WVelectrician
Member
- Location
- Charleston, West Virginia, USA
I have read other threads concerning this question but It still wasn't made clear to me.
Say you have a load connected in parallel 50 feet from the source. The code recommends not more than a 3% voltage drop in a branch CIRCUIT, that is to say out and back, so in calculating the R portion of VD=IR you would use 100 feet. 50 feet out to the load and 50 feet back to the breaker.
My question is, Why does the voltage drop on the line RETURNING from the load matter? wouldn't you only be concerned with the voltage SUPPLYING the load?
I have theories as to why the Out and Back length is used as opposed to the one way length.
It might have something to do with the rules for "E" in a parallel circuit; the voltage across one load is equal to the total voltage of the circuit. But even knowing that I'm not sure how that works.
I'm coming at it from the perspective of the load, if it gets enough voltage coming to it, it will work properly. How would the voltage lost after it went across the load matter?
Also,? would you still have to double the one way distance for a series circuit?
Say you have a load connected in parallel 50 feet from the source. The code recommends not more than a 3% voltage drop in a branch CIRCUIT, that is to say out and back, so in calculating the R portion of VD=IR you would use 100 feet. 50 feet out to the load and 50 feet back to the breaker.
My question is, Why does the voltage drop on the line RETURNING from the load matter? wouldn't you only be concerned with the voltage SUPPLYING the load?
I have theories as to why the Out and Back length is used as opposed to the one way length.
It might have something to do with the rules for "E" in a parallel circuit; the voltage across one load is equal to the total voltage of the circuit. But even knowing that I'm not sure how that works.
I'm coming at it from the perspective of the load, if it gets enough voltage coming to it, it will work properly. How would the voltage lost after it went across the load matter?
Also,? would you still have to double the one way distance for a series circuit?