What gets connected the Victron load output?

[3rdrichard]

I'm installing a Victron MPPT 100/15 on a 12-volt system. There will be a single 35-watt panel. The BATT and PV connections are self-explanatory. But where exactly do I connect the LOAD output if I want data from all circuits on the boat? To the fuseblock?

[Orion Jim]

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/12...pt-100-15.html

[Wotname]

Welcome aboard CF 3rdrichard.

Usually the load output is left unconnected.

The loads go to the battery via the normal battery distribution setup (busbar, circuit breakers, fuses etc).

The PV charges the battery via the MPPT. The battery powers the loads.

[smac999]

Nothing. It’s for special uses.

[K_V_B]

Victron sells a lot of its devices to other markets than the Marine market. So they often have functions not relevant to a boat.

Suppose you are just wiring up a few lights in a small off grid building. There you would connect the lights to the "Load" outputs, in order to simplify wiring, and to prevent the battery from being discharged to deeply.

In a boat you don't use them.

[barcoMeCasa]

Originally Posted by K_V_B

In a boat you don't use them.

Though many do.

Connect the anchor light to the load output & set the streetlight function in the regulator to turn on the load at sunset & off at sunrise .

[K_V_B]

Originally Posted by barcoMeCasa

Though many do.

Connect the anchor light to the load output & set the streetlight function in the regulator to turn on the load at sunset & off at sunrise .

That's actually an interesting idea.

[smac999]

Originally Posted by K_V_B

That's actually an interesting idea.

For a boat that never moves.

You can’t have the anchor light coming off and on by itself while sailing.

[barcoMeCasa]

Originally Posted by smac999

For a boat that never moves.

You can’t have the anchor light coming off and on by itself while sailing.

Fit a switch in line. Quicker than a few seconds turning the function off on the app.

[EmeraldCoastSailor]

Nothing made sense in my boat installation nor my travel trailer installation. But I could see how there might be a reason to power something independent of the battery system. I just can't think of the something part. Seems to me that it was an easy thing to design and build in the controllers and European needs might have a wrinkle I don't understand.

[Zil]

MPPT provides power when the sun shines properly. I do not need lights or most other devices only when the sun shines properly. I ignore the Load connection and just keep the battery charged.

[Greg K]

I connected ours to a cigarette lighter fitting. We plug into it to charge our telephones during the day when the solar panel is putting out lots of charge and the batteries don't need it.

As for using it for an anchor light, a much better idea is to get a portable anchor light with a light sensitive switch, so it comes on at dusk and turns off at dawn.
We hang ours above the boom while on the hook. Simple solution that minimizes electrical usage.

[Reefmagnet]

You invert the output and use it to switch an anchor light on at night and off at dawn automatically. Where I am, it's a legal requirement to have an anchor light on at night when on a mooring so is the perfect solution. With an LED anchor light bulb, the power savings are negligible, however the lifespan of the bulb itself is theoretically doubled. Add a switch in circuit to disable when under way.