Handy solar info for lead acid batteries
Handy Bob
Forum Discussion
Huge?
2. WIRE SIZES: My complaints about wire size started out in 2000, when every solar guy on the planet thought #10 was big. Stop taking this to mean that bigger is always better. It is NOT. Learn about how wires are sized for the amps they carry (the amps your solar panels actually produce, not the rating of the controller or the wires) and voltage drop is directly proportional to the amps and the length of the wire. You might Google ampacity chart or wire sizing. When people brag to me that they ran #2 for one or two panels I just want to scream. That is pure and simple waste.
let's not forget the drop in peak voltage due to panel heating, starting with 17v poly Vmp! I note NOTC Vmp of 16 for a 17.7 Vmp panel. It does get hot in places.
2. WIRE SIZES: My complaints about wire size started out in 2000, when every solar guy on the planet thought #10 was big. Stop taking this to mean that bigger is always better. It is NOT. Learn about how wires are sized for the amps they carry (the amps your solar panels actually produce, not the rating of the controller or the wires) and voltage drop is directly proportional to the amps and the length of the wire. You might Google ampacity chart or wire sizing. When people brag to me that they ran #2 for one or two panels I just want to scream. That is pure and simple waste.
let's not forget the drop in peak voltage due to panel heating, starting with 17v poly Vmp! I note NOTC Vmp of 16 for a 17.7 Vmp panel. It does get hot in places.
