at 03:35 PM

With the components that I mentioned above, are you familiar with what the hierarchy of charging should be? And if possible, how does it all work and interact with each other to know what is best for the battery?

Additionally, the alternator is a ford alternator, so it should be "smart" enough to and safe for lithium battery charging.

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pwfarnell cc5084 commented · Apr 22 at 04:44 PM

The alternator isvthe only one you can not change but if you charge throufh on Orion DC to DC charger then you can also change that. Then the choice comes down to what you want. I am either connected to shore in the marina or out cruising off grid. So I make sure my solar voltage is highest because that is now free electric.

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cc5084 pwfarnell commented · Apr 22 at 06:03 PM

Thank you for the help, I am starting to understand this a little better now. One additional question I have from that now. How do I set this hierarchy? Is it just whichever component has the highest voltage output to charge the batteries will take precedence? Or is there something I can program like in the cerbo, for instance, to control this?

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pwfarnell cc5084 commented · Apr 22 at 09:05 PM

On mine I just programmed a slightly higher voltage on the MPPT than on the Multiplus and alternator using expert settings on the MPPT rather than a battery preset. The Multiplus now comes with a feature called wind and solar priority, this came after I set my system up so I have not looked into it but for a new system it would be worth reading up on.

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