Wire Gauge
Wire gauges are typically denoted using the American Wire Gauge (AWG), also known as Brown and Sharpe Wire Guage.
Telephone/network wires are typically AWG 24 or 26. Household wiring is thicker and is typically AWG 12 or 14.
AWG's formula D(AWG)=0.005·92((36-AWG)/39) means that:
- Every 6 gauge decrease doubles the wire diameter
- Every 3 gauge decrease doubles the wire cross sectional area
For 00, 000, 0000 gauge wires, calculate them with negative values -1, -2, -3.
Gauge Table
The table below is for copper conductors.
There are two current capacities listed below. The chassis wiring capacity is for wiring within an appliance that is in the air. Power transmission capacity is based on the formula in the Handbook for Electronic Tables and Formulas which uses the 700 circular mils per 1 amp and is a conservative rating meant for wiring in a bundle. For short length wires, you may exceed the listed current ratings so long as appropriate power dissipation is kept in mind, as calculated with P=I2R.
The maximum frequency for 100% skin depth denotes the maximum AC frequency the wire can carry with no skin effects. Any higher then the listed value and you should consider the skin effect when calculating the wire's resistance.
| AWG # | Diameter (mm) | Area (mm2) | Resistance (Ω/1km)
T=20C |
Chassis Wiring
Max Amps |
Power Transmission
Max Amps |
Max Frequency
100% skin depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0000 (4/0) | 107 | 11.684 | 0.16072 | 380 | 302 | 125 Hz |
| 000 (3/0) | 85 | 10.40384 | 0.202704 | 328 | 239 | 160 Hz |
| 00 (2/0) | 67.4 | 9.26592 | 0.255512 | 283 | 190 | 200 Hz |
| 0 (1/0) | 53.5 | 8.25246 | 0.322424 | 245 | 150 | 250 Hz |
| 1 | 42.4 | 7.34822 | 0.406392 | 211 | 119 | 325 Hz |
| 2 | 33.6 | 6.54304 | 0.512664 | 181 | 94 | 410 Hz |
| 3 | 26.7 | 5.82676 | 0.64616 | 158 | 75 | 500 Hz |
| 4 | 21.2 | 5.18922 | 0.81508 | 135 | 60 | 650 Hz |
| 5 | 16.8 | 4.62026 | 1.027624 | 118 | 47 | 810 Hz |
| 6 | 13.3 | 4.1148 | 1.295928 | 101 | 37 | 1100 Hz |
| 7 | 10.5 | 3.66522 | 1.634096 | 89 | 30 | 1300 Hz |
| 8 | 8.37 | 3.2639 | 2.060496 | 73 | 24 | 1650 Hz |
| 9 | 6.63 | 2.90576 | 2.598088 | 64 | 19 | 2050 Hz |
| 10 | 5.26 | 2.58826 | 3.276392 | 55 | 15 | 2600 Hz |
| 11 | 4.17 | 2.30378 | 4.1328 | 47 | 12 | 3200 Hz |
| 12 | 3.31 | 2.05232 | 5.20864 | 41 | 9.3 | 4150 Hz |
| 13 | 2.62 | 1.8288 | 6.56984 | 35 | 7.4 | 5300 Hz |
| 14 | 2.08 | 1.62814 | 8.282 | 32 | 5.9 | 6700 Hz |
| 15 | 1.65 | 1.45034 | 10.44352 | 28 | 4.7 | 8250 Hz |
| 16 | 1.31 | 1.29032 | 13.17248 | 22 | 3.7 | 11 k |
| 17 | 1.04 | 1.15062 | 16.60992 | 19 | 2.9 | 13 k |
| 18 | 0.823 | 1.02362 | 20.9428 | 16 | 2.3 | 17 kHz |
| 19 | 0.653 | 0.91186 | 26.40728 | 14 | 1.8 | 21 kHz |
| 20 | 0.518 | 0.8128 | 33.292 | 11 | 1.5 | 27 kHz |
| 21 | 0.41 | 0.7239 | 41.984 | 9 | 1.2 | 33 kHz |
| 22 | 0.326 | 0.64516 | 52.9392 | 7 | 0.92 | 42 kHz |
| 23 | 0.258 | 0.57404 | 66.7808 | 4.7 | 0.729 | 53 kHz |
| 24 | 0.205 | 0.51054 | 84.1976 | 3.5 | 0.577 | 68 kHz |
| 25 | 0.162 | 0.45466 | 106.1736 | 2.7 | 0.457 | 85 kHz |
| 26 | 0.129 | 0.40386 | 133.8568 | 2.2 | 0.361 | 107 kHz |
| 27 | 0.102 | 0.36068 | 168.8216 | 1.7 | 0.288 | 130 kHz |
| 28 | 0.081 | 0.32004 | 212.872 | 1.4 | 0.226 | 170 kHz |
| 29 | 0.0642 | 0.28702 | 268.4024 | 1.2 | 0.182 | 210 kHz |
| 30 | 0.0509 | 0.254 | 338.496 | 0.86 | 0.142 | 270 kHz |
| 31 | 0.0404 | 0.22606 | 426.728 | 0.7 | 0.113 | 340 kHz |
| 32 | 0.032 | 0.2032 | 538.248 | 0.53 | 0.091 | 430 kHz |
| 33 | 0.0254 | 0.18034 | 678.632 | 0.43 | 0.072 | 540 kHz |
| 34 | 0.0201 | 0.16002 | 855.752 | 0.33 | 0.056 | 690 kHz |
| 35 | 0.016 | 0.14224 | 1079.12 | 0.27 | 0.044 | 870 kHz |
| 36 | 0.0127 | 0.127 | 1360 | 0.21 | 0.035 | 1100 kHz |
| 37 | 0.01 | 0.1143 | 1715 | 0.17 | 0.0289 | 1350 kHz |
| 38 | 0.00797 | 0.1016 | 2163 | 0.13 | 0.0228 | 1750 kHz |
| 39 | 0.00632 | 0.0889 | 2728 | 0.11 | 0.0175 | 2250 kHz |
| 40 | 0.00501 | 0.07874 | 3442 | 0.09 | 0.0137 | 2900 kHz |
| 41 | 0.07112 | 4341 | ||||
| 42 | 0.0635 | 5443 | ||||
| 43 | 0.05588 | 7031 | ||||
| 44 | 0.0508 | 8507 | ||||
| 45 | 0.0447 | 10984 | ||||
| 46 | 0.03988 | 13802 | ||||
| 47 | 0.03556 | 17359 |
Max current ratings
The current ratings below are the chassis ratings listed above, but extended for stranded/multicore wiring.
| AWG | Typical Max. Current Load Ratings - Copper (amps) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single Core | Multicore | |||||
| up to 3 cores | 4 - 6 cores | 7 - 24 cores | 25 - 42 cores | 43 and above | ||
| 24 | 3.5 | 2 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 |
| 22 | 5.0 | 3 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.5 |
| 20 | 6.0 | 5 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.5 |
| 18 | 9.5 | 7 | 5.6 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 3.5 |
| 16 | 15 | 10 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 6.0 | 5.0 |
| 14 | 24 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 9.0 | 7.5 |
| 12 | 34 | 20 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10 |
| 10 | 52 | 30 | 24 | 21 | 18 | 15 |
| 8 | 75 | 40 | 32 | 28 | 24 | 20 |
| 6 | 95 | 55 | 44 | 38 | 33 | 27 |
| 4 | 120 | 70 | 56 | 49 | 42 | 35 |
| 3 | 154 | 80 | 64 | 56 | 48 | 40 |
| 2 | 170 | 95 | 76 | 66 | 57 | 57 |
| 1 | 180 | 110 | 88 | 77 | 66 | 55 |