Smaller gauge solar panel wire?

[LordGarak]

I'm installing an array of ten panels in series and the short circuit current for the panels is only 11.3A. It seems excessive to use 10 gauge wire for such low currents but I'm not seeing any suitable 14 or 12 gauge wire with tough high voltage insulation and UV protection. I'm totally off the grid with no inspections of any sort so I don't really care much about specific certifications. The high DC voltage does make me slightly nervous at just under 500V at -20c.

Has anyone come across suitable wire at a lower price than the common 10gauge PV wire?

 

[murmeister]

I ran my PV wire about 150 feet from my array to my house. I figured with enough voltage, I could use smaller wires with minimal voltage drop.
Ultimately, for peace of mind and never wanting to dig that trench again, I ended up using 8AWG wire. Interestingly, I had an issue I needed to troubleshoot so I created a "temporary" above ground extension cable using 10AWG and experienced very little (if any) voltage difference between the two strings.

Currently, Amazon has the following 30 foot cable from BougeRV for $40.

https://www.amazon.com/BougeRV-Extension-Female-Connector-Adaptor/dp/B07BRFPD6R

That's a pretty hard price to beat.

 

[Brucey]

I'm installing an array of ten panels in series and the short circuit current for the panels is only 11.3A. It seems excessive to use 10 gauge wire for such low currents but I'm not seeing any suitable 14 or 12 gauge wire with tough high voltage insulation and UV protection. I'm totally off the grid with no inspections of any sort so I don't really care much about specific certifications. The high DC voltage does make me slightly nervous at just under 500V at -20c.

Has anyone come across suitable wire at a lower price than the common 10gauge PV wire?

Windy nation has 10 and 12 gauge I just have mine laying on the ground. Tough stuff. Not much price savings I went with the 10 gauge for future proofing.

https://www.amazon.com/WindyNation-Gauge-Black-Extension-Connector/dp/B01D7VBKMK/

 

[murmeister]

The PV cables are made to be quite durable and UV/weather resistant. All the cables I have say they can be direct buried. Expensive? I don't feel that way, considering the quality.

 

[hwy17]

Temco has made in the USA 12awg PV wire. I believe the relevant specification is XHHW.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

Temco has made in the USA 12awg PV wire. I believe the relevant specification is XHHW.

For basically the same cost as the electrical supply house solar cable you can mail-order temco. Side by each? Temco is great stuff

 

[hwy17]

For basically the same cost as the electrical supply house solar cable you can mail-order temco. Side by each? Temco is great stuff

I find the Temco sort of stiffer than the stuff that comes on the panels. But I am happy enough with it to keep using it.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

I find the Temco sort of stiffer than the stuff that comes on the panels. But I am happy enough with it to keep using it.

I don’t mind that it’s stiff. It’s multilayered and thicker than the local electric supplier stuff for same money. I’ll take tougher outside on a roof over thinner.

The cables on panels I think are a specific jacket intended to be more supple; the cable on my RECs was pretty rugged, more supple on some Hyundai I recently installed. Canadian Solar was somewhere in the middle. But all more flexy than temco

 

[Mattb4]

I replaced all my other PV wire with Temco PV rated, it is just superior in my opinion to a lot of the Chinese imported stuff. One thing I will mention however is at termination where you wire it to breakers or SCC is that you do have to be more careful with ensuring a good tight connection. It will take several rounds of tightening and checking since the stiffer copper strands will slowly splay out under the tension and you lose compression.