We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Solar Cables
Nellybee
Posts: 101 Forumite
A Few doors away they are adding a extension to there home .I was asked what size cables run from the inverter to the electricity meter's
as at some point in the future he was going to fit solar panels .As he was doing the extension he was going to run conduit down the wall so it was allready for the panels in the future .He also mentioned the size of the earth cable to earth the system .:beer:
as at some point in the future he was going to fit solar panels .As he was doing the extension he was going to run conduit down the wall so it was allready for the panels in the future .He also mentioned the size of the earth cable to earth the system .:beer:
Nice to save.
0
Comments
-
The armoured cable used by the installers of my first system (armoured because it runs down an outside wall) is 13.8mm external diameter. It has all the necessary wires within it, including the earth wire. The second system inverter is within a few inches of the consumer unit and has a simple plastic covering. It runs within a 25mm flexible conduit for the short distance between the inverter and the isolation switch.A Few doors away they are adding a extension to there home .I was asked what size cables run from the inverter to the electricity meter's
as at some point in the future he was going to fit solar panels .As he was doing the extension he was going to run conduit down the wall so it was allready for the panels in the future .He also mentioned the size of the earth cable to earth the system .:beer:
Dave FSolar PV System 1: 2.96kWp South+8 degrees. Roof 38 degrees. 'Normal' system
Solar PV System 2: 3.00kWp South-4 degrees. Roof 28 degrees. SolarEdge system
EV car, PodPoint charger
Lux LXP 3600 ACS + 6 x 2.4kWh Aoboet LFP 2400 battery storage. Installed Feb 2021
Location: Bedfordshire0 -
The cable to my inverter (in the loft) is just standard 2.5mm Twin & Earth, as used for wiring ring mains and the like.
The current limit for domestic PV installs is 16A, so any cable that can handle that should be suitable.If it sticks, force it.
If it breaks, well it wasn't working right anyway.0 -
'any cable...' - to a degree - for a long cable, while 2.5mm twin and earth may be adequate, going one step up may be not a bad plan.
For example - for a 25m cable (50m of wire) the resistance is 7 ohms/km * 50m = .35 ohms.
At full output, there will be around 6V across this cable, or 96W loss.
Neglecting heaps, and assuming this is 1/40th of the total panel output, this is coming close to 50 pounds loss for the whole period.
Upgrading from 2.5mm to 6mm^2 cable costs about 15 quid.0 -
... and what would the losses be on 6mm cable?
3.924kWp (12X327Wp SunPower). SolarEdge SE3500 inverter.
Surrey/SE. 30 degree roof pitch, chimney shading from mid afternoon.0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 352.1K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.5K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454.2K Spending & Discounts
- 245.1K Work, Benefits & Business
- 600.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.4K Life & Family
- 258.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards