Thermo King ThermoLite Installation Manual

ThermoLite™ 100W-300W Solar Panel Installation Guide

General Installation Precautions and Specifications

W ARNING: Always wear safety glasses and protective gloves when worki ng with batteries. Your
company may require additional PPE. Consult your company safety policy and requirements prior
to installation of this product.

NOTE: This equipment is designed and ra ted f or 12V DC nominal systems.

The solar panel, application surface and air temperature must all be above 45 F (1.3 C).
For best results when applying the panel adhesive, ensure the surface is completely clean using

Isopropal alcohol or appropriate de-greasers. Ensure all cleaning residue is removed and the surface is
dry.

• The adhesive backing is very aggressive and is difficult to remove once installed.

• Always ensure the solar panel fuse (located on the positive battery ha rness) is removed during
installation or service.

• Always locate the charge controller near the unit’s battery to avoid voltage loss in the cable.

100W Base kit Installation

1. Turn off the refrigeration unit and any accessory equipment including standby power connection to
the truck or tractor.

2. Disconnect the negative battery cable of the refrigeration unit and any accessory battery packs used
for lift gate or other auxiliary equipment.

3. Temporarily remove fuse from solar panel harness.

4. Panel installation location on the truck/t railer can be either the front or the back. Factors to be
considered are:

a. If reefer unit is present with existing two-pole (two wire) connections with a wire gauge of 12 AWG

or larger to the liftgate batteries, then the panels should be installed on the roof of the trailer near
the front to utilize the existing connections (Figure 1).

b. Front of the trailer installations are generally preferred so vehicles parked against a building will

not shade the panels and reduce performance

c. Consider installing the panels away from tractor and unit exhaust. The panel may be positioned

length wise or perpendicular to the trailer roof edge. Exhaust soot build-up on the panel can result
in decreased performance of the panel if not cleaned.

d. The junction boxes should be positioned closest to the edge of the trai ler end and lined up with

the planned wire route.

e. If snow scrapers are to be used for winter snow removal, position the panel with the long edge

containing the junction box aligned to the front edge of the tr ailer so the sloped edge of the
junction box is facing forward (Figure 2).

TK 56237-11-IM (Rev. 0, 11/15) Copyright© 2015 Thermo King Corp. Minneapolis, MN, USA

2 Solar Panels Shown

Single Solar Panel Installation Shown

Junction Box

Figure 1

Figure 2

f. If the battery box is located at the very rear of the trail er, the panels could be located at the rear

trailer with protected cable routing down the back (Figure 3).

Rear of Trailer

5. Plan the panel layout and wire routing prior to permanently mounting any equipment. Familiarize
yourself with the components to be installed (Figure 4). Make sure wire routes are free from abrasive
materials and have adequate clearance from hot surfaces. Any holes through metal frames, skins or
structures should be smooth and non-marr ing or be lined with a grommet prior to routing wires.

Figure 3

2