Xantrex Technology PROwatt 1000 manual Connecting DC Cables, Cabling Guidelines

CHASSIS GND

CHASSIS GND

Installation

Marine Connect thescrew to the boat’s DC grounding bus or the engine’s negative bus using 6 AWG copper wire that is bare or has insulation rated at 90º C.

Fixed Location (residential, for example) Connect the

screw to your system’s DC grounding point using 6 AWG wire. The system’s grounding point is usually the AC service entrance grounding point or a separate ground rod. For a solar PV (photovoltaic) installation, this is usually the same rod used to ground the PV array.

Connecting DC Cables

To operate safely and effectively, the PROwatt 1000 needs proper cables, wiring, and fuses. Because the PROwatt 1000 has low-voltage, high-current input, low-resistance wiring between the battery and the inverter is essential to deliver the maximum amount of usable energy to your load.

Cabling Guidelines

Follow these guidelines and refer to Table 3-1to plan the DC cabling:

•Use 4 AWG copper (90º C insulation rating) as the smallest DC cable size. This will minimize the voltage drop between the battery and the inverter. If the cables cause an excessive voltage drop, the inverter may shut down when drawing higher currents because the voltage at the inverter input drops below 10 volts.

•Keep all cables as short as possible, and ensure that each cable between the inverter and the battery is no longer than 4 feet (1.2 m).

•If you must use longer cables, choose a larger diameter cable such as 2 AWG, and use appropriate crimp connectors.

•Do not use aluminum. It has about 1/3 more resistance than copper cable of the same size, and it is difficult to make good, low-resistance connections to aluminum wire.

Table 3-1 Recommended Wire Sizes and Lengths

	Wire Length
Wire Size	Battery to Inverter one way
4 AWG	2 feet (0.6 m)
2 AWG	6 feet (1.8 m)
2 AWG	8 feet (2.4 m)

Note: Never use a cable longer than 8 feet.

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