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kris-r asked

Wiring Unlimited, Parallel Inverters: AC Resistors?

Hello,

I'm reading Wiring Unlimited - Rev 07, and in section 6.7 (Special considerations for AC wiring of parallel and/or 3 phase inverter/chargers).

It states that if low resistance cables are used in a parallel set-up, the differences in resistance from the AC input contactors, can result in one unit carrying a substantial amount of the load. And to safeguard against this issue, Wiring Unlimited recommends that you use thinner and longer cables.

Would AC resistors do the same job, allowing for shorter cables, and varying lengths?

Thanks

Kris R

wiringmultiplus in parallelac
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1 Answer
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wkirby answered ·

Much better to use longer cables of the same length. The resistance needs to be as low as possible to avoid power loss and ensure equal resistance.
Using resistors is not a good idea, they would need to be very low value, and then you'd need to worry about the heat dissipation in that device. Using longer cables helps dissipate the heat over the whole length of the cable. Also it's much cheaper to use the cables, only two terminations. Having to terminate the cable on resistors also would add two more terminations in the run and defeat the point of trying to balance the resistance of the entire cable and terminals.

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