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250 Feet from 12 Panel PV Array to EG4 6000XP Inverter - Rot Roh?

hoosierhog88

hoosierhog88

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Joined
Apr 20, 2024
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7
Location
Bloomington, IN
My 12 Hyperion 395W Bifacial Solar Panels and EG4 Brightmount racks from Signature Solar will be here Friday. The distance is about 250 feet from the array to the EG4 6000XP inverter in series, so 4 runs of 250 feet... right? I'll be running the PV wire in conduit. I'm perplexed on what size wire to purchase and where to buy it from. I realize there is going to be some voltage drop from the panels to the inverter due to the length of the run. I may need to take out a loan to buy the wire... and my wife is already about to kill me! LOL! This is an awesome group and I appreciate your suggestions!
 
Just a thought - How about doing 6s2p configuration?

You will be still within the inverter’s voltage range (max 385V, I believe).
 
When I was figuring out my PV runs, I downloaded the Southwire Voltage Drop app to help me determine wire gauge size.
 
mvreddy48 said:
Just a thought - How about doing 6s2p configuration?

You will be still within the inverter’s voltage range (max 385V, I believe).
Click to expand...
That would only mean three wires, a ground, negative and positive. Voltage would be 250 volts and voltage drop is not critical for solar as long as it is above minimum for inverter. Wire should be sized at least for the current.
 
hoosierhog88 said:
My 12 Hyperion 395W Bifacial Solar Panels and EG4 Brightmount racks from Signature Solar will be here Friday. The distance is about 250 feet from the array to the EG4 6000XP inverter in series, so 4 runs of 250 feet... right? I'll be running the PV wire in conduit. I'm perplexed on what size wire to purchase and where to buy it from. I realize there is going to be some voltage drop from the panels to the inverter due to the length of the run. I may need to take out a loan to buy the wire... and my wife is already about to kill me! LOL! This is an awesome group and I appreciate your suggestions!
Click to expand...
VOC of that panel is about 37V.

480V (VOC rating of 6000XP) divided by 37V = 12.9 panels in series however you need to calculate for cold weather.

As you have 2 PV inputs, I would run 6S with 10AWG. I run 10AWG on my array 420 feet to the charge controllers. Vmp is around 300V. Winter the temp gets as low as -30°F so VOC will be just under the 500V rating of my charge controllers.

With 13A, you could get by even with 14 AWG however you get more voltage drop. I use 10 AWG for PV runs, this way I don't have to worry about excessive voltage drop or amperage rating of wire.
 
Zwy said:
VOC of that panel is about 37V.

480V (VOC rating of 6000XP) divided by 37V = 12.9 panels in series however you need to calculate for cold weather.

As you have 2 PV inputs, I would run 6S with 10AWG. I run 10AWG on my array 420 feet to the charge controllers. Vmp is around 300V. Winter the temp gets as low as -30°F so VOC will be just under the 500V rating of my charge controllers.

With 13A, you could get by even with 14 AWG however you get more voltage drop. I use 10 AWG for PV runs, this way I don't have to worry about excessive voltage drop or amperage rating of wire.
Click to expand...
Awesome thanks so much!
 
Consider using aluminum wire, I found Cerro (brand) 8ga AL THHN/THWN-2 40-amp/600-volt wire red, white & black for $.28 ft. online at Ktool. Seriously low voltage drop for not that much money. If you ever do use aluminum wire, be sure to get the proper compound to use on the connections. PS: Didn't see anything smaller than 8ga.
 
hoosierhog88 said:
My 12 Hyperion 395W Bifacial Solar Panels and EG4 Brightmount racks from Signature Solar will be here Friday. The distance is about 250 feet from the array to the EG4 6000XP inverter in series, so 4 runs of 250 feet... right? I'll be running the PV wire in conduit. I'm perplexed on what size wire to purchase and where to buy it from. I realize there is going to be some voltage drop from the panels to the inverter due to the length of the run. I may need to take out a loan to buy the wire... and my wife is already about to kill me! LOL! This is an awesome group and I appreciate your suggestions!
Click to expand...
I bought a pallet of the same panels, but only plan on using about 8-10 at first. I'm waffling between the Brightmounts and maybe using Hollaender brackets with 2" pipe. Keep us posted on how it works out! BTW, Windy Nation has a good selection of wire and connectors.
 
hankinohio said:
So 400 foot run is doable?
Click to expand...
Doable.

hankinohio said:
What is your voltage drop?
Click to expand...

Never measured it. VOC as high as possible for the charge controller max VOC rating is the key.

hankinohio said:
and does it really matter that much with DC if you have large enough wire?
Click to expand...
It doesn't matter unless you are choking the circuit with very small wire. I'm certain performance would suffer if I used 14 AWG instead of 10 AWG. 10 AWG is about twice the amperage capacity as needed for the strings. I can say I've seen more than rated capacity be pulled from array.

Power from array is pulled by the charge controller, not the array pushing it.
 
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