Wire Size from Shed to House

claychps
claychps Registered Users Posts: 9 ✭
in PV Installers Forum - NEC, Wiring, Installation #1
Hi all,
I need a little help in figuring out what size wire to use. I have my batteries (4 6v 105ah golf cart /series-parallel) in a shed 15 feet away from the house. I want to put the TV and Satellite on an inverter. I would like to run 12v to the inside of the house and then to the inverter located at the entrance of the 12v. I live in the desert so ambient temp is 100 degrees plus.

Thanks for any help !

Robert
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Comments

  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #2
    Re: Wire Size from Shed to House

    No, you do not want to try and run 12 VDC through 15' of wires large enough to handle the current for even a small inverter. The Voltage drop would be severe, and the wire size would be expensive.

    Voltage drop calculator:
    http://forum.solar-electric.com/showthread.php?t=29
    (Doesn't run on my Linux netbook otherwise I'd have done the calc for you. :D )

    If you want 12 VDC inside for something, I'd suggest you run the AC inside from the shed and use a power supply to get the 12 Volts.
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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: Wire Size from Shed to House

    here's another link for a online (javascript) electrical caculator. You tell it the voltage, type of wire (cu / al) and distance, and it tells you the gauge for 3% loss.

    http://www.elec-toolbox.com/calculators/voltdrop.htm
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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #4
    Re: Wire Size from Shed to House

    you could also use the calculator here on the forum as it will work for ac voltages too. just plug in the right numbers and forget if its ac or dc volts.
    http://forum.solar-electric.com/showthread.php?t=29
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  • Kamala
    Kamala Solar Expert Posts: 452 ✭✭
    #5
    Re: Wire Size from Shed to House
    mike90045 wrote: »
    here's another link for a online (javascript) electrical caculator. You tell it the voltage, type of wire (cu / al) and distance, and it tells you the gauge for 3% loss.

    http://www.elec-toolbox.com/calculators/voltdrop.htm

    The lowest voltage the above calculator accepts is 120V (AC assumed.)

    I like the Blue Sea wire size calculator (NAWS has a link.) It uses ABYC standards (more appropriate for my camper) rather than NEC code. The round trip run from my battery bank to inverter is about 8 feet. It is 12V @ 125A. NEC requires #1 while #4 is adequate for ABYC. Currently, the #4 is installed. I have the #1 on hand (purchased from NAWS) and plan to install it soon; not so much for safety but for improved efficiency.

    K
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  • claychps
    claychps Registered Users Posts: 9 ✭
    #6
    Re: Wire Size from Shed to House

    Thanks all for your help !!
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