Conductor Size Selection Calculator

Unique Menus

• Edit
• Pass to Vd: Set related items on the Voltage Drop Calculator to the values of their counterparts here.

Menu Buttons

• Equivalent Parallel Conductors

• Displays conductor sizes in groups of between 1 and 10 that nearest match, but are not less than, target total cross-sectional area



• Ampacity Table

• <V Drop Only>: Only the user-specified voltage drop percentage is considered in the calculation. Ampacity is not factored in at all.
• NEC 310.16: Both user-specified voltage drop and minimum ampacity from the NEC table 310.16, including temperature derating, are factored to determine the minimum conductor size



• Size Units/Specification

• AWG: Resulting minimum conductor size is displayed in an American Wire Gauge
• Metric: Resulting minimum conductor size is displayed as a metric size

   This calculator first determines the size of conductor required to stay within the specified percentage of drop and then finds the minimum conductor size for the given current (using NEC table 310-16 to determine ampacity given conductor material, size, insulation type, and ambient temperature)

Use

• Write in the source voltage Vs
• Use the Phases pop-up to select the number of AC phases or a DC circuit
• Write in the amount of current
• Write in the one way length of the circuit, selecting the unit of measure with the pop-up
• Select the conductor material
• Use the Vd pop-up to select the allowable percentage of voltage drop
• Use the Amb Temp pop-up to select the maximum ambient temperature that the circuit will be exposed to
• Select the temperature rating of the conductor and insulation

   When all values are entered tap the Calc button to display the minimum conductor size in the field at the top of the form.