question

Christoph Blank avatar image
Christoph Blank asked

Phoenix Inverter Smart - combine case ground, DC Minus and PE?

Hi there,

I've got a Phoenix Inverter Smart in my camper (no external power).
I'm using an Orion XS which is not isolated. So the negative of my house battery = chassis = negative of starter battery. After the inverter, I've got an RCD.2024-08-03-18-03.png

I now wonder if I can combine the grounds in the inverter:

- DC Minus
- PE
- Case Ground

as they all are usually wired to the chassis anyway and the larger DC Minus cable ends up there, so there won't be a difference?


Phoenix Inverter
2024-08-03-18-03.png (407.0 KiB)
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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·

Not sure which Phoenix you have, but the manual for mine gave detailed instructions on how to do it so the RCD would work properly. From memory it was moving the earth inside the unit.

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Christoph Blank avatar image Christoph Blank kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·

I don't see it in the online manual, do you maybe have a link?

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Alexandra avatar image
Alexandra answered ·

@Christoph Blank

So in short yes you can. Not a boat person but have some verification links.

The lynx bus bar system shows a ground connection on the negative. You can check some of the sample wiring diagrams (possibly not for the phoenix).

Wiring unlimited shows it as well

https://www.victronenergy.com/media/pg/The_Wiring_Unlimited_book/en/ground,-earth-and-electrical-safety.html#UUID-1392626a-e4b8-edc1-93a7-d161d3d6b6aa


And as you know is a requirement for a boat in some places.

https://youtu.be/-X5wwPT5l-c?si=n1zi5Z0xho0LgcI2

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Christoph Blank avatar image Christoph Blank commented ·

Thank you, that's helpful.

Just a question for my understanding: Why are these PE-N bridges needed?
If the fault current flows through PE, isn't the difference as seen from the RCBO higher than if PE and N is combined?

I can't find anything that explains it, maybe I'm looking for the wrong term.

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