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Xantrex RV Series Inverter/Charger Owner’s Manual
13
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.
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12V 12V 12V 12V
12 V INVERTER
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.
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6V 6V 6V 6V
24 V INVERTER
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.
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6V 6V 6V 6V
12 V INVERTER
EACH BATTERY
CAPACITY:
200 AMP HOURS
@ 6 VDC
TOTAL BATTERY
BANK CAPACITY:
400 AMP HOURS
@ 12 VDC
TOTAL BATTERY
BANK CAPACITY:
200 AMP HOURS
@ 24 VDC
TOTAL BATTERY
BANK CAPACITY:
400 AMP HOURS
@ 12 VDC
EACH BATTERY
CAPACITY:
200 AMP HOURS
@ 6 VDC
EACH BATTERY
CAPACITY:
100 AMP HOURS
@ 12 VDC