Wire size for 125 A over 15 ft on a 12 V system
| Circuit power125 A × 12 V | 1,500W |
|---|---|
| Conductor length15 ft out and 15 ft back | 30ft |
| Ampacity alone would allow3.81% drop — legal on heat, not acceptable on drop | 1/0 AWG |
| Power lost in the cable1.9% of what you are sending | 28.5W |
| — Voltage drop by size — | |
| 14 AWGnot rated for 125 A — 15 A max | — |
| 12 AWGnot rated for 125 A — 20 A max | — |
| 10 AWGnot rated for 125 A — 30 A max | — |
| 8 AWGnot rated for 125 A — 50 A max | — |
| 6 AWGnot rated for 125 A — 65 A max | — |
| 4 AWGnot rated for 125 A — 85 A max | — |
| 2 AWGnot rated for 125 A — 115 A max | — |
| 1/0 AWG150 A rated, drop too high | 3.81%0.46 V |
| 2/0 AWG175 A rated, drop too high | 3.02%0.36 V |
| 4/0 AWG230 A rated | 1.9%0.23 V |
- Current
- 125 A
- One-way distance
- 15 ft
- System voltage
- 12 V
Ampacity and voltage drop are two different questions
Ampacity asks whether the wire gets hot enough to be dangerous. Voltage drop asks whether enough of the power arrives at the other end. On a low-voltage DC run they almost never give the same answer, and the bigger one wins.
For 125 A over 15 ft at 12 V, ampacity alone would allow 1/0 AWG. Voltage drop says 4/0 AWG — 1.9%, or 0.23 V of the 12 V you started with.
Why the distance doubles
Current goes out on one conductor and comes back on the other. The copper in the circuit is 30 ft, not 15 ft. Forgetting the return leg is how people arrive at exactly half the real drop.
Why it matters more than it sounds
1,500 W leaves the source. Undersized cable does not just waste a few percent — on a solar charge controller it means the battery never sees absorption voltage, never finishes a charge cycle, and sulphates its way to an early death while every meter in the system reads normal.
What is not in the table
Copper at 75 °C. Aluminium conducts about 60% as well — go up two sizes. Conduit fill, ambient temperature above 30 °C and bundled conductors all derate ampacity further.
Notes
- Two different answers, and the bigger one wins. 1/0 AWG carries 125 A without overheating, but it drops 3.81% over this distance. You need 4/0 AWG — sized by voltage drop, not by heat.
- 3% is the NEC informational recommendation for a branch circuit, not a hard rule. On a 12 V DC system it is already generous: 0.36 V of the 12 V you started with.
- 12 V is what makes this expensive. The same 1,500 W at 24 V halves the current and quarters the loss — the cheapest way out of a big cable bill is almost always a higher system voltage.
- Figures are copper at 75 °C. Aluminium runs about 60% of copper conductivity — go up two sizes. Conduit fill, ambient temperature above 30 °C and bundling all derate ampacity further, and none of that is in this table.
Nearby sizes
- Wire size for 100 A over 15 ft on a 12 V system
- Wire size for 150 A over 15 ft on a 12 V system
- Wire size for 80 A over 15 ft on a 12 V system
- Wire size for 175 A over 15 ft on a 12 V system
- Wire size for 125 A over 10 ft on a 12 V system
- Wire size for 125 A over 20 ft on a 12 V system
- Wire size for 125 A over 5 ft on a 12 V system
- Wire size for 125 A over 25 ft on a 12 V system
- Wire size for 125 A over 15 ft on a 24 V system
- Wire size for 125 A over 15 ft on a 48 V system
Read more
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