Magnum Energy ME Series - Manual (Page 48)

©
2012 Magnum Energy, Inc Page 40
Operation
3.0 Operation
The ME Series inverter has two normal operating routines; Inverter mode, which powers your
loads using the batteries, and Standby mode, which transfers the incoming AC power (e.g., utility
power or a generator) to power your loads and also uses this incoming power to recharge the
batteries. This inverter also includes an extensive protection circuitry to shut down the inverter
under certain fault conditions.
3.1 Inverter Mode
When the ME Series is fi rst powered up, it defaults to the OFF mode. The momentary Power ON/
OFF Switch ( see Figure 1-1, Item 1) m ust be lightly pressed to turn the inverter ON. Subsequently,
pressing this switch alternately turns the inverter OFF and ON.
OFF – When the inverter is OFF, no power is used from the batteries to power the AC loads, and
the status LED will be OFF. If AC power from an external source (utility power or generator) is
connected and qualifi ed on the inverter’s AC input, this AC input power will pass through the
inverter to power the AC loads. However, if this AC power is lost, the AC loads will no longer be
powered because the inverter is OFF.
When the inverter is turned ON, it operates either by “searching” or “inverting”, depending on the
connected AC loads.
Searching – When the inverter is fi rst turned ON, the automatic Search feature is enabled. This
feature is provided to conserve battery power when AC power is not required. In this mode, the
inverter pulses the AC output looking for an AC load (e.g., electrical appliance). Whenever an AC load
(greater than 5 watts) is turned on, the inverter recognizes the need for power and automatically
starts inverting. When there is no load (or less than 5 watts) detected, the inverter automatically
goes back into Search mode to minimize energy consumption from the battery bank. When the
inverter is “searching”, the inverter’s green LED fl ashes (fast).
Info: The factory default value for the Search feature is 5 watts, it can be turned off
or adjusted from 5 to 50 watts using a remote display.
Inverting – When a load greater than 5 watts is connected to the inverter output, the ME Series
“inverts” the DC power from the battery and supplies 120 VAC power to your sub-panel. The
inverter’s green LED fl ashes once every 2 seconds (medium fl ash) to indicate it is inverting. The
amount of time the inverter can be inverting and providing power is directly related to the amount
of AC loads that are connected, and the capacity of the battery bank. Refer to Figure 3-1 to see
the fl ow of power from the DC input to the AC output while in the Inverter mode.
0
VAC
120
VAC
120
VAC
INV
OUT
Neutral-Ground
Transfer Relay
AC Hot
Transfer Relay
AC HOT 1 IN
AC HOT 2 IN
CB3 (30A)
AC NEUTRAL IN
AC GROUND
Power Transformer
FET Bridge
AC
DC
DC
IN
AC HOT 1 OUT
AC HOT 2 OUT
CB2
(optional)
CB1
(optional)
DC POSITIVE
DC NEGATIVE
AC NEUTRAL OUT
Figure 3-1, Power Flow - Inverter Mode