In reality, insulation, voltage drop, temperature limit, thermal conductivity, thickness, and air convection should also be considered.īased on the AWG system, a smaller gauge or larger diameter wire conducts more electricity than a wire with a larger gauge or smaller diameter. The table below mentions the copper wire current capacity.

The ampacity of the wire refers to its maximum current carrying capability of the wire. Metric size wires are mentioned in millimeters instead of metric gauges to avoid confusion. You must know that in the AWG system, the diameter increases with the decrease in gauge, but this does not apply to the metric gauge scale. The gauge is ten times higher than the diameter in millimeters in the metric gauge scale, meaning a 50-gauge metric wire is 5mm in diameter. To calculate the cross-section of solid round wires, you can use this formula:Īrea = πr2, where r is the radius (1/2 of the diameter) AWG to Cross-sectional areaĬommonly, when you refer to the size of a conductor, you talk about its cross-sectional area, which is expressed in mm2. In the AWG system, the wire diameter doubles with every 6 gauge reduction, and the cross-section area doubles with every three gauge reduction. You can calculate the wire diameter with this formula:įor gauge numbers 00,000, and 0000, you can use -1, -2, and -3 as gauges as they make more sense mathematically. So, you can say that each AWG step is around the 39th root of 92, which is approx. The ratio of different sizes is 1 to 92 in diameter. There are 39-gauge sizes between these two sizes which you can get through logarithmic calculations. In this system, 0000 AWG indicates a wire diameter of 0.46 inches, and 36 AWG indicates a wire size of 0.005 inches. The gauge affects the wire’s different technical specifications, which is why we say it has a considerable role in maintaining safety in wiring. Cable pair twisting and efficient shielding are more critical in these wires to maintain the integrity of the signals.Ĭaption: Gauge Wire Relationship between the AWG thickness and other technical specs It is because the electrical signals in these wires have low power, and thus you do not need smaller AWG wires. Thus, to ensure safe electrical wiring, you must consider the wire’s current carrying capacity.Īs larger wires use more metal, they are more expensive than smaller wires.įor wires that carry signals, such as video interconnect or audio hookup wires, the AWG is not as essential as it is for power wires. Using too small a wire, i.e., a very high AWG, can melt, overheat, and catch fire. Also, a small gauge or larger diameter wire can have more power than the wire with a larger gauge.ĪWG holds importance for wires which carry electrical current like home or business wiring, high power wires in automobiles, extension cords, etc. At the same time, the amount of current that a wire can carry safely also increases with the increase in the cross-sectional area. The AWG system does not include the insulation size in the diameter dimensions.Ĭaption: cross-sectional wire area Importance of American Wire GaugeĪs the wire’s cross-section area increases, the wire’s resistance decreases. Several other countries use international metric standards where wire cross-section is represented in square millimeters, as mentioned in International Electrotechnical Commission 60228. The AWG system is similar to the Standard Wire Gauge system used in Britain. Before this standard, manufacturers used different methods to measure very confusing wire. The AWG system came into existence in the year 1857. They are for solid, round, conductive, and single-stranded electrical wires. You can also call it the Brown & Sharpe wire gauge or just the wire gauge. The smallest standard size in AWG is 40 AWG, and the largest is 0000. In this system, as the AWG number increases, the wire diameter and thickness become smaller. In North America, AWG is the standardized wire gauge system denoting the wire sizes. How? Let’s learn how the gauge affects the different technical specifications of the wire and have the AWG Wire Size Chart in detail. Wire diameter or gauge is the most crucial among so many different features. Thus, you must pick the correct type of wire for a particular application. Also, they have a considerable role in maintaining safety in wiring. It would help if you had wires and cables for all types of electrical systems as they make the system function.

Wire size chart