cable length?

[suzzie]

i read some info on this but need it straight were i can understand.

i have around 40,50 ft. to were i get full sun all day so i need to run a long cable.

which is better, a long run from the controller to the batteries or from panel to controller? 36 v system

thanks.

 

[cs1234]

Usually the best bet is to have longer cables from the solar panels to the solar charge controller.

You want the highest voltage with the lowest amperage running the longest distance.

 

[suzzie]

thanks for the reply.

does it take a special cable or can i use like 10 AWG solid coper underground wire from the panels to the controller?

im thinking i would need a heavy wire do to the length

 

[rodrick]

thanks for the reply.

does it take a special cable or can i use like 10 AWG solid coper underground wire from the panels to the controller?

im thinking i would need a heavy wire do to the length

You need to figure your total voltage and amps and then you can run the figures threw a voltage loss calculation 3% or less is considered good also always use copper, aluminum and dc current don’t play well together, I prefer to use stranded wire vrs solid

 

[GuyG]

does it take a special cable or can i use like 10 AWG solid coper underground wire from the panels to the controller?

10 AWG copper is fine for most strings for the length you’re using, but you should plug your voltage, amp, and distance numbers into a voltage drop calculator (lots of them are online) to be sure. Select a gauge that results in no more than a 3% voltage drop.

Use wire rated for wet locations, such as THWN. Remember that this will likely carry high voltage so it’s a good idea to use conduit and bury it at least 18”, preferably deeper.

 

[suzzie]

thanks for the reply,
im looking at an LCD power meter consumption energy analizer to see how many amps,watts im useing.

its on ebay and for ac voltage what i need to know is will it work with a pure sine wave inverter?

i think it will but not sure. then i can figure my wire needed

thanks:suzzie

 

[rodrick]

You don’t need a meter to size the wire for the pv panels the wire must be sized to the arrays max possible output this information should be on the back of the panels, panels in series voltages go up amps stay the same, parallel amps go up voltage remains the same take that information and use a voltage drop calculator to size the wire you may have a 25 amp circuit but due to voltage and distance may need 8 gage wire to keep voltage losses low