In sizing underground feeder wire to a detached garage/shop do I calculate voltage drop based on distance from the main service panel on back of house to the shop(175feet)? Or do I include the distance from the meter to the house main service panel(160feet) and the distance to the shop(175) to come up with a total distance of (335feet)?
I want to run power to a new building(24X32). I've trenched approx. 165ft from my main service panel(200amp) on back of the house to the shop. I am thinking of installing 100amp sub-panel in a one-person shop and run; air compressor, small heater, lights, table saw, welder. Thinking of running 2/0 Al MFH cable to sub-panel. The small house was built on sub-divided property, so the meter is actually 160 feet behind the house(main service panel) and the cable coming into the house I believe is 4/0. I am trying to determine cable size to run in my trench, in conduit, with these variables.
Best Answer
For a sub panel fed from your main panel normaly we size base wire size on the distance from the panel to the load or location using distance and the max load or supply breaker size. The conductors are already sized for the panel size from the meter to the panel.