Wire Gauge
From Leo's Notes
This page was last edited on 12 June 2021, at 22:46.
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. Listed is the maximum frequency for 100% skin depth, or when there is no skin effects.
| AWG # | Diameter (mm) | Area (mm2) | Resistance (Ω/1km) | Max Current (A) | 100% skin depth frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0000 (4/0) | 11.684 | 107 | 0.16072 | 302 | 125 Hz |
| 000 (3/0) | 10.4049 | 85 | 0.202704 | 239 | 160 Hz |
| 00 (2/0) | 9.2658 | 67.4 | 0.255512 | 190 | 200 Hz |
| 0 (1/0) | 8.2515 | 53.5 | 0.322424 | 150 | 250 Hz |
| 1 | 7.3481 | 42.4 | 0.406392 | 119 | 325 Hz |
| 2 | 6.5437 | 33.6 | 0.512664 | 94 | 410 Hz |
| 3 | 5.8273 | 26.7 | 0.64616 | 75 | 500 Hz |
| 4 | 5.1894 | 21.2 | 0.81508 | 60 | 650 Hz |
| 5 | 4.6213 | 16.8 | 1.027624 | 47 | 810 Hz |
| 6 | 4.1154 | 13.3 | 1.295928 | 37 | 1100 Hz |
| 7 | 3.6649 | 10.5 | 1.634096 | 30 | 1300 Hz |
| 8 | 3.2636 | 8.37 | 2.060496 | 24 | 1650 Hz |
| 9 | 2.9064 | 6.63 | 2.598088 | 19 | 2050 Hz |
| 10 | 2.5882 | 5.26 | 3.276392 | 15 | 2600 Hz |
| 11 | 2.3048 | 4.17 | 4.1328 | 12 | 3200 Hz |
| 12 | 2.0525 | 3.31 | 5.20864 | 9.3 | 4150 Hz |
| 13 | 1.8278 | 2.62 | 6.56984 | 7.4 | 5300 Hz |
| 14 | 1.6277 | 2.08 | 8.282 | 5.9 | 6700 Hz |
| 15 | 1.4495 | 1.65 | 10.44352 | 4.7 | 8250 Hz |
| 16 | 1.2908 | 1.31 | 13.17248 | 3.7 | 11 kHz |
| 17 | 1.1495 | 1.04 | 16.60992 | 2.9 | 13 kHz |
| 18 | 1.0237 | 0.823 | 20.9428 | 2.3 | 17 kHz |
| 19 | 0.9116 | 0.653 | 26.40728 | 1.8 | 21 kHz |
| 20 | 0.8118 | 0.518 | 33.292 | 1.5 | 27 kHz |
| 21 | 0.7229 | 0.41 | 41.984 | 1.2 | 33 kHz |
| 22 | 0.6438 | 0.326 | 52.9392 | 0.92 | 42 kHz |
| 23 | 0.5733 | 0.258 | 66.7808 | 0.729 | 53 kHz |
| 24 | 0.5106 | 0.205 | 84.1976 | 0.577 | 68 kHz |
| 25 | 0.4547 | 0.162 | 106.1736 | 0.457 | 85 kHz |
| 26 | 0.4049 | 0.129 | 133.8568 | 0.361 | 107 kHz |
| 27 | 0.3606 | 0.102 | 168.8216 | 0.288 | 130 kHz |
| 28 | 0.3211 | 0.081 | 212.872 | 0.226 | 170 kHz |
| 29 | 0.2859 | 0.0642 | 268.4024 | 0.182 | 210 kHz |
| 30 | 0.2546 | 0.0509 | 338.496 | 0.142 | 270 kHz |
| 31 | 0.2268 | 0.0404 | 426.728 | 0.113 | 340 kHz |
| 32 | 0.2019 | 0.032 | 538.248 | 0.091 | 430 kHz |
| 33 | 0.1798 | 0.0254 | 678.632 | 0.072 | 540 kHz |
| 34 | 0.1601 | 0.0201 | 855.752 | 0.056 | 690 kHz |
| 35 | 0.1426 | 0.016 | 1079.12 | 0.044 | 870 kHz |
| 36 | 0.127 | 0.0127 | 1360 | 0.035 | 1100 kHz |
| 37 | 0.1131 | 0.01 | 1715 | 0.0289 | 1350 kHz |
| 38 | 0.1007 | 0.00797 | 2163 | 0.0228 | 1750 kHz |
| 39 | 0.0897 | 0.00632 | 2728 | 0.0175 | 2250 kHz |
| 40 | 0.0799 | 0.00501 | 3440 | 0.0137 | 2900 kHz |
Max current ratings
| 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 |