Which Is the Right Size of PVC Cables for Your Solar Panel System?

solar cable The main difference between the standards is the materials allowed to be tested, for example BS EN 50618 only allows testing of cable products manufactured using LSHF materials. These types of cable products release less smoke and corrosive gases when exposed to fire. They are often specified for use in public buildings because the risk to public safety can be reduced. In contrast, IEC 62930 allows the testing of testing of materials with or without LSHF, including pvc cable products. PVC or modified PVC is more suitable for customer requirements when this material produces smoke and toxic fumes when burned. For example, PVC cable products may be more suitable for delivering power from solar panels to water treatment facilities because they have higher chemical resistance than LSHF products.

Photovoltaic cables are often exposed to sunlight, and solar systems are often used under harsh environmental conditions such as high temperatures and UV radiation. In Europe, sunny days will result in site temperatures of up to 100°C for solar systems. Currently, a variety of materials are available such as PVC, rubber, TPE and high quality cross-link materials, but unfortunately, rubber cables rated at 90°C, and Even PVC cables rated at 70°C are often used outdoors, and many contractors are not choosing special cables for solar systems in order to save costs, but are choosing ordinary PVC cables instead of PV cables, which obviously will greatly affect the service life of the system.

The cables used in the low-voltage DC transmission part of the photovoltaic power generation system have different requirements for the connection of different components because of the use of different environments and technical requirements, and the overall factors to be considered are: the insulation performance of the cable, heat and flame resistance, aging performance and wire diameter specifications. Then the following solar photovoltaic power generation of the editor to talk to you about solar photovoltaic module selection What are the criteria for choosing the cable.

1, the connection cable between the battery and the inverter, requires the use of UL-tested multi-strand flexible wire, as close as possible to connect. Choose a short and thick cable can make the system to reduce losses, improve efficiency and enhance reliability.

2、The connection cable between the battery array and the controller or DC junction box also requires the use of UL-tested multi-stranded flexible wire, with the cross-sectional area specification according to the maximum output current of the array.

3、The connection cable between the solar cell module and the module, generally use the connection cable attached to the module junction box to connect directly, the length is not enough to use a special extension cable. Depending on the size of the module power, this type of connection cable has a cross-sectional area of 2.5m㎡, 4.0m㎡, 6.0m㎡ and other three specifications. This type of connection cable uses a double layer of insulation sheath, which has superior protection against UV, water, ozone, acid, salt erosion ability, superior all-weather ability and resistance to wear and tear.

PV cables, string to sink cables generally use PV cables PV1-F1*4mm2. PV cables have a simple structure and use polyolefin insulation materials with excellent heat, cold, oil and UV resistance, which can be used in harsh environmental conditions and have a certain mechanical strength.

Photovoltaic cables are electron beam cross-linked cables rated at 120°C, which is equivalent to 18 years of use at a continuous temperature of 90°C; when the temperature is lower than 90°C, their service life is longer, and the service life of solar equipment is generally required to be more than 20 to 30 years.

The characteristics of photovoltaic cables are determined by their special insulation and sheath material, which we call cross-linked PE. after irradiation by an irradiation gas pedal, the molecular structure of the cable material changes, thus providing its various properties. Resistance to mechanical loads In fact, during installation and maintenance, the cables can be laid on the sharp edges of roof structures while the cables are subjected to pressure, bending, tension, cross-tension loads and strong shocks. If the cable sheath is not strong enough, the cable insulation will be severely damaged, affecting the life of the entire cable or leading to short circuits, fire and personal injury.