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McKenziek's avatar
McKenziek
Explorer
Jul 06, 2014

Wire Size & fuses for solar install

I have 4 140 Watt 12v panels connected in parallel on the roof. I took the guy at Solar Blvd's advice and bought #10 AWG wire for the run to the controller. Controller is a Mornigstar TS-45 PWM. It is about 35' away from the panels. Is this wire size big enough? Should I use the same size wire to the battery bank? And lastly what size and type fuse should I use between the load & batteries to the controller or should I use a re-settable breaker?

Thanks.

13 Replies

  • #10 is too small. I will guess your panels Isc is around 8 amps. 4 of them in parallel is 32 amps coming into the controller. You need at least #8 but larger would be better.
    The output of your controller could potentially be well over 40 amps. I'd say #6 is a minimum on the output. Larger would be better given the distance.
    Don't forget you need a fuse in series with each of your parallel connected panels. This prevents 3 of them from shorting all their current thru the 4th one if it ever shorts out. The device commonly used for this is called a combiner box. Your panels should list their maximum series fuse on the label.
  • Your Morningstar instruction manual will give you the size fuses necessary. 10ga wire appears very light, especially for that length of run. You're looking for NO MORE THAN 2% voltage drop over your wire run. We are using 6ga from an on-roof terminal box to the Morningstar controller and are only running about 16 ft. The same from the controller to the batteries about 2' further along. Look up Handy Bob on Google and be prepared to do a lot of reading, but you'll also be getting a post-grad education in solar installation and care and feeding of your DC system. We have four 140W panels (tilt-able on all primary axes) and a Morningstar Tri Star MPPT60 controller. We've been running it since Jan 2013 and boondock extensively in the southwest and Alaska. Our system is outstanding. Another site with good educational info is Northern Arizona Wind and Sun.

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