Battery Bank’s voltage (Volts): If your battery is rated at 12 Volts, select 12V.
Output Current rating of the charge controller (Amps): this is the amperage of the charge controller (15 amps for example).In the calculator, please enter the following: 3 feet of 14 AWG wire from positive to positive, and 3 feet of wire from negative to negative.īelow, you’ll find our charge controller to battery wire size calculator. The distance between the charge controller and the battery.įor example, if the 12V-100Ah battery is being charged by a 15 Amp solar charge controller, that is 3 feet away from the battery, we would need 6 feet of 14 AWG (2.1mm²) pure copper cable.The amount of current (in Amps) at which you’re going to charge the battery, which in this case, is the Output Current rating of the charge controller.What size cable from charge controller to battery?Īgain, at a maximum voltage drop of 3%, the size of the wire from the charge controller to the battery will depend on: Now let’s see the size of the wire that you need to connect your charge controller to your 12V-100Ah battery. Distance between battery and inverter (feet): this is the one-way distance (in feet) between the terminals of your inverter and the terminals of your battery.įor examples and a more thorough explanation, please refer to this page: What size wire from battery to inverter?.Battery Bank’s voltage (Volts): this is the voltage rating of the battery, which in this case is 12V.Make sure not to confuse it with the Surge Power rating of the inverter. The Continuous Power rating of the inverter (in Watts): this is the main rating of the inverter (700W for example).To make things much easier, below, you’ll find our battery to inverter wire size calculator that will determine the cable size that you need based on the maximum amount of current that your inverter is going to use, the distance (in feet) between your battery and inverter, and the voltage of the battery (12V). current x 1.25), you would need a 3 AWG (26.7mm²) copper wire for both distances. However, to comply with the National Electrical Codes (US), which dictates that the ampacity of the wire needs to be equal to or greater than 125% of your maximum current (Max. If instead, the inverter was 10 feet away, the battery would require a 3 AWG (26.7mm²) copper wire to limit the voltage drop at 3%. The distance between the battery and the inverter.įor example, a 12V-100Ah battery running a 500W inverter that is 5 feet away, would require a 6 AWG (13.3mm²) copper wire in order to not exceed an acceptable voltage drop of 3%.The Continuous Power rating of your inverter (in Watts).What size wire from the battery to the inverter?įor a maximum voltage drop of 3%, the size of the wire that you need to connect your 12V 100Ah to an inverter will depend on 2 factors: So, first, let’s see how you can determine the cable size that you need from your 12V-100Ah battery to the inverter (or load in general). And these 2 pairs of wires will not necessarily be of the same size.Īt a certain desired voltage drop (3% for example), the size of each pair of wires will depend on the amount of current running through the wire, and the distance between the battery and the device (inverter or charge controller). Your 12V-100Ah battery will have 2 pairs of cables connected to it, a positive and a negative running from the battery to the inverter (or the appliance), and a positive and a negative running from the charge controller to the battery. What is the cable size for a 12v 100ah battery? In this quick article, and using these variables, I will provide a couple of tools that will help you size the cables running from and to your battery. The longer the distance, the thicker the cable needs to be. The distance between the battery and the load (inverter or appliance), or between the charge controller and the battery.The higher the current, the thicker the cable needs to be. The maximum amount of current (in Amps) that’ll be flowing through the wire (from or to the battery).The thicker the cable, the more efficient it’s going to be. The maximum desired voltage drop, which should not exceed 3%.There are 3 variables that determine how thick a battery wire should be:
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