Voltage Drop?

What is voltage drop and how does it effect automating a gate? Voltage drop in gate automation terms describes the losses experienced due to the resistance in cables. The longer the cables the higher the resistance and the greater the voltage drop. In general terms this will only effect low voltage installations, 12 or 24 volt and / or solar installations. Voltage drop becomes a problem when due to lengthy cable installations the voltage required by the electronics and the motor is less than the stated voltage. For example if we installed a 12 volt motor with a 20 metre cable run to the low voltage source the voltage at the motor may drop below 12 volts causing problems for the processors and long term damage to the motor.

To solve this problem we need to calculate the losses and by either increasing voltage at the source or improving cable size increase the voltage at the motor to an acceptable level. Use the calculator below to determine the cable sizes and source voltage to suit your installation.

The following calculator estimates the voltage drop, and voltage at the end of the cable run. Different quality cable will deliver varying actual results but the calculator will give an result accurate enough to plan your installation.