What is the voltage drop on a single-phase, 240-volt branch circuit supplying a 48-ampere load at a distance of 88 feet using 4 AWG RHW aluminum conductors?

To determine the voltage drop in a single-phase, 240-volt circuit, it's essential to use the appropriate voltage drop formula and understand the parameters involved. The formula for calculating voltage drop is given by:

[ V_{drop} = \frac{2 \times K \times I \times L}{1000} ]

Where:

• ( V_{drop} ) is the voltage drop in volts,

• ( K ) is the resistivity constant of the material (for aluminum, ( K = 12.9 , \text{ohms per mil foot} )),

• ( I ) is the current in amperes,

• ( L ) is the one-way length of the conductor in feet.

In this case, the current (( I )) is 48 amperes, the one-way distance (( L )) is 88 feet, and we need to take into account that the current travels to the load and back, thus we use ( 2L ).

Now, substituting the values into the formula:

1. Determine the effective length to apply the formula: ( 2 \times 88 , \text{feet} = 176 , \text{feet}