© 2015 Sensata Technologies
Operation
34
4.2 Operating
Modes
The MMSA1012 inverter/charger has two normal operating routines.
Inverter mode, which powers the loads using the batteries; and
Standby mode, which transfers the incoming AC power (i.e.,
shorepower or a generator) to power the loads and to recharge the
batteries. This inverter also includes an extensive protection circuitry
that shuts down the inverter under certain fault conditions.
4.2.1 Inverter Mode
When the MMSA is
fi
rst powered up, it defaults to the OFF mode.
The inverter’s momentary ON/OFF power switch
m
ust be lightly
pressed to turn the inverter on. Subsequently pressing this switch
alternately turns the inverter off and on.
•
Inverter 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 (shorepower or
generator) is connected and quali
fi
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 disabled. 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 (i.e.,
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 twice.
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 the ME-MR, ME-RC, or ME-ARC remote
display.
•
Inverting
–
When a load greater than 5 watts is connected
to the inverter output, the MMSA1012 “inverts” the DC power
from the battery and supplies 120 VAC power to your sub-panel.
The
inverter’s green LED is on solid 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.