Fuse and Solar Panels
Fuse And Solar Panels
Using a fuse to prevent a short circuit when connecting solar panel to battery
electronics | solarIt is essential to
fuse the wiring between a
solar panel set up and the
battery bank for safety.
Why Use a Fuse
With the positive and negative cables securely fastened to the
battery terminals, and the solar panel outside and exposed to the elements, any cable
connection failure is most likely to happen near the solar panel rather than at the battery. Should the end of the negative cable touch any exposed metal of the positive cable (or visa versa), a
short circuit will occur. Huge amounts of electric current will flow potentially causing
sparks,
melting the cable, and/or even causing the battery to
explode.
With an appropriately rated
fuse fitted in the postive cable as
near to the battery as possible
, any
short circuit will be over within a split second before any serious
damage can be done. The fuse chosen should be rated at approximately 120%
of the absolute maximum output current rating of the solar panels to ensure it will immediately blow in short circuit conditions, but will never blow in normal operation.
Automotive
fuse holders and
blade fuses (as pictured above) are excellent for this purpose as the fuses are easily accessible if they need changing, and it is visually obvious if a fuse has blown. Blade fuses are available in many different current ratings, each being a different (standard) colour. For smaller
solar systems (slightly cheaper) cylindrical fuses and fuse holders can also be used.
Buy Fuses and Fuse Holders
Have a look in the
REUK Shop for a selection of
fuse holders and
fuses. Pictured above is a
20 Amp Fuse Holder with built in LED indicator. The LED lights up when the fuse has blown. We also have a
5 Amp In-Line Fuseholder supplied with 1A, 2.5A, and 5A 20mm clear glass
fuses for smaller systems
Article Last Modified: 14:16, 19th Aug 2008Comment on this Article
If you have any comments on this article, please email them to
neil@reuk.co.uk.
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