Can You Hook a Solar Panel Directly to a Battery?

Introduction

Setting up a solar system can be a daunting task and a huge financial commitment, but it comes with several benefits.

Connecting solar panels to your house can reduce your monthly utility bills and potentially earn cashback from government energy incentives and tariffs. 

Putting together a solar panel by yourself can be an arduous assignment, as there are a lot of components involved. Additionally, wiring for solar panels can cause a lot of confusion, especially among first-time solar panel buyers.

Most times, your solar provider will come out and do the necessary installations, saving you the headache of a DIY installation, which can often lead to panel damage. However, if you are keen on taking the DIY route, you might have pondered the idea of connecting your solar panel directly to a battery source to power your home appliances.

The following article will clear up any concerns you have in connecting a solar panel directly to a battery source and what to look out for before going ahead with it. Additionally, it will serve as a simple guide on how to properly connect your solar panels to a battery. 

A Charge Controller

In general, standard solar panels are only able to generate between 15 and 20 volts. Batteries, such as the lifepo4 12v battery, only require about 12 volts to fully charge it. This is where the problem starts. 

When you directly connect a solar panel to a battery that generates more volts than required, it can lead to long-term battery damage. Additionally, it can damage any appliances to which the battery is supplying power.

To avoid any potential damage, you would need to install a charge controller between the batteries and solar panels.

A charge controller minimizes the amount of electrical current that flows through to the battery. It ensures that the battery is not being overcharged, but is rather being supplied with the correct amount of energy.

It works similar to a valve on a hose, controlling the power that flows between the solar panel and battery.

If you want to avoid any damage to your batteries and appliances, then getting a charge controller is crucial. Knowing how to connect solar panels to a battery bank charge controller inverter will benefit you massively when it comes to at-home installations, especially if you’re not familiar with a wiring diagram.

Thankfully, Shop Solar Kits has a wide range of charge controllers that are suited for your electrical needs.

<">

Can You Not Use a Charge Controller

In short, you can connect your solar panel directly to a battery, but the heat produced through overcharging will result in long-term damage to your battery which will significantly reduce its lifespan.

In more serious cases, the battery will explode, and you will be left with more problems than a degraded battery.

A charge controller is the least expensive addition to your solar panel system, and it is a vital piece of equipment to ensure that your solar system is working at optimum efficiency.

How to Connect a Solar Panel to a Battery

The initial price for solar panel installation can cost a pretty penny, so wanting to connect the panel to your batteries will save you a ton of money in the long run.

There are a few tools that you need when connecting the solar panel system to a battery.

Required Materials

Let’s assume you already have the solar panel installed and you have a 12-volt battery that needs to be connected up to it.

Now that you know about the importance of charge controllers, make sure that you have one of your before setting up any wiring.

For the wires, you’re going to need 12-volt compatible ones. 12-gauge wires are exactly what you need, along with 12-gauge wire connectors.

Next, you are going to need MC4 solar adapter cables and solar extension cables if your solar panels are set up a far distance from where your battery is situated.

For a 12-volt battery, you are also going to need a 15-amp MC4 fuse, which will break the circuit if too much current is flowing through the wiring system. This is just a precaution and added safety – it is highly recommended.

You’re also going to want to get a fuse holder with a 20-amp blade fuse to ensure that the circuit cuts out if it experiences an overload. Lastly, you are going to need heat shrink tubing.

You can get all these materials from Shop Solar Kits. They also have an option on their website that allows you to select the best solar kit suited for your home. They also have exceptional customer service and would be more than willing to help with all your solar panel queries.

Tools Needed for the Job

You won’t need any fancy or high-powered tools to complete the job. The chances are all the required tools are lying in your garage toolbox.

Before you start make sure you have a set of screwdrivers, a wire stripper and crimper, a wire cutter, and a heat gun.

Once you have all these, we can start connecting our battery to our solar panel system.

Putting It Together

Making the Wiring

For the first step, grab your 12-volt battery cables and the fuse holder. Place the fuse into the fuse holder and connect it to one of the battery cables using your 12-gauge wire connector.

Place a piece of shrink tubing in the conjunction and blast it with your heat gun. This will cause the tubing to secure the connector in place. You are going to make two sets of these cables, one with a fuse and one without a fuse. This will function as your positive and negative wires.  

To make this next part easier, make sure you slip on a piece of shrink tubing to each battery cable. Next, you are going to want to crimp the battery terminals onto each battery cable and shrink tube them into place using the heat gun.

Make sure you use battery terminal connectors that are compatible with your battery terminals. If they are too small, they won’t be able to fit over your terminals.

And that’s it. You’ve completed the most tedious part and now you’re one step closer to setting up your battery to your solar panel.

Connecting the Battery to the Charge Controller

For this part, make sure you have the correct protective clothing since you are working with batteries.

When you purchase a charge controller, it will come with a list of instructions to connect it to your battery. We will be showing you the general way to hook up your charge controller to your battery.

Grab your negative battery cable (this is the cable without the fuse connected to it) and connect the exposed end to the negative slot on your charge controller.

Next, you are going to want to grab your positive battery cable (the one that has the fuse) and connect it to the positive slot on the charge controller.

Lastly, connect your battery cables to the battery terminals. Make sure you connect the negative first and then the positive cable. If they are connected correctly, your charge controller LED should light up.

That’s it for the battery and charge controller set up.

Connecting Your Solar Panel to the Charge Controller

If you have purchased a new solar panel system, it would have come with MC4 connectors. First, you are going to want to connect the MC4 inline fuse with the panel's positive cable.

If your panel has been installed a distance from your battery, then you are going to want to connect your positive extension cables to the solar panel and then to the MC4 adapter cable.

Now move on to the negative cable of the solar panel. Connect the negative extension cable if you need it, and then connect it to the adapter cable.

Your charge controller should come with instructions on how to connect it to your panel, but we will explain a generic setup.

Connect your negative solar cable to your charge controller, followed by the positive one. Your charge controller should light up to let you know that the solar panel is connected correctly. To disconnect your solar panel, remove the positive cable first and then the negative one.

There you have it. Your panel system is now connected to your battery.

The last thing you are going to want to do is to pop your solar panels in direct sunlight, preferably at a 45-degree angle, and let your battery charge up. Your charge controller will indicate to you that your battery is charging efficiently.

Once the battery has reached full power, your charge controller will stop it from charging any further, protecting it from overheating and overcharging.

Conclusion

The ins and outs of solar power systems can be confusing, especially as a first-time buyer. You might be hesitant to partake in a project like this by yourself, but I can assure you with this guide you are already a master at connecting your panel system to a battery.

While it is possible to skip the charge controller phase, I highly advise that you don’t. The small purchase can save you a ton of money in potential damages caused by overheating and exploding batteries.

If you haven’t made the sustainable purchase of a solar panel, hopefully, this article has steered you in the right direction. Producing free electricity, especially in this modern era, will save you a ton of money in the run.

Now that you know how to wire solar panels to the grid via a battery, why not make the sustainable choice and go solar.

The Ultimate Solar + Storage Blueprint (Mini Course)

Struggling to understand how solar + storage systems actually work? Looking to build or buy your own solar power system one day but not sure what you need? Just looking to learn more about solar, batteries and electricity?

Join 15,000+ solar enthusiasts breaking free from their energy dependence with this short step-by-step video course that will make you a solar + storage expert. Start your journey to energy independence today.

Learn More Now

Who is ShopSolar.com?

ShopSolar.com is the #1 digital platform that enables consumers & businesses to source and purchase complete solar + storage solutions direct, saving you thousands in time, energy and money! With over 40,000+ happy customers, we’re on a mission to make solar simple, transparent and affordable.

Did You Find Our Blog Helpful? Then Consider Checking:

• Solar Panels Series or Parallel
• How to Connect a Solar Panel to a Motor
• How to Calculate Solar Panel Battery and Inverter
• How Many Batteries Per Solar Panel?
• Two Charge Controllers One Solar Panel
• Batteries for Solar Panels
• How to Charge Multiple Batteries with One Solar Panel?
• How to Charge Lithium-Ion Battery with Solar Panel?
• What Size Solar Panel to Charge 12v Battery
• Do Solar Panels Drain Batteries at Night
• Leaving Solar Panels Disconnected
• Solar Panel Charge Controller Troubleshooting
• How to Test Solar Panels
• Installing Solar Panels on Roof
• What Happens to Unused Electricity Generated by Solar Panels