Larger inverters like 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000, 4000, 5000-watt inverters need to be directly hard-wired to a battery. For this, you need to find a suitable location to mount the inverter, then figure out the wiring route and install a fuse holder, plug in the AC outlet and connect the DC cables to the connector using the appropriate terminals.
According to Bouguerra, S., Yaiche, M., (2021). research paper titled, “The Impact of PV Panel Positioning and Degradation on the PV Inverter Lifetime and Reliability”, Larger inverters like 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000, 4000, 5000-watt inverters need to be directly hard-wired to a battery. For this, you need to find a suitable location to mount the inverter, then figure out the wiring route and install a fuse holder, plug in the AC outlet and connect the DC cables to the connector using the appropriate terminals.
However, while installing a larger inverter ensure that you have used a fuse holder, auxiliary battery fuse, etc., to protect the inverter and make sure proper amp range is supported.
Usually, most people install a larger inverter to power the appliances that require more power. Yet, most of them don’t know how to wire power inverters to their RVs, boats, other vehicles, etc. Therefore, in this article, I will explain the wiring steps to wire these larger inverters.
So, to know, go through the article and read it consciously!
How to wire a 1000 watt inverter?
Installing an inverter is not that easy if you are not an expert. Besides, it takes a lot of time while dealing with the installation. Any wrong steps will eventually cause damage to your inverter device. Therefore, you have to be more careful and follow several basic steps while installing or wiring a larger inverter.
However, to wire a 1000 watt inverter, you need to follow the following steps how it is wired-
- Find the mounting spot for the inverter to mount it
Before wiring your 1000 watt inverter, first, you have to find a suitable spot for the inverter. Place the inverter and mount it in a secure location on a horizontal or vertical surface away from any combustible materials.
While mounting, ensure that there is enough clearance for the convenient airflow around the inverters. And also make sure to set the on/off switch to off.
- Find the wiring route
You need to find the wiring route to where the wiring harness goes through the firewall. Besides, you need to figure out how many wires as well as the battery cables you need to use while mounting the 1000 watt inverter.
- Install fuse and fuse holders
To permanently wire the 1000 watt inverter you need to wire it directly to the battery. For this, you need to install a proper size fuse and also fuse holders.
To wire a 1000 watt inverter, you should use a 3-4 feet fuse. Yet, this cable size entirely depends on the distance between the mounted inverter and battery.
Besides, an in-line fuse holder installation prevents any melting-down or fire-catching issues while switching on the inverter and tapping into the battery.
- Connect your inverter chassis to a ground point
In this step, you need to use a stud connector to connect the 1000 watt inverter chassis to a DC grounding point. Here, you have to connect a 2 AWG cable copper wire between the inverter chassis lug and the DC ground point.
- Plugin the AC outlet and connect the DC cables
Now you need to plug the AC output loads into the receptacles that are located just in front of your inverters. To do so, take out the screws and the AC wiring from the AC panel and figure out the proper terminal blocks including ground, neutral, line connectors, etc. And then, connect the outgoing AC cables of the inverter to the AC panel.
After that, you have to connect the DC cables by running them to the 1000 watt inverter from the battery. But before that, you have to install a breaker and a fuse between your inverter and the battery and also have to turn them off. Here, the installation site should be close to the battery as well as the DC circuit positive side.
Now, connect the DC positive cables end onto the positive wire on the positive terminal and the negative cables onto the negative wire on the negative terminal.
Finally, cover the terminals and turn on the battery and inverter switch and then plug any appliances to see whether it runs.
How to wire a 1500 watt inverter?
To wire a 1500 watt inverter, follow the detailed steps given below-
- First, you have to find a dry, cool, and ventilated mounting location for your 1500 watt power inverter.
- Then figure out the route of the wire and measure the cable distance for 1500 watt output. To wire a 1500 watt inverter, you should install a 3 feet fuse. And also a fuse holder needs to be mounted at the battery for the permanent installation to protect wires to the inverter.
- Use a stud connector by attaching 2 AWG cables to connect the 1500 watt inverter chassis to a DC grounding point.
- The next step is plugging in the AC output and connecting the DC cables. To do so, you need to connect the negative power cables to the negative end terminals and the positive power cables to the positive end terminals and then clamp them down from the inverter to the battery.
- After connecting each cable to the terminals, you also have to secure them properly.
- Now, turn the inverter switched on and plug any electrical appliance and turn it on to use.
How to wire a 2000 watt inverter?
To wire a 2000 watt inverter, here go the detailed steps-
- Like the previous installation process, here also first, you need to mount the inverter in a proper location. You can mount it vertically, horizontally, and also upside down, however, it must be away from the flammable materials and the battery as well.
- To wire a 2000 watt inverter, use a 1/0 feet fuse and also connect a fuse holder to secure the inverter’s mounting location close to the battery.
- Now, you need to remove the cover of the fuse holder and use a 200 amp size fuse to wire a 2000 watt inverter.
- After that, the next step is connecting the wire connectors to the terminals of the battery such as black wire connectors to the negative end terminals, the green wire connectors to the inverter chassis ground, and the red wire connectors to the positive end terminals of the battery.
- Then you have to route all the wires (red, black, & green) to the inverter and also connect all the connectors to the terminal ends of the 2000 watt power inverter, and then tighten them securely.
- Now, finally, you need to recheck all the connections and then turn the inverter on to run the appliances.
How to wire a 2500 watt inverter?
Here, I have provided some step-by-step instructions to wire a 2500 watt inverter.
- First, mount the 2500 watt inverter in a location away from the close contact but near to the battery compartment.
- Install a fuse holder close to the battery and also use a 1/0 feet fuse. Here, to wire a 2500 watt power inverter, you need to use a 250 amp size fuse kit.
- Now, use a 2 AWG gauge copper wire to the ground lug terminal on the power inverter and also link another end to a grounding point.
- After that, you need to plug the AC load panels by connecting the line, ground as well as neutral connectors. Then, connect the outgoing AC cables to the replaced AC panels.
- Now, connect the DC cables to all the connectors and run them to the 2500 watt power inverter from the battery bank. Here, connect the positive DC wire cables to the positive end terminal and the negative cables to the negative end terminals.
- The last step is rechecking all the connections, turning on the inverter switch and plugging the device to see if the appliance runs.
How to wire a 3000-watt inverter?
To wire a 3000-watt inverter, follow the given steps-
- Install an on/off remote switch on your 3000-watt power inverter to control it from a distance of about 20 feet.
- Mount this inverter permanently in a proper location on a horizontal or vertical surface using short wires while ensuring at least 4-inches clearance for free airflow. Here also make sure that the on/off inverter switch is turned off.
- You also need to install a fuse holder near the battery and use a 600 amp size fuse to wire a 3000-watt inverter.
- After that, you have to connect your inverter chassis with a stud connector to the DC grounding point by using an 8 AWG copper wire.
- Then, you have to plug the AC panel loads into the receptacles just in front of the power inverter while ensuring that the exceeding output limit is 20 amps.
- Here, if an AC load panel is preexisted, you need to place a dedicated AC panel. For this, you have to figure out the terminal blocks with all the connectors and also run these wirings (line, neutral, and ground) to the AC strain relief. Then, replace the panel and connect all these outgoing AC cables to the replaced AC panel.
- Now, you have to link the DC cables to all the connectors, after that, run these cables to the power inverter from the battery.
- Here, route all the wires to the inverter and also crimp the wire connectors on all wires. You need to connect the positive DC cables to the positive end terminal of the power inverter and vice versa.
- Now check all the connections again and finally turn on the inverter to run your electrical devices.
How to wire a 4000-watt inverter?
The detailed instructions go here to wire a 4000-watt inverter.
- First, you have to find a proper location to mount the 4000-watt power inverter that should be located away from the combustible materials.
- Install a 200 amp size fuse kit for a 4000-watt inverter where the rated voltage supply is 24-volt.
- Then, connect your power inverter chassis to an appropriate grounding point with a stud connector.
- Attach the DC cables set ends with the battery end terminals and connect the inverter’s chassis to a grounding point.
- Now, plug the AC outputs and connect all the DC cable connections. Here, after routing all the wires to the inverter you need to link these wire connectors to the terminal end of the inverter.
- Finally, recheck the wire connector connections and ensure that you haven’t done any wrong or cross-connections. After that turn on your inverter’s switch and make sure that it can run your appliances.
How to wire a 5000-watt inverter?
To wire a 5000-watt inverter, you have to follow several steps-
- Like the wiring process of other inverters, mount the 5000-watt inverter in a safe location on a vertical or horizontal surface. Here, measure the mounting dimensions to permanently mount it on the place.
- Install a fuse holder and use a 500 amp size fuse kit by connecting a 10-gauge copper wire to the positive end terminal of the battery.
- Select the shortest DC input cables to attach from the battery to the power inverter. Now, connect this ground wire inverter chassis with a stud connector to the proper grounding system.
- After that, you need to attach the AC output directly into the receptacle on the front panel of the power inverter.
- For this AC load panel wiring connections, attach a dedicated AC load panel or you can install an extra circuit breaker in the pre-existed AC panel. Here, secure the AC strain-relief clamp by running the output cables. After that, link the outgoing AC output wires to the replaced AC panel.
- Then, you need to connect the DC supply cables and route these cables from the battery to the power inverter. Install a fuse and a disconnect switch between the power inverter and the battery.
- Now, attach the infused DC cables to the negative battery bank terminal and also link the negative DC cables to the negative end terminal of the power inverter. Besides, you also need to attach the positive DC cables to the positive inverter end terminal and fused cables end to the positive battery bank terminal.
- Finally, you have to check the connections again and then turn on the inverter switch to see if it can run the appliance.
Eng. Matthew Joseph Nandirio is the Founder of walkingsolar.
After graduating from the University of Houston in 2002, matt started working as a Solar Electrical Engineer for several multi-national solar energy companies.
He has a wide range of experiences including solar system requirement analysis, planning, maintaining, debugging and even solar device development through research.
He now shares his 20 years of expertise through his articles on the walkingsolar website.
Further, he is also the author of two books on Solar Technology, “Solar Power for Villages” and “DIY Solar System for Dummies”.