Anderson PowerPoles

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Anderson PowerPoles by Larry D. Barr & Steve Spence

The Renewable Energy community has long been in need of a standardized connector for our low-voltage DC connectors. In the past few years as moderator of the 12VDC Power group on Yahoo! I've seen recommendations for all kinds of connectors. Everything from 240 VAC plugs (as long as there's no 240 in the house, you understand), to foreign plugs of various types and often questionable quality. And there's always someone holding out for the ubiquitous lighter plug. If those plugs had the same ampacity as the lighter recep in the car, that might be a possibility. But lighter plugs vary in quality and ampacity so that you can't count on them to do the job you bought them to do. Other industries and groups have standardized on their connectors – why can't we?

We can, and we must. There is too much disparity in the RE community and our choice of DC connectors. I recommend that we immediately adopt the same connectors chosen by the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES). These two organizations have specified that Anderson PowerPoles shall be the DC connector used by their members. This specification allows for complete inter-connectibility of equipment among participating 'hams' during either exercises or actual emergencies.

It is time for the RE community to standardize on these excellent and economical connectors. Anderson PowerPoles are a reliable and inexpensive solution to the problem of supplying 12VDC power to end-use devices in our off-grid homes.

By selecting PowerPoles as our standard, we will reap the benefits of universal interchangeability in our end-use devices. We will enable manufacturers to finally begin building and selling quality appliances for the RE market. And we will gain the advantage of reliability and ease of connection. PowerPoles are simple to fabricate as shown in the composite photo below.

The connector housing size is the same for ratings from 15A – 45A, only the contact sizes change. However, the contacts will mate with each other, so that a 15A connector and a 45A connector will mate. This permits a great degree of flexibility in the interconnection of properly protected circuits.

I recommend that the Renewable Energy community come together and adopt the PowerPole connectors as our standard for 12 VDC connections in our RE-supplied homes and other buildings. I propose that Red and Black be used for 12 VDC circuits (other colors can be adopted for higher voltages) and that the HS-4 4-pole connector (shown in the first photo) be adopted as the “duplex receptacle” of the 12 volt world.

One of the common responses from folks who are considering using PowerPoles in their homes is, "How do I mount them?" That question has been answered by Green-Trust and Rebel Wolf Energy Systems with the release of these finely crafted and decorative wall plates specifically designed for the PowerPole chassis mount receptacle. Now, your 12 VDC (up to 45 amps) receps can be displayed and used in style. For more information on the various wood plates and the metal plates (as shown in the image with the battery), click here. It was our goal to provide these primarily to the off-grid homeowner, but they work well in RV's, Campers, and boats. Anywhere a neat low voltage DC solution is needed.

Our suggested backbone for these units is the Super Powergate 40S, and the CSI 1869 40 amp power supply.

The Super Powergate 40S is a 12 volt backup power system that can supply up to 40 amperes continuously from either a Power Supply or a Battery, and can also charge the battery with its 10 amp high performance charger. It acts as an automatic transfer switch for the devices it powers, so if the generator is fired up, the batteries are charged, and loads switched to the generator automatically, without delay or glitches. It's the ultimate UPS.

The size of battery bank you need will, of course, depend on your load requirements. If, like most of us, you're operating on a budget, the EverStart deep cycle trolling batteries from WalMart are a good value. The ones we recommend are the Group 27 115 amp-hour units, that sell for about US$55. Just remember, because of the outgassing of corrosive and explosive gasses, you don't want to use the flooded lead-acid batteries in the house. You'll want a sealed AGM type battery for in-house use. I'm currently using a 100 Ah Power-Sonic AGM battery to power my ham radio and computer on my desk. The AGM batteries are more expensive, but the safety is well worth the added cost.

Further information on the Anderson PowerPole series of connectors is available at: http://www.andersonpower.com/products/pp/pp.html and at: http://www.powerwerx.com/category.asp?CtgID=1001

You can purchase these items from Homeland Energy Solutions at http://www.green-trust.org/catalog/

(Larry D. Barr is the Editor & Publisher of Energy Self Sufficiency Newsletter, the owner of Rebel Wolf Energy Systems and the founder and moderator of the 12VDC Power group at Yahoo!. He is also an electrical systems designer with experience in automotive, marine, aviation and off-grid residential systems.

Steve Spence is the Director of Green-Trust.org, a contributing editor for ESSN, a moderator of the 12VDC Power group at Yahoo and an off-grid homeowner.)

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