Date:         Sat, 5 Oct 2002 10:59:19 -0400
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: Sanity Check - Wire gauge for wiring SA headlights
Comments: To: THX0001@AOL.COM
In-Reply-To:  <14c.15438c55.2ad0317f@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

Incidentally, this helps illustrate why the trend is always toward higher
system voltages:  the power losses in the wiring are equal to I^2 * R -- if
you double the system voltage you can halve the wire size / weight / cost
of copper without any additional losses (or keep the same size wire and
experience only one-quarter the power loss).  That's why we went from
six  volts to twelve, why large vehicles and boats use 24v, and why there's
a push to have new vehicles use a 48v system (which is beginning to get
scary in terms of shock potential).

It's also why they use a million or so volts to carry AC power across
country, and 5,000 volts across town.  And why Edison's DC generator system
was doomed from the start -- he couldn't use transformers to boost the
voltage for transmission and had to generate it at the same voltage it was
to be used, making it necessary to have a generating station every few blocks.

david


At 08:13 AM 10/5/2002, George Goff wrote:
>So, if I use 500 ft. of 4/0 instead of 10 ft. of #14, I should be good to go.
>  Right? (insert requisite smiley here)
>
>George

--
David Beierl - Providence, RI
  http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"