Idle power usage from PIP2424 uses 1.2kw/day!

not2bme

not2bme

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Joined
Oct 16, 2017
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517
Still in the building stages, and I just can't help to realize how much bigger my battery pack has to be. I have a PIP-2424LV and it idles around 40-50w. That doesn't sound like much but over 24hours it will use up to 1.2kw of power! I'm noticing this a lot because I'm still building my pack and currently just testing on two 12v car batteries that I have laying around. Just idling will drain my batteries in a short amount of time! Even with my initial 18650 pack that I'm building, a 3kw pack now seems inadequate, considering probably 16-18 hours of the day will be running on batteries keeping the inverter alive for a total of over 800w of lost battery capacity.

Are other inverters less power hungry? I looked at the Outback FX2524 datasheet and is around 23w. That's better than the pip, but still uses 550w per day. Not griping about the PIP, as it's still much cheaper than the alternatives, but definitely something to think about if you're starting out with a small pack.... :s
 
Those inverters are probably more for people with a large amount of storage capacity, not someone just starting out with a small pack. The only thing I can think of is if you're not using the inverter at all, just switch it off. Mine constantly has a load on it and recharges every day, so I don't even bother looking at idle power consumption.
 
Unfortunately, you got what you paid for, One extra 190 watt panel is all that is needed :)
 
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