FAQ: Systems

How will my alternator interact with my system?

Our systems are designed to work in conjunction with your vehicle’s alternator. You will not need to disconnect your solar system when charging your battery bank with an alternator. You can have both sources running at the same time. With lithium battery systems we occasionally install an alternator disconnect switch.

How will a generator interact with my system?

Our systems are designed to work in conjunction with a generator. You will not need to disconnect your solar system when using a generator to power AC loads or charging your battery bank. You can have both sources running at the same the time.

When do I need to turn off my solar?

The short answer is never when outside. A well-designed RV solar power system will have a charge controller that automatically detects when your batteries are at full charge, and tapers off the charging current from your solar panels to prevent overcharging.

When stored inside a garage or covered area, you will want to turn your solar OFF at the circuit breaker (or remove fuse) to ensure the solar charge controller doesn’t become a load on your house battery bank. Your normal house disconnect switch will not turn OFF your solar.

What is Load Shedding?

‘Load Shedding’ is a factory-installed system typically located at the AC Distribution panel with a remote monitor. The intention is to assess AC input vs. AC output and cutoff loads before a user exceeds the AC input rating. When installing an inverter with hybrid technology, ‘load-shedding’ needs to be disabled so the ‘load-assist’ feature of the hybrid inverters can be enabled when AC power needs to be supplemented from the batteries. We have seen half a dozen types of ‘load-shedding’ systems and they all require varying degrees of disabling.

AM Solar Quick Reference Guide

Getting started on your system and have some questions? Our AM Solar Quick Reference Guide is a great place to look to answer some basic questions. Print out the PDF and keep it nearby.