What is the advantiage and disadvantage of 12v and 24v battery bank for solar system?
The higher the voltage, the less the losses. However, for some reason, I haven’t seen 48V except on large systems. People with smaller systems tend to go with 24V, or even 12V. My guess is that there is a certain minimum size of battery that is used, and to get to 48V, you would need at least 4, maybe 24, depending on the type. That would be extra expense if the system wasn’t sized for that capacity. The advantage of 12V is that you can use devices designed for an RV directly, no inverter involved. So that would be a possible choice for a small cabin. Above 50V nominal triggers all kinds of other code requirements in the US, I’m guessing that’s why we don’t see higher voltage battery banks. Maybe Europe allows more. I hear they allow 1000V in their roof wiring, while the US limits to 600V.
