I'm working on adding a solar panel setup to charge the battery for the lights and winch in my race team's trailer. I've heard that it's not ideal to connect only the solar panel to the controller without a load. My main question is whether I need to include a cutout switch for the controller if I want to charge the battery with a traditional battery charger directly from shore power. I'm concerned that leaving the controller in the circuit during this process could damage it. I already have a circuit breaker panel in the trailer, so my plan is to install a breaker between the solar panel and the controller and another one between the controller and the load to disconnect the entire solar system when needed. Any advice?
2 Answers
You actually don’t need to worry too much—your solar controller should be fine if you're charging with a conventional charger as well. They’re designed to handle that kind of setup without getting damaged.
Systems like yours often run multiple charges without disconnecting anything. I can even switch on my generator to charge my batteries through the inverter’s DC charger while still having the solar setup plugged in, and it works great!
So I guess I might not even need to add a cutout for the panel, just remember to unplug the panel before messing with any loads?