Cables

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Published on 16 Apr 2020 - Updated on 09 Mar 2021

This page group information about wires and cables to help to choose correct diameter

When choosing power supply cables, most important parameter is wire diameter or section. It allows to know the maximum rated current and also to estimate voltage loss depending on wire length.
The gauge is a number between AWG0000 and AWG36.
Lower number means higher wire diameter (0000 is the thickest).
There are 39 standards gauges.

$$ d = 0.127 \times 92 ^ {\frac{36-n}{39}} $$

with :

  • \( d \) wire diameter in mm
  • \( n \) Cable AWG gauge

Gauges table

AWG Diameter (mm) Section (mm²) Resistivity at 20°C (Ohm/km) Resistivity at 60°C (Ohm/km) Free air maximum current (A) Casing maximum current (A)
32 0.2 0.031 538.4 654.6 0.53 0.32
30 0.25 0.049 338.6 411.7 0.86 0.52
28 0.32 0.080 212.9 258.9 1.4 0.83
26 0.40 0.126 133.9 162.8 2.2 1.3
24 0.51 0.204 84.22 102.4 3.5 2.1
22 0.64 0.322 52.95 64.40 7.0 5.0
20 0.81 0.515 33.30 40.50 11.0 7.5
18 1.02 0.817 20.95 25.47 16 10
16 1.29 1.306 13.18 16.02 22 13
14 1.63 2.086 8.284 10.08 32 17
12 2.05 3.299 5.210 6.336 41 23
10 2.59 5.266 3.985 4.845 55 33
8 3.26 8.343 3.274 3.981 73 46
6 4.12 13.325 1.296 1.576 101 60
4 5.19 21.145 0.8136 0.991 135 80
2 6.54 33.576 0.5118 0.623 181 100
1 7.35 42.408 0.4035 0.494 211 125
0 8.25 53.429 0.3225 0.392 245 150
00 9.27 67.457 0.2556 0.311 283 175
000 10.40 84.906 0.2028 0.247 328 200
0000 11.68 107.092 0.1608 0.196 380 225