We all use batteries in typical day-to-day life. Whether it be in our remote control, watch, car, or RV, batteries are a part of our lives. Most of the time, we don’t need to think about the voltage of a battery. However, when working with DC power systems for RV’s boats or off-grid applications, a serious decision needs to be made between 12V vs 24V.
Please visit our website for more information on this topic.
This article will discuss 12V and 24V systems and the differences in 12V vs 24V batteries. Let’s get into it!
What are the differences between operating systems on 12V or 24V?Most cars, RVs, and boats utilize a 12-volt electrical system, although there are some exceptions. So, when are 12V vs 24V batteries used?
To understand more about batteries, we must first understand what volts or voltage is. Voltage is the amount of electrical pressure it takes to push an electrical current. Take a look at what volts are to get a better understanding of this concept.
Most vehicles use 12 volt systems and you will see it displayed as 12V12V tells us that the battery supplies 12 volts under a nominal load. The same principle holds for a 24V battery bank in that it provides 24 volts.
As we discussed before, most car and RV batteries are 12V.
12V batteries are used in most vehicles because the electrical components such as the starter, lighting, and ignition systems are designed to operate on 12 volts.
The 12-volt rating of a battery is the nominal voltage and it may be slightly higher or lower depending on the state of charge and loads.We sometimes use 24V battery systems in larger trucks and busses due to the vehicle’s higher power needs and long cable runs. You can also see 24V used in larger boats and some RVs with elaborate solar systems.
Another typical application for a 24V system is on trolling motors for fishing boats.
A 24V system is where you produce 24V under nominal load. There are a couple of ways to create a 24V power system. One way is to purchase a 24V battery. The other is to use two 12V batteries in series to create a 24V system. Let’s take a look at these options in a little more detail.
One way to create a 24V system is to use a 24V battery. 24V batteries are less common than their 12V counterpart and are harder to come by. 24V batteries are also relatively expensive.
A 24 Volt Battle Born BatteryHowever, they do take up less space than running other batteries in series. So, if space is a concern, a single 24V battery may be a better choice for you.
↳ Click here to check out our 12V and 24V Battle Born Batteries product specs.
The most common method for building a 24V system is to run batteries in series.
Running batteries in series means they have a single electrical path equal to the sum of the system’s volts. So, if you have two 12V batteries wired in series, then 2x12V=24V.
To create a 24V system using two 12V batteries, you would wire the first battery’s “+” positive terminal to the “-“negative terminal of the second battery. The remaining negative and positive connections get wired to the component you want to power just as you would if you were using a single battery. You can accomplish the same thing using four 6 volt batteries.
Connecting two 12 volt batteries in series provides 24 volts across both.To make this easier to digest, let’s look at something we are all familiar with, a flashlight. Many flashlights use batteries that are running in series. Suppose you have a large flashlight that uses four “C” size batteries.
When you install the batteries, they are in a single row with negative touching positive. This is a series circuit. Each of the “C” batteries is 1.5V. We learned earlier that when batteries run in series, then the output voltage is the sum. In this case, the flashlight runs off 6 volts.
Almost all batteries above 2 volts are made up of multiple cells connected in series. Even the 9 volt batteries used in your smoke detectors have multiple cells that you can see if you opened one up.When looking at 12V vs. 24V systems, there are some pros and cons to each system type. Let’s take a look at some of the pros of each.
As we talked about earlier in the article, 12V systems are relatively common. Most vehicles use 12V systems as components used in vehicles are designed to operate on 12V. The alternators generate 12V to charge the battery.
When it comes to RVs, most appliances such as RV refrigerators and all the lighting work on 12V as well. 12V systems only require one battery and work well for low-power applications and short wire runs.
12 volt systems are great for their simplicity and that most RV appliances work with them. Smaller solar systems are easy to hook up to them as well.24V systems are beneficial because you can use smaller diameter wire and reduce amperage by two times. Using smaller diameter wire can reduce wiring costs and decrease the space needed to run wiring. This is especially important where long wire runs are required.
But wait, how can you run a smaller wire with more voltage?
You can actually run a wire 2x smaller than an equivalent 12V circuit. This is because the higher voltage requires less current to produce the same power. Since we are running less current or amps, we can use a smaller wire. This is the same reason power is transmitted on power lines at very high voltages. The wires can be much, much smaller and carry lots more power!
When building out larger portable solar systems using higher voltages like 24 volts or 48 volts is very beneficial. This is Geo Astro RV’s setup with thousands of watts of solar.In addition to smaller wires, 24 volt systems operate more efficiently in motors and inverters. Often, the same solar charge controller operating on 24V vs 12V will handle twice the solar input.
As there are pros of 12V vs 24V systems, there are also cons to each type of system. Some of the pros of one system can become a con of the other.
12V systems require massive wires when pulling large loads because the current (amps) are higher. As we have already learned, 24V systems reduce the current or amps two times, then a downside of a 12V system is the amperage is double that of a 24V system at the same power.
At 12 Volts very big cables are needed for high power appliances like inverters, in this case, 2 cables are used to properly handle the current. If this were a 24-volt system only those cables would be needed.Because 12V batteries use two times the amperage at a given power draw, they are less efficient than a 24V battery due to resistive losses.
If you are using a 24V system in an application with 12V appliances, you will need a converter to reduce the voltage to 12V. The variety of components and devices that run on 24V are not as plentiful as what is available in 12V.
This is a 24 volt system installed in an RV and this extra piece of equipment is needed. This is a 24V to 12V DC-DC converter. While this works very well to provide stable voltage, it is an extra cost and incurs a 4% energy loss.Although you can charge a 12V battery with the alternator of a vehicle, you won’t be able to do that with a 24V system if the chassis is a 12V system. Additional DC-DC converters are needed to accomplish this task.
Now that we have learned a little about 12V vs. 24V systems, we need to understand when we should use one over the other.
When building a DC (direct current) battery system, it’s crucial to understand your power requirements to run the appliances you need. The energy that is consumed by a device is measured in watts. Once you know your wattage requirement, you can determine what system is required.
If your requirements are below 3000W, you can generally get by with a 12V system.
Many recommend 24V systems when your power needs are above 3000W or generating 3000W of solar or more. When you get to this point, the benefits of a 24V system outweigh the cons because you can run smaller and increase the system’s efficiency.
If your power consumption is even higher, above 6000W, you can benefit from an even larger DC system and consider stepping up to 48V.
Many DC MPPT solar charge controllers have higher voltage capabilities to handle higher panel voltages. They, however, have a hard current limit.
When using a 50 amp rated charge controller on a 12V battery bank, you can use the controller with 700 watts of solar. If you use that same charge controller on a 24V battery system, it can connect to 1400 watts of solar panels. This means that half the number of solar charge controllers is needed. They will also operate more efficiently at 24 volts.
These are the charge controllers that power a 4000 watt system at 24 volts. A 12 volt system would need twice as many.It isn’t always a clear-cut decision. There are many variables to consider when determining which one is the best choice.
Now that we understand these systems better, they are not as intimidating as we originally thought them to be. Whether you end up with a 12V or 24V system, you now understand the differences. You can assess your needs and make an educated decision.
Share this
You will get efficient and thoughtful service from ZHONGKANG.
In the early telecommunications room, 220V AC power was rectified to charge the, and the battery pack directly supplied power to the program-controlled switchboard. With the application of computer networks and communication networks in telecommunication equipment rooms, it is necessary to provide high-quality 220V AC power. Due to the existing 48V battery pack, the battery pack+inverter method is usually used to convert 48V DC into 220V AC power supply for network power supply. There are many disadvantages to this method.
1. the essential purpose of) is an uninterrupted power supply. When the city power grid meets the input range, it will supply power to the load through AC/DC and DC/AC dual conversion. When the city power grid exceeds the limit, the battery will power the bag. , When the UPS fails or is overloaded, the bypass power supply supplies power to the load. The UPS can be maintained online through the manual maintenance bypass switch during maintenance. With the battery pack + inverter power supply mode, when the battery pack fails and needs to be replaced, the system must be interrupted, which will cause considerable losses to the system. The uninterrupted use of UPS cannot be replaced by a battery pack + inverter.
2. The purpose of UPS is to realize the uninterrupted mutual switching of dual power sources, supply one-time backup time, voltage stabilization, frequency stabilization, isolation interference, etc. It can block the grid interference such as instantaneous discontinuity, harmonic interference, voltage fluctuation, frequency fluctuation, and surge before the load. Since the input DC bus and external battery pack of the UPS's inverter have no direct electrical connection with the user's original 48V communication power supply, there will be no conduction interference to the program control machine. In addition, to prevent external radiation interference, UPS usually adopts a steel plate frame structure, which eliminates radiation interference to other equipment while maintaining a beautiful appearance. RFI filters are used at its input and output ends to supply the load with purified AC power.
Regarding the 48V battery pack + inverter, the inverter power supply and the DC power supply used in the program-controlled computer room are the same battery pack. The inverter adopts a high-frequency pulse width modulation working method, and the back-irrigation noise interference will inevitably be serially connected to the input terminal of the program-controlled telephone, which will significantly affect the quality of the call.
3. Because the inverter is a fixed 48V power supply and the battery voltage is low when the output power requirement is more significant, the production process requirements of the power module are higher, so high-power inverters are challenging to realize. Currently, the largest inverter is about 15KVA. The DC voltage of the battery pack of the UPS itself can be as high as several hundred volts, so the power of a single unit can be immense.
4. Due to the small consumption of the 48V inverter power supply and the small scale of the manufacturer, its strength is brutal compared with UPS manufacturers. As a complete and independent power system, UPS has been produced worldwide for decades. The production scale is enormous, the technology is mature, and the reliability is high. In theory, its reliability index can reach hundreds of thousands of hours. The 48V inverter power supply is technically challenging to match.
5. To meet the needs of the rapid development of modern communication networks, UPS or inverters must have vital network management functions. LEUMSUPS provides users with 2 RS232 interfaces, one computer dry contact interface and 1 set of remote alarm relay contacts. Its complete network management software can adapt to different operating systems, can monitor 16 UPSs at the same time, and can watch more than 170 kinds of parameters. Its unique Life2000 remote monitoring software can keep your UPS under the supervision of professional engineers every day, ensuring you peace of mind. As for the 48V inverter, few manufacturers can provide such vital software functions due to the limitation of its production scale and scope of use.
6. Someone once pointed out that the disadvantage of UPS is that when the input voltage is too high or low, it turns to battery discharge. However, my country's power grid condition is usually poor, which will cause frequent battery discharge and shorten battery life. There is no need to consider this issue when using a 48V inverter. The powerful UPS manufacturers in the world today, such as LEUMS, have fully considered this problem in their design. LEUMSUPS, using advanced DSP control technology, has an ultra-wide input voltage range and can still output at full load within +25%, which significantly reduces the number of battery discharges. Its advanced intelligent battery management function makes its charger have tiny AC ripple, automatic temperature compensation of charging voltage, automatic payment of discharge end voltage with discharge time, automatic battery detection, battery life calculation and other functions, which extensively protect the battery, Which can extend battery life by 30%.
In summary, we believe that 48V inverters cannot reach the level of online UPS in terms of control technology, anti-interference, network management, power level, reliability, etc. Therefore, the online UPS should be the best choice in the telecommunications room.
Are you interested in learning more about 12V Mini UPS? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!