APPENDIX C BATTERIES
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Battery Bank Sizing
Just as important as the type of battery selected for use with your PROsine
Inverter•Charger is the battery size or capacity. The batteries are the most
important part of your system, so Xantrex recommends that you purchase as
much battery capacity as possible. A large battery will extend running time
and ensure that your inverter•charger delivers full rated surge. Your
inverter•charger can be configured to work with batteries from 50Ah (120
reserve minutes) to 2000Ah (4800 reserve minutes).
A number of different standards are used to rate battery energy storage
capacity. Automotive and marine starting batteries are normally rated in
cranking amps. This is not a relevant rating for continuous loads like an
inverter. Deep-cycle batteries use a more suitable rating system, either “amp-
hours” (“Ah”) or “reserve capacity” in minutes. Battery reserve capacity is a
measure of how long a battery can deliver a certain amount of current—
usually 25 amps. For example, a battery with a reserve capacity of 180
minutes can deliver 25 amps for 180 minutes before it is completely
discharged. Amp-hour capacity is a measure of how many amps a battery can
deliver for a specified length of time—usually 20 hours. For example, a
typical marine or RV battery rated for 100Ah can deliver 5 amps for 20 hours
(5A x 20 hours = 100Ah). This same battery can deliver a higher or lower
current for less or more time, limited approximately by the 100Ah figure (e.g.
50A for 2 hours, or 200A for 1/2 hour), but usually the capacity figure given is
only accurate at the specified rate (20 hours).
The minimum battery size you can use with the PROsine Inverter•Charger is
50Ah. However, you can expect performance to suffer with such a small
battery. Even if your battery is in excellent shape and is fully charged, you will
likely experience poor surge power performance and unsatisfactory operating
time with anything but a small AC load. Xantrex recommends a minimum
battery size of 200Ah for moderate loads (<1000W) and greater than
400Ah for heavy loads.
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