Ground Wire For Solar Panels

Once there it could arc again to the house wiring and use its grounding system instead.

Ground wire for solar panels. Here s how we ground our solar water pump systems. If lightning were to strike the solar panels outside the electric current may go into the panel grounding system if you are lucky or it may travel along the positive and negative wires going back to the inverter inside your house. Besides this solar cable gauge calculator is designed to provide estimates for wire gauge size to determine your need for cables. The formula p e i says that the wattage power p is equal to the voltage e times the current i in a circuit.

The main issue is the wire size needed for the usually fairly long run to the solar panels. Use twisted pair cable for any communication or control cables for example a float switch cable for full tank shutoff of a solar water pump. The one strand conductor type wire is most commonly used in domestic wiring and should be okay for your solar system however if your area is prone to consistent and extremely high winds you may want to consider wire types with a multi stranded conductor as it is more flexible thus more durable. For burial runs use bare copper wire.

If you use conduit run the ground wire outside the conduit. Drive a grounding rod at least 8 feet deep into the earth near the system. The additional earth contact will improve the grounding of the system. Connect or bond all ground rods together via bare copper wire 6 or larger see the nec and bury the wire.

Appropriate bonding and equipment grounding limits the voltage imposed on a system by lightning line surges and unintentional contact with higher voltage lines. Regardless of system voltage equipment grounding is required on all pv systems. For outdoor grounding you need to use thick bare copper wire that can handle large electrical currents like lightening. There are two basic types of ground mounted solar panel systems.

Use only approved clamps to connect wire to rods. Leave around 6 above ground to properly attach your copper wire to the grounding rod. Some standard ground mounted solar panel systems can be manually adjusted a few times a year to account for seasonal shifts of the sun. Standard ground mounts use metal framing driven into the ground to hold your solar panels up at a fixed angle.