Wire size for 80 A over 125 ft on a 48 V system
| Circuit power80 A × 48 V | 3,840W |
|---|---|
| Conductor length125 ft out and 125 ft back | 250ft |
| Ampacity alone would allow12.83% drop — legal on heat, not acceptable on drop | 4 AWG |
| Power lost in the cable2.53% of what you are sending | 97.3W |
| — Voltage drop by size — | |
| 14 AWGnot rated for 80 A — 15 A max | — |
| 12 AWGnot rated for 80 A — 20 A max | — |
| 10 AWGnot rated for 80 A — 30 A max | — |
| 8 AWGnot rated for 80 A — 50 A max | — |
| 6 AWGnot rated for 80 A — 65 A max | — |
| 4 AWG85 A rated, drop too high | 12.83%6.16 V |
| 2 AWG115 A rated, drop too high | 8.08%3.88 V |
| 1/0 AWG150 A rated, drop too high | 5.08%2.44 V |
| 2/0 AWG175 A rated, drop too high | 4.03%1.93 V |
| 4/0 AWG230 A rated | 2.53%1.22 V |
- Current
- 80 A
- One-way distance
- 125 ft
- System voltage
- 48 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 80 A over 125 ft at 48 V, ampacity alone would allow 4 AWG. Voltage drop says 4/0 AWG — 2.53%, or 1.22 V of the 48 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 250 ft, not 125 ft. Forgetting the return leg is how people arrive at exactly half the real drop.
Why it matters more than it sounds
3,840 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. 4 AWG carries 80 A without overheating, but it drops 12.83% 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 48 V DC system it is already generous: 1.44 V of the 48 V you started with.
- Running at 48 V is doing a lot of work here. The same 3,840 W at 12 V would draw 320 A and need a far heavier cable.
- 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 70 A over 125 ft on a 48 V system
- Wire size for 100 A over 125 ft on a 48 V system
- Wire size for 60 A over 125 ft on a 48 V system
- Wire size for 125 A over 125 ft on a 48 V system
- Wire size for 80 A over 100 ft on a 48 V system
- Wire size for 80 A over 150 ft on a 48 V system
- Wire size for 80 A over 75 ft on a 48 V system
- Wire size for 80 A over 200 ft on a 48 V system
- Wire size for 80 A over 125 ft on a 24 V system
- Wire size for 80 A over 125 ft on a 12 V system
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