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Deo vindic
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# Posted: 9 Sep 2013 05:07pm
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I may do solar in the future , Would it be good to run 12 volt wiring in the house while wiring for 110 v ?
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 9 Sep 2013 05:21pm
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Depends on what the plan is. Small place, big place; do you want/need DC inside for lights or something or do you plan on running everything AC? My personal preference is to plan on everything inside being standard 120 VAC. So our place has a complete set of 120 AC wiring. AC makes it simple to add any electrical device you want. But if off grid what you can run depends on battery / solar capacity, of course.
Because I wanted some 'insurance', in case the inverter crapped out, I have three small lights that run on DC. So, there is a small amount of DC wiring in place. Duplication (AC & DC) can increase wire costs considerably.
I would run TV cable, telephone and Cat5 if there was even a remote chance any of those might be wanted in the future. Much easier now than later.
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Deo vindic
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# Posted: 9 Sep 2013 05:53pm
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Its a pretty small place 17.6 ft x 26.6 ft , I am wiring for 120v. I want 12 v for just lights for future use . Would it benefit to run the 12 v wire while the walls are open ? I am told I wouldn't need a converter if I run 12 v wire
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Deo vindic
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# Posted: 9 Sep 2013 09:51pm
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bump
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 9 Sep 2013 11:10pm
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That's about the same sq ft as ours.
If you know you want some DC lights and that you will have batteries to power them, by all means wire that up now. Your OP made it sound like it was just a possibility, not a sure thing. My incorrect interpretation.
Note: it's an inverter that changes DC to AC and a converter that changes AC to DC.
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Deo vindic
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# Posted: 10 Sep 2013 10:33am
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Thanks M.D. I know nothing about solar.
DC wiring would that be the same as vehicle wiring ?
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 10 Sep 2013 02:59pm
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DC wiring is similar to a vehicle; a positive and a negative wire to each device being connected. Auto wire does not have any additional protection for the insulation on the wires though. Using it through walls makes me nervous. I prefer to use residential wire like Romex for the DC as well as the AC. It has a black and a white in its standard form along with a bare ground. Use black for positive and white for the negative.
The main thing when having both DC and AC in the cabin is to keep them clearly separated. I mark every end of the DC wiring with orange tape to remind me what is what.
And DC and AC should never be in the same box or enclosure. It's just good practice. That's my opinion.
If you are only planning on low wattage lights like LED's you should not have any DC voltage drop worries in a small cabin. That is the main concern with DC lines; high amp/watt loads need heavy wires for longer runs.
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Deo vindic
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2013 11:57am
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Thanks again for the info MD.
The main thing when having both DC and AC in the cabin is to keep them clearly separated. I mark every end of the DC wiring with orange tape to remind me what is what.
And DC and AC should never be in the same box or enclosure. It's just good practice. That's my opinion.
I will defiantly remember this I would like it to be safe
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Zukowski
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# Posted: 12 Aug 2015 11:36pm
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I know this is old but thanks for the info MtnDon.
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