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If OP means me no vested interest here I actually saw a video f it on a sailboat but I thought it could be done other ways. Some other companies like Panda had some similar things with their generator system and I have read about the use of banks of batteries and smaller generators to basically load them up.
I have little knowledge really so why i posted here to see what people think
The video I saw was on a sailboat and it seemed that was their main market but I have read articles of using a bank of the newer batteries and charging them primarily and drawing off their power. Also to tie it to solar when possible.I would think this type system would make sense on a sailboat with a small aux Diesel engine. Put a 48VDC generator and charge a big Lipo battery bank with a big inverter or a couple inverters cascaded together. You could use that engine as propulsion or as a generator and utilize the engine to its fullest.
I’m not so sure this makes as much sense on a large propulsion engine (gas or diesel) like we have in our boats.
So basically would need bigger new batteries that cost a lot and be able to make them run the 12 volt things on the boat and a smaller generator.48VDC actually makes sense as the cabling is 1/4 the size that a 12VDC system requires for like amperage draw; Older yachts used higher voltage DC systems like 36 volts for this reason. Boats seemed to have evolved to 12 and 24 volt systems to take advantage of materials and components used on the road.
So, to take advantage of a 48VDC system it would have to be used as a "house" power system and pretty much dedicated for inverter usage. To use a 48VDC system for the existing house 12V elements a large converter would be required and another 12V battery to act as a surge buffer. Things are getting expensive, right?
48VDC is common in solar energy and many companies make inverter/chargers for this voltage; Victron comes to mind...
The hard part in all of this is converting engine management systems, navigational systems, engine starting and the like to 48 volts or even harder is to convert 48 volts to 12 or 24 volts for the very high current demands for cranking.... So, for most of us, this becomes a very expensive and complex conversion with added failure modes.