{"id":1157,"date":"2025-03-27T12:16:48","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T11:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-site.se\/sutars.com\/?page_id=1157"},"modified":"2026-05-15T09:58:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T07:58:52","slug":"what-should-i-consider-when-sizing-cables","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wired-inspired\/cable-sizing\/what-should-i-consider-when-sizing-cables\/","title":{"rendered":"What should I consider when sizing cables?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"1157\" class=\"elementor elementor-1157\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6d1558e5 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"6d1558e5\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2850428b e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2850428b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;gradient&quot;,&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6fa4ca64 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6fa4ca64\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">What should I consider when sizing cables?<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-42bc448c e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"42bc448c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1ebeb53e elementor-widget__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-eael-breadcrumbs\" data-id=\"1ebeb53e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"eael-breadcrumbs.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"eael-breadcrumbs\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"eael-breadcrumbs__content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\">Home<\/a> <span class=\"eael-breadcrumb-separator\">\/<\/span> <span class = \"eael-current\">Page<\/span><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-621a32a6 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"621a32a6\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1d8b5cc4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1d8b5cc4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">From the Basics to Practice<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6362b8 elementor-widget__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6362b8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><style>\na {<br \/>\n    text-decoration: none;<br \/>\n    color: #464feb;<br \/>\n}<br \/>\ntr th, tr td {<br \/>\n    border: 1px solid #e6e6e6;<br \/>\n}<br \/>\ntr th {<br \/>\n    background-color: #f5f5f5;<br \/>\n}<br \/>\n<\/style><\/p><div>If you already understand the basics of cable sizing, you can continue\u00a0to <a href=\"https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wired-inspired\/cable-sizing\/cable-sizing-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Cable Sizing Guide <\/a>or go directly to<a href=\"https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wired-inspired\/cable-sizing\/cable-calculator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> the calculator<\/a> to calculate the thickness of the cables for your new electrical system.<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ec8d4a6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"ec8d4a6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Otherwise, start dimensioning by answering these three questions:<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-66632ec elementor-widget elementor-widget-n-accordion\" data-id=\"66632ec\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;default_state&quot;:&quot;expanded&quot;,&quot;max_items_expended&quot;:&quot;one&quot;,&quot;n_accordion_animation_duration&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;ms&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:400,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"nested-accordion.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-n-accordion\" aria-label=\"Accordion. Open links with Enter or Space, close with Escape, and navigate with Arrow Keys\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<details id=\"e-n-accordion-item-1070\" class=\"e-n-accordion-item\" open>\n\t\t\t\t<summary class=\"e-n-accordion-item-title\" data-accordion-index=\"1\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-controls=\"e-n-accordion-item-1070\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='e-n-accordion-item-title-header'><div class=\"e-n-accordion-item-title-text\"> How long is the cable? <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='e-n-accordion-item-title-icon'>\n\t\t\t<span class='e-opened' ><i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-minus\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class='e-closed'><i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-plus\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"e-n-accordion-item-1070\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d65d880 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d65d880\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-100865a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"100865a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>How long is the cable from the power source to the load and back again? That is the question you must have an answer to. Examples of such circuits are alternator \u2192 battery \u2192 alternator, or fuse panel \u2192 lamp \u2192 fuse panel.<\/p><p>The shorter the distance, the thinner the cable you can choose.<\/p><p>When calculating the cable cross-sectional area, you must remember to include both the positive and negative runs to get the correct dimension. For example, if there are 2.5 meters between your alternator and the battery, you calculate based on 5 meters.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<details id=\"e-n-accordion-item-1071\" class=\"e-n-accordion-item\" >\n\t\t\t\t<summary class=\"e-n-accordion-item-title\" data-accordion-index=\"2\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"e-n-accordion-item-1071\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='e-n-accordion-item-title-header'><div class=\"e-n-accordion-item-title-text\"> How much power? <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='e-n-accordion-item-title-icon'>\n\t\t\t<span class='e-opened' ><i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-minus\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class='e-closed'><i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-plus\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"e-n-accordion-item-1071\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9ece4e5 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"9ece4e5\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2719f55 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2719f55\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><style>\na {\n    text-decoration: none;\n    color: #464feb;\n}\ntr th, tr td {\n    border: 1px solid #e6e6e6;\n}\ntr th {\n    background-color: #f5f5f5;\n}\n<\/style><\/p><div><div class=\"paragraph-in-scc-markdown-text ___1ngh792 ftgm304 f1iaxwol\">How much current will flow through the cable? For a lamp or a TV, you can find this out by looking at how much power it draws and dividing by the voltage, which is normally 12 volts.<\/div><div>\u00a0<\/div><div class=\"paragraph-in-scc-markdown-text ___1ngh792 ftgm304 f1iaxwol\">That means a lamp that draws 24 watts will require 24 \/ 12 = 2 amperes. For a charging circuit, i.e. from alternator to battery and back again, the alternator\u2019s rated current is used as the reference. A common alternator size is 55 amperes.<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<details id=\"e-n-accordion-item-1072\" class=\"e-n-accordion-item\" >\n\t\t\t\t<summary class=\"e-n-accordion-item-title\" data-accordion-index=\"3\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"e-n-accordion-item-1072\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='e-n-accordion-item-title-header'><div class=\"e-n-accordion-item-title-text\"> How much voltage drop? <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='e-n-accordion-item-title-icon'>\n\t\t\t<span class='e-opened' ><i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-minus\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class='e-closed'><i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-plus\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"e-n-accordion-item-1072\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a756bfd e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"a756bfd\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-78d4312 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"78d4312\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><style>\na {\n    text-decoration: none;\n    color: #464feb;\n}\ntr th, tr td {\n    border: 1px solid #e6e6e6;\n}\ntr th {\n    background-color: #f5f5f5;\n}\n<\/style><\/p><div><div class=\"paragraph-in-scc-markdown-text ___1ngh792 ftgm304 f1iaxwol\">How much voltage drop can you tolerate in the circuit in question? The answer depends on what is connected to the circuit. For the charging circuit, i.e. between the alternator and the batteries, our measurements have shown that you should stay below 0.1 volts to maintain good charging.<\/div><div>\u00a0<\/div><div class=\"paragraph-in-scc-markdown-text ___1ngh792 ftgm304 f1iaxwol\">For a normal consumer such as a navigation light or a TV, about 0.5 volts of voltage drop from the fuse panel is a good level. A bow thruster, anchor windlass, or starter motor can handle 1 volt of voltage drop without losing power, but more than that should be avoided.<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-63e7f3c8 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"63e7f3c8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-11fc8222 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"11fc8222\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"953\" src=\"https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/04\/ks0720-860x1024.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1528\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/04\/ks0720-860x1024.jpg 860w, https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/04\/ks0720-252x300.jpg 252w, https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/04\/ks0720-768x915.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/04\/ks0720-1290x1536.jpg 1290w, https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/04\/ks0720-1720x2048.jpg 1720w, https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/04\/ks0720-300x357.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/04\/ks0720-600x714.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-487e0189 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"487e0189\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-88d3438 elementor-widget__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"88d3438\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">More tips &amp; tricks<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2c2dfa67 elementor-grid-2 elementor-widget__width-inherit elementor-grid-tablet-2 elementor-grid-mobile-1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-loop-grid\" data-id=\"2c2dfa67\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;template_id&quot;:&quot;781&quot;,&quot;columns&quot;:2,&quot;_skin&quot;:&quot;post&quot;,&quot;columns_tablet&quot;:&quot;2&quot;,&quot;columns_mobile&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;edit_handle_selector&quot;:&quot;[data-elementor-type=\\&quot;loop-item\\&quot;]&quot;,&quot;row_gap&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;row_gap_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;row_gap_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"loop-grid.post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-loop-nothing-found-message\">\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home \/ Page From the Basics to Practice If you already understand the basics of cable sizing, you can continue\u00a0to the Cable Sizing Guide or go directly to the calculator to calculate the thickness of the cables for your new electrical system. Otherwise, start dimensioning by answering these three questions: How long is the cable? [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":535,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"What should I consider when dimensioning cables? | Sutars AB","_seopress_titles_desc":"Here you can answer three questions to start the cable sizing process. Read also our guide or go to our calculator!","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"Pagecategories":[63],"class_list":{"0":"post-1157","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"Pagecategories-kabeldimensionering"},"acf":[],"meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1157"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15592,"href":"https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1157\/revisions\/15592"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"Pagecategories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sutars.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/Pagecategories?post=1157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}