Notes

myElectrical - Cable Sizing Tool Upgrade 

By on

Our IEE cable sizing was wrote a few years ago and had become rough around the edges.  I thought it was time to give the tool a service.  Unfortunately when I looked under the hood I found cracked cylinders, broken bell ends and worn cylinders.  Rather than a quick service I had no choice be to do a major rewrite on the software.  The only thing I didn't touch is the chassis [database], which while suffering from patches of rust, was still usable.

In rewriting the software good things have happened.  There has been a large increase in performance [no more very long waits, with frequent postbacks] and I have put in a couple of enhancements.  The main things users will notice are:

 

  • things should be a lot quicker.  The number of postbacks has been minimized (unfortunately a few are required to retrieve cable configuration data).  Calculation of the cable size itself has been improved to make the processing more efficient.
  • everything is all on one page.  A slicker user interface with no more switching between tabs.
  • you now have quick access to the underlying data.  Click any of the  'i' buttons on the form and the relevant data table should pop up.

Of all the software tools on the site, the cable sizing one is the most complex.  A lot of the complexity derives from strictly following the Wiring Regulations, which while designed for humans to work through, are not necessarily software friendly.  Hopefully the tool should be working well, but if you do come across and bugs or have any suggestions, please let me know.

Click here to  give the Cable Sizing Tool a try.

, ,

More interesting Notes:
Steven McFadyen's avatar Steven McFadyen

Steven has over twenty five years experience working on some of the largest construction projects. He has a deep technical understanding of electrical engineering and is keen to share this knowledge. About the author

myElectrical Engineering

comments powered by Disqus

View 2 Comments (old system)

  1. skalooba76's avatar skalooba76 says:
    12/7/2011 9:49 AM

    hi,

    i noticed when i try to size cable for small load, the software keep giving the wrong size, i.e for 12 Amp load, 380V, protected by 16 Amp, the cable calculation software will give 35mm2 which is wrong.

    please look into this matter

    thanks for all the help

    niki

    • Steven's avatar Steven says:
      12/7/2011 10:25 AM

      It may be the fault level. In calculating the size the following happens:

      Cable is calculated on current capacity
      Voltage drop is calculated (and cable size increased if necessary)
      Fault level withstand is calculated (and cable size increased if necessary)

      I have just tried your scenario (with XLPE cable) and at 25kA fault, 25m2 was required, but at 1kA fault only 1mm2.

Comments are closed for this post:
  • have a question or need help, please use our Questions Section
  • spotted an error or have additional info that you think should be in this post, feel free to Contact Us
Understanding LV Circuit Breaker Fault Ratings

I think this post is going to be helpful to several of our readers. While the IEC low voltage circuit breaker Standard [IEC 60947-2, Low voltage switchgear...

Maxwell's Equations - Introduction

Maxwell's Equations are a set of fundamental relationships, which govern how electric and magnetic fields interact. The equations explain how these fields...

ABB Technical Guides - Motor Operation

ABB has produced a range of technical guides that offer concise explanations of the major technologies and technical issues in low voltage AC drives. ...

9 power supply issues solved by using a UPS

Installation of a UPS can help in reducing problems due to issues with the power supply.  A lot of people relate this to nine key issues.  Depending on...

Introduction to Traction Substations

Following on from my post on railway electrification voltages, I thought an introduction to traction substations would be a good idea. Traction substations...

Cable Sheath and Armour Loss

When sizing cables, the heat generated  by losses within any sheath or armour need to be evaluated. When significant, it becomes a factor to be considered...

myElectrical - Cable Sizing Tool Upgrade

Our IEE cable sizing was wrote a few years ago and had become rough around the edges. I thought it was time to give the tool a service. Unfortunately when...

IEC 61439 Verification Methods

The (relatively new) switchgear and control gear standard, IEC 61439 'Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear assemblies' has three methods which can be...

Generation of a Sine Wave

A fundamental concept behind the operation of alternating current systems is that voltage and current waveforms will be sinusoidal – a Sine Wave. This...

Large Hadron Collider

The 27 km, Euro 6 billion  Collider lies on the border between France and Switzerland, took nearly 30 years to complete.  Some of the lofty goals for the...

Have some knowledge to share

If you have some expert knowledge or experience, why not consider sharing this with our community.  

By writing an electrical note, you will be educating our users and at the same time promoting your expertise within the engineering community.

To get started and understand our policy, you can read our How to Write an Electrical Note. 

Footer
(click here to extend)
Copyright (c) 2026 myElectrical