Wire gauge chart code#

Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 0000 AWG aluminum wire can handle up to 144 amps of current. Under the same conditions, the ampacity of the 0000 AWG aluminum wire is 180A. Depending on the voltage, the 0000 AWG copper wire can carry anywhere from 2208 watts (12V circuit) to 44160 watts (240V circuit). Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 0000 AWG copper wire can handle up to 184 amps of current. Here are the amps and watts this wire can handle:Īt a median 75☌ temperature, the ampacity of the 0000 AWG copper wire is 230A. This can be quite repetitive, it’s best to just scroll to the AWG wire you want amps and watts for (or use the Table Of Contents to move around the article):Ġ000 AWG Wire Wattage Chart + How Many Amps Can A 0000 AWG Wire Handle?Ġ000 AWG gauge wire can also be denoted as 4/0 AWG gauge wire. We will start with the thickest 0000 AWG wire (which can carry the most amps) and will go step by step to the small 14 AWG wire.

With all this in mind, let’s proceed to the wattage charts. Note: With all wattage charts, we will also include how many amps can a wire handle (ampacity with accounted NEC 80% rule). This will give you the maximum allowable wattage a wire can carry.

To get the wattage, you have to use the basic electrical power equation (P = I × V or Watts = Amps × Volts).

That means that you can put only 40 amps on a 50A ampacity AWG copper wire (since 50A×0.8 = 40A).

Wire gauge chart code#

National Electricity Code specifies that a wire can be loaded only to 80% of the rated ampacity.

Account for NEC 80% rule by multiplying wire ampacity by 0.8.

Under the same conditions, an 8 AWG aluminum wire has a rated ampacity of 40 amps. Example: 8 AWG copper wire has a rated ampacity of 50 amps at a median 75☌ temperature. Ampacity also depends on wire material (primarily) and temperature (secondarily). Different AWG gauge wires have different ampacities.

Check wire ampacity (consult this AWG wire gauge ampacity chart).

Here is the simple step-by-step wire wattage calculation: In the wattage charts below, we calculated wattages at 12V, 24V, 110V, 120V, 220V, and 240V for all wires.īefore we look at wire gauge wattage charts for all these AWG wires, let’s just preface that with how you can calculate how many watts can a wire handle. At a much smaller 12V voltage (batteries, for example), the same 14 AWG wire can handle only 192 watts of electrical power. Example: A 14 AWG copper wire can carry 3,520 watts at 220V. In high voltage circuits (220V-240V) wires can carry more watts. Watts a wire can handle depend on ampacity (how many amps can a wire handle this is determined by the AWG gauge) and voltage.

Example: Smaller 8 AWG copper wire can handle the same amount of amps as bigger 6 AWG aluminum wire (they have the same 50A ampacity at 75☌). Same-gauge copper wires can handle more watts than aluminum wires (due to the high conductivity of copper wires). We distinguish between copper wire and aluminum wires. On top of that, we include wire gauge wattage charts (with amps) for every relevant AWG gauge wire (0000 AWG, 000 AWG, 00 AWG, 0 AWG, 1 AWG, 2 AWG, 3 AWG, 4 AWG, 6 AWG, 8 AWG, 10 AWG, 12 AWG, and 14 AWG).Īll of these wire gauge wattage charts specify the maximum amount of watts a wire can handle given: How many watts can a wire handle? This is quite easy to calculate, and we will explain how you can do it.