What Gauge Wire Should I Use for a 1000ft+ Electricity Run to a Barn?

[Eleventhstep]

Hello, my name is Kevin and I going to be adding electricity to a barn about 1000ft away from my house. The barn will act as a second home and will need to be using around 2-10KWh. I figure it will never exceed 10KW per hour. I will be running it underground in heavy duty poly casing. My question is what gauge wire should i be using for such a long run? Given the run distance and Wattage requirements should i step up the voltage and then drop it back down at the barn? I can use either 220 or 110 in the barn.
Thanks

 

[berkeman]

Hello, my name is Kevin and I going to be adding electricity to a barn about 1000ft away from my house. The barn will act as a second home and will need to be using around 2-10KWh. I figure it will never exceed 10KW per hour. I will be running it underground in heavy duty poly casing. My question is what gauge wire should i be using for such a long run? Given the run distance and Wattage requirements should i step up the voltage and then drop it back down at the barn? I can use either 220 or 110 in the barn.
Thanks

Welcome to the PF.

There are some obvious things that I have to ask. What type of location is this ranch in? Is it in a city (not likely), an unincorporated area in a county, or some other location? Most places have building codes that need to be followed for electrical work like this, and those codes will give you guidance on what you need to do to wire it safely. You also get the wiring job inspected and signed off on, so that when you sell the ranch, all the paperwork is in place.

 

[Fish4Fun]

Will your POCO come install a new feed & meter for the barn? If so, this would certainly be the best answer! If not, you should consult your local supply company where you will purchase the wire. Typically you can purchase "direct burial mobile-home wire" as cheaply as anything (no conduit). For a 1000' run you would certainly want to check with local codes, et al, because you are talking about a non-trivial investment in both materials and labor.

Obviously you would want to run 220, likely a 100A service (22kW) if you intend to have appliances, HVAC, etc.

Good Luck!

Fish

 

[Averagesupernova]

You are never going to be able to run wire this far on the secondary side of the transformer with the power you require. I would say contact the power company and get another transformer and meter installed.