Service feeder voltage drop..

sick boy 73

Member
Location
North Carolina
Occupation
Lead electrician
Trying to get information about voltage drop for a 205 ft SER feeder run..My feeder consist of three 4/0 cables and one 2/0.. it is to be ran 205 ft from the inside main lug panel to the outside 200 amp meter base.. to the best of my knowledge the cable is only rated for 180 amps .. my question is does my wire need to be upsized to carry the voltage drop from such a far distance.. the cable is XHHW rated for 600volts and is in the 90° temp column
 
Last edited:

Elect117

Senior Member
Location
California
Occupation
Engineer E.E. P.E.
There are sites you can use from google or the NEC has some references in Chapter 9, Table 9.

The voltage drop requires knowing the voltage.

The 90°C temp column can be used for derating but should not be used for circuit ampacity where it terminates at equipment. UL does not test at that temperature rating. So anything listed or labeled as an ampacity, for example a 200A panel board, would be listed for use at 200A AT 75°C.
 

sick boy 73

Member
Location
North Carolina
Occupation
Lead electrician
There are sites you can use from google or the NEC has some references in Chapter 9, Table 9.

The voltage drop requires knowing the voltage.

The 90°C temp column can be used for derating but should not be used for circuit ampacity where it terminates at equipment. UL does not test at that temperature rating. So anything listed or labeled as an ampacity, for example a 200A panel board, would be listed for use at 200A AT 75°C.
My apologies,, this is my first post.. the voltage is 240
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Welcome to the forum.

If you mean one cable with four conductors (SER), that's typically for use following a main service disconnect.

You do have a main service disconnect between the meter and the cable's entrance to the building, don't you?
 

sick boy 73

Member
Location
North Carolina
Occupation
Lead electrician
There are sites you can use from google or the NEC has some references in Chapter 9, Table 9.

The voltage drop requires knowing the voltage.

The 90°C temp column can be used for derating but should not be used for circuit ampacity where it terminates at equipment. UL does not test at that temperature rating. So anything listed or labeled as an ampacity, for example a 200A panel board, would be listed for use at 200A AT 75°C.

Welcome to the forum.

If you mean one cable with four conductors, that would be for use following a main service disconnect.

You do have a main service disconnect between the meter and the entrance to the building, don't you?
Yes sir there will be a 200 amp breaker disconnect at the meter base
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Okay, good. Just being sure.

Voltage drop is dependent on the circuit impedance and the load current, not the system voltage.
 

sick boy 73

Member
Location
North Carolina
Occupation
Lead electrician
If I figured correctly I come up with 67.6 load current.. Chinese arithmetic has never been my strong suit though.. I'm really trying to find maximum distance I can run the cable.. if I figured load right is saying about 550 ft which is good.. my run is 205 ft
 

Elect117

Senior Member
Location
California
Occupation
Engineer E.E. P.E.
You need to calculate it using the impedance of 410 ft of your wire and the 68a of the load.

He is probably running the calc backwards. Setting it to 5% and then getting the longest distance. Using southwire's calc, I got 450'.

Just remember to set everything properly. Like the aluminum.

I would expect to see about ~1.5% voltage drop at that distance, for that load.
 
I depends on what the load is. Often in a residential setting the load is unlikely to ever be over 60 amps. If there is a big load like a lot of electric heat or an on-demand water heater or stuff like that you could be higher but generally it's pretty rare.
 
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