AN112

Airpax Dimensions, Inc. 4467 White Bear Parkway St. Paul, MN 55110-7626 (651) 653-7000 Fax (651) 653-7600

APPLICATION NOTE SERIES

NOVEMBER 2006

Describing the Inverter Support System Utility Vehicle

What is an Inverter Support System? An inverter Support System consists of all the equipment needed to supply DC power to the inverter. On a utility vehicle the support system will include some or all of the following: the auxiliary batteries, the engine alternators, and all cables, fuses, switches, and connections that tie everything together. To Determine the Type and Size of the Support System, Start First With the Loads -- What the Inverter Will Be Running and For How Long. For example, if the loads are hand-held power tools like hammer drills and grinders, then the power requirements are relatively small and the usage is short-term, i.e. the duty cycle is low. The support system may consist of the engine battery with one auxiliary deep-cycle battery, the existing engine alternator, and the necessary fuses and cables. With such intermittent power usage the batteries alone may be able to power the loads without running the vehicle engine and recharging them from the alternator. In contrast, if the loads are larger and more continuous in nature, such as lights for night work or bucket heaters, then the support system will probably require both a larger battery bank and a high output engine alternator. The batteries alone cannot supply long-term power to loads like these. Ultimately, the energy must come from the engine alternator, and the vehicle's engine will most likely need to be kept running. What System Voltage Do I Use? 12 VDC is by far the most common system voltage on utility vehicles. 95% of all inverter installations are 12 VDC. However, at this relatively low voltage, inverter support systems for continuous duty are limited to around 2,000 Watts. Remember, for every 100 Watts coming out of an inverter, about 10 Amps must be going in at 12 VDC. Thus, 2,000 Watts of loads equals about 200 Amps from the support system. Fortunately, 2,000 continuous Watts are satisfactory for most commercial utility vehicle applications (although larger inverters may be specified to handle higher surge or intermittent load demands). Also, the other support system components such as fusing, switching, cabling, connections and tooling, are readily available at this 200 Amp current. Some utility vehicle applications, however, require more than 2,000 Watts of continuous power. A 12 Volt inverter would then demand over 200 Amps of input current. Not only does this power level push the limits of 12 Volt inverter design, but support system components are also more costly and harder to find and install. For these higher power applications a 24 VDC system makes sense. Because 24 VDC is less common in service vehicles, however, some special equipment may need to be specified in these installations.

2006 Airpax Dimensions, Inc.

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ADDITIONAL BATTERY AND ALTERNATOR CAPACITY: (Small, intermittent loads) If loads are relatively small, and, especially if they are run for short periods of time, then we can size the battery bank to supply all the energy needed. We won't need to factor in the power supplied from the alternator, and, in fact, may not need to run the vehicle engine at all to operate the loads. As mentioned earlier, we must first determine the size and kind of loads to be run, as well as their duty cycles, before we can work backwards to specify the battery bank and other support system components. Example 1 (Small 12 Volt System with Short Term Loads): The loads consist of a hammer drill and a grinder, each run for about 1/2 hour at the job site. The drill's nameplate says it draws 3 Amps at 120 VAC, and the grinder's nameplate says 4 Amps. Because Watts = Amps x Volts, we see that the drill draws 360 Watts and the grinder draws 480, for a total of 840 Watts. Our rule of thumb for 12 Volt inverters is that every 100 Watts out requires 10 Amps in. So, the 840 Watts combined drill and grinder are pulling 84 Amps from the batteries. However, because the drill and grinder operate for only 1/2 hour, we use 1/2 of 84, or 42 Amp-Hours from the batteries. How much battery capacity is required for our application? Deep cycle battery capacity, in Amp-Hours or A-H, is usually given at the 20 hour rate the amount of current in Amps a battery can deliver for 20 hours. The following chart for a 100 A-H Battery shows that it can deliver 5 Amps for 20 hours (5 Amps x 20 hours = 100 A-H). Notice, however, if we draw higher currents from this battery, we get far less capacity. If the battery bank is undersized,

Rate of Discharge vs. Current 100 Amp-Hour Deep Cycle Battery Hours of Discharge Battery Current 20 5 10 9 8 11 6 14 5 16 3 23 2 30 1 50 If we run both the hammer drill and the grinder at the same time, we will be drawing about 84 Amps of current. A single 100 A-H deep cycle battery might be adequate for this application if we don't run the tools longer than 1/2 hour. However, two batteries in parallel would provide a greater safety margin For additional information on batteries, Refer to Application Note AN102. (Large, longer-term loads) If, on the other hand, loads are large, and especially if they have a long duty cycle, we cannot rely on the battery bank to supply the inverter's energy requirements. The vehicle's engine must be kept running so the alternator can help keep up with power use. In many cases the existing alternator is replaced or supplemented by a high-output, low speed alternator, designed to provide high 12 Volt current at engine idle. Refer to Application Note AN107 for details. Even with these special alternators, however, a large battery bank may be needed to supply the balance of 12 Volt current to the inverter. Example 2 (Large 12 Volt system): The loads consist of 1,000 Watts of quartzhalogen work lights, operated for 4 hours continuously, and a 3/4 hp air compressor with a nameplate rating of 12 Amps at 120 VAC, cycling for 15 minutes every hour for 4 hours. To run 1,000 Watts of lights, the inverter will pull 100 Amps from the batteries & alternator.

and would have a much longer service life.

it can greatly reduce the expected run time of the loads.

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Over a 4 hour period the lights use 400 A-H. In addition, the compressor uses 12Amp x 120V or 1,440 Watts of power, and the inverter would pull 144 Amps more from the batteries & alternator. However, because the compressor operates for only 15 minutes every hour, it will use a total of 144 A-H over the 4 hour period. Lights and compressor combined, therefore, will use 544 A-H. If the vehicle's alternator produces 50 Amps at idle, it can supply 200 of the 544 A-H needed over the 4 hour period. The batteries need to make up the difference of 344 A-H. The table at the bottom of the page shows different batteries which could be selected for this vehicle application. Example 3 (Large 24 Volt System): The load consists of an electrofusion machine (or heating irons) for joining plastic gas pipe. These devices require 3,000 Watts of pure sine wave power for one hour. Dimensions manufactures three models of 24 Volt pure sine wave inverters with outputs of 2,200, 3,200, and 4,400 Watts respectively. Unless additional loads will be added in the future, the 3,200 Watt unit would be the proper choice for this application.

The rule of thumb for 24 Volt systems is: every 100 Watts of load on the inverter requires 5 Amps from the support system. The 3000 Watt load thus demands 150 Amps from a 24VDC support system, (and 150 Amp-hours over its 1 hour duty cycle). Unless the vehicle comes outfitted for 24 Volts, however, a completely separate 24 Volt system, consisting of alternator, regulator, and battery pack, must be installed. If there is room on the engine, a separate 24 Volt alternator could be added, providing 130 Amps continuous output. Two 12 Volt batteries, group 27 or larger, would provide the additional 20 Amps required. Where there is room for only one alternator on the engine, an alternative system would include a special dual voltage alternator/ regulator system that can charge both the vehicle's 12 Volt battery and the 24 Volt inverter batteries. For details on this system refer to Application Note AN105.

Here is a chart of some battery sizes for our application. Note the capacity rating for different sizes.

BCI*grp Number GC2 5D 7D 27/31 4D 8D

Battery Voltage 6 6 6 12 12 12

BATTERY SPECIFICATION CHART Battery BCI Max Dimensions Amp/hrs L W 220 185 216 105 160 225 10-3/8 13-3/4 16-1/4 13 20-3/4 20-3/4 7-3/16 7-1/8 7-1/8 6-13/16 8-3/4 11-1/8

H 10-5/8 9-3/8 9-3/8 9-7/16 9-7/8 9-7/8

Weight (LBS) 70 60 70 70 100 150

*Battery Council International

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