Installation - Victron energy SmartSolar MPPT 150/85 Series Manual

In case of thicker strands the contact area will be too small and the
resulting high contact resistance will cause severe overheating,
eventually resulting in fire.

3. Installation

3.1 General
● Mount vertically on a non-flammable surface, 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).
● Grounding: the heatsink of the controller should be connected
to the grounding point.
Tr models: use flexible multistranded copper cable for the battery and PV
connections: see safety instructions.
MC4 models: several splitter pairs will be needed to parallel the strings of
solar panels.
3.2 PV configuration
● The controllers 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: 150V.
The controllers can be used with any PV configuration that satisfies the three
above mentioned conditions.
For example:
24V battery and mono- or polycristalline panels
● Minimum number of cells in series: 72 (2x 12V panel in series
or one 24V panel).
● Recommended number of cells for highest controller
efficiency: 144 cells (4x 12V panel or 2x 24V panel in series).
● Maximum: 216 cells (6x 12V or 3x 24V panel in series).
48V battery and mono- or polycristalline panels
● Minimum number of cells in series: 144
(4x 12V panel or 2x 24V panel in series).
● Maximum: 216 cells.
Remark: at low temperature the open circuit voltage of a 216 cell solar array
may exceed 150V, depending on local conditions and cell specifications. In
that case the number of cells in series must be reduced.
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