What size wire do I need for my 270w panels?

[hollywoodtoday]

1. We have is a 24 panel x 270w each = 6480w with a 48v 12000w 120/220 inverter. Its a 2 pole system, each with 12 panels.
-One pole requires 55 foot wire from the batteries and inverter, what size wire would I want?
-Second pole requires 40 foot wire from the batteries and inverter, it already has 2 2gauge thhn coppers inside, what additional wire sizes would I need to handle these 12x270w/48v panels?

[Sunking]

I am not going to answer you. Instead I will teach you how to fish and catch your own dinner. Go to this web site.

When you get there enter the operating voltage, maximum load current, and the loop distance. Note on the distance is LOOP or 2 times the one-way distance. so if you have 100 feet one-way enter 200.

Results appear below in the tables. Select one with 2% or less loss.

[Sunking]

3rd try.

I am not going to answer you. Instead I will teach you how to fish and catch your own dinner. Go to this web site.

When you get there enter the operating voltage, maximum load current, and the loop distance. Note on the distance is LOOP or 2 times the one-way distance. so if you have 100 feet one-way enter 200.

Results appear below in the tables. Select one with 2% or less loss.

---Mod Note: Current anti-spam measures on the system flag some posts with links to moderation, so there will be a delay. If at first you don't succeed either be patient or make the link un-clickable. No idea what happened to the second try.

[sensij]

1. We have is a 24 panel x 270w each = 6480w with a 48v 12000w 120/220 inverter. Its a 2 pole system, each with 12 panels.
-One pole requires 55 foot wire from the batteries and inverter, what size wire would I want?
-Second pole requires 40 foot wire from the batteries and inverter, it already has 2 2gauge thhn coppers inside, what additional wire sizes would I need to handle these 12x270w/48v panels?

What kind of charge controller are you using? Is it built into the inverter?

[Mike90250]

Wire is not measured in watts, it's measured and sized in AMPS. (insulation is measured in volts)

Will your panels be in series or in parallel ? There should be a label on the back of the panel with the volt and amp specs, can you post that?
(looks like this)

Sharp208_c.jpg

If there is a fuse rating on the label, the wire must be large enough to handle the amps listed for the fuse. If you have long wire runs, you may need even larger wire, that's what the calculator site is for, to get the wire size and distance aligned.

[hollywoodtoday]

thx

ok, ya Ill need to grab a pic of the 270w panels sticker.

As for the wire size site, heres what I entered and got 2 gauge http://prntscr.com/5onpfg

As for the load, I entered 40a because load to me sounds like the motor loads that would be running on the panels, but maybe Im wrong. It probably pulls 15a at full load amps and prob less than 10 running amps. Its a 220 ac water pump.

Im not sure if the panels will be in series or in parallel. I thought that was just for the batteries. Well Whatever provides the most juice. As for the inverter, I believe this is whats out there --> aims 12000w 120/220 inverter 48v --->

http://invertersupply.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2290&cPath=0_429&gclid=CjwKEAiA5qOlBRDAn8K5qen65joSJADRvlbqrGO0yhMApWnL9Mbktg2mIsIOCpiJP3UNlv99UFnG-BoC-4zw_wcB

I'll just have to verify, but thats what the box says.

Ya, Im still not sure what a charge controller is. Someone else engineered the system and left it for us to do, so Im just picking up where he left off.

thank you very much for your time.
Any added thoughts are fantastic.

[sensij]

Some documentation on that inverter is here, and the manual is here. The charge controller is built in, but the bad news is that it appears to be PWM. A PWM controller basically means amps in = amps out.

More bad news is that it look like 64 VDC is max input voltage. The VOC of a typical 270 W panel is around 40 VDC... to low to use by itself, but too high to double up in series. It will be important to look at the sticker and see what your panels really are. I don't know what is meant by two poles in the original post, but I don't think you can string the panels together as you suggest without a better charge controller.

[SunEagle]

Some documentation on that inverter is here, and the manual is here. The charge controller is built in, but the bad news is that it appears to be PWM. A PWM controller basically means amps in = amps out.

More bad news is that it look like 64 VDC is max input voltage. The VOC of a typical 270 W panel is around 40 VDC... to low to use by itself, but too high to double up in series. It will be important to look at the sticker and see what your panels really are. I don't know what is meant by two poles in the original post, but I don't think you can string the panels together as you suggest without a better charge controller.

Looks like AIMS makes a couple of different inverter/chargers. The PICGLF are the ones that works with solar panels. The OP gave a link to a different model PICOGLF which does not accept solar panels as a charging source.

[hollywoodtoday]

started this solar setup thread in a new thread HERE-->

I'm creating a new thread for this solar setup with proper true information because I dont want any misinformation confusing us. --> http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showth...239#post135239

Thank you so much