Wagan Elite 2000W, User Manual

Elite™ 2000W—Pure Sine Inverter

™

 by Wagan Tech

®

9

www.wagan.com

Derating the Battery Bank 

Most lead-acid batteries have a rating expressed in amp-hours (AH). The most 
common rating of AH is “at the 20 hour rate”. 

NOTE: Despite several internet explanations, there is no relationship between 
cold cranking amps (CCA) and ampere-hours (AH). 

For example, if a 20 AH battery is discharged at a 1 amp rate, is will take 20 
hours to discharge that battery. The terms “charged” and “discharged” relate 
to actual battery voltage. This means that the output voltage of a nominal 
12 volt battery starts at 13.4 volts (fully charged) then drops to 10.5 volts 
(discharged). If the load on the battery causes the battery to discharge faster 
than the 20 hour rate, the capacity (AH) of the battery is measurably reduced 
(derated). In heavy battery discharge applications, double the estimated Amp 
Hour rating and configure batteries to support this capacity. If the batteries 
are frequently charged by an alternator, the Amp Hour rating of the battery 
may be reduced. 

Configuring the battery bank 

Batteries that are used indoors or inside a vehicle or vessel, should be deep-
cycle, sealed lead acid batteries. 

NOTE: It is important that for any inverter installation to battery protection 
fuses. Battery fuses are added to the positive (+) battery cable as close as 
possible to the battery bank’s positive terminal. The fuse amperage rating 
must be sized to allow simultaneous operation of all the AC appliances 
to be powered, plus 20 percent safety factor. Fuses are very important to 
protect equipment, batteries and personnel. The fuses protect against battery 
explosion if the cables that connect to the inverter accidentally short.