Quote:
Originally Posted by CassidyNZ
Must be something dramatically wrong with my system. When my alternators are charging I get a positive amp reading. What do you mean by “current out” and “current in”? Out from and into what?
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It is a pertinent question for those who are less than electrically literate!
CassidyNZ, I realise you are electrically literate so the following is for other readers...
Convention has it that current delivered the charging source and entering the
storage device is a positive flow and the current being delivered by any source to the load is negative. A battery can considered as a source or a load but is better considered as a
storage device.
In a compound system where there are multiples sources (alternator, PV
panels,
wind turbine etc), storage devices (house
batteries etc) and loads (lights,
electronics,
refrigeration etc), then the convention is if the load currents is greater than the source current, the current to/from the storage device(s) is negative (battery is discharging). Likewise if the source currents exceed the load currents, (i.e. battery is charging), the current is considered to be positive.
JMHO!!!