cable

An installation like this will have quite a bit of cable in it, here is a list of the more prominent ones:

* Cable from solar array to charge controller
* Interconnect cable between solar panels
* generator to inverter
* Inverter to house main breaker panel
* Batteries to inverter
* various signal and sensor cables
* switchboard wiring

Each of these cables has its own specific set of requirements that it has to meet, but one thing goes for all of them:

DO NOT ECONOMIZE ON CABLE

the cable is the most 'passive' element in the whole installation, and it doesn't look very high tech so it is tempting to skimp here. If you do so then it will be at your peril, reducing the size of the copper conductors will lead to terrible losses and using inferior quality cable will probably end up with you having to dig up a stretch of cable that was buried only a few years later. And you'd be surprised what you will have sitting on top of that (wow, eh darling, is it ok if I just rip up your flowerbed ?).

All cable that goes into the ground should be cable suitable for burial (we use 'TECK' cable here in Canada, if you don't live in Canada you'll have your local variation to that), and should be buried at a certain minimum depth to make sure that the cable does not get crushed in case you drive a car or other vehicle over the place where the cable is buried. Some electrical codes require a 'marker' ribbon to be buried a little above the cable itsself, to warn any future diggers of the presence of the cable before they put an axe, backhoe or shovel into the cable itsself. Even if your local electrical code does not require this it is probably a good idea to do it anyway.