American wire gauge
American wire gauge (AWG) is a standard wire gauge system used predominantly in the United States and Canada for the diameters of a single non-ferrous, solid, round conductor.[1] Increasing gauge numbers give decreasing wire diameters.
Single core and stranded
The cross-sectional area of each gauge is an important factor for determining its current-carrying capacity and resistance. The AWG of a stranded wire is determined by the total cross-sectional area of the conductor. Because there are also small gaps between the strands, a stranded wire will be about 5% thicker than a solid wire with the same AWG.
AWG wire diameters and approximate metric equivalents
| AWG | inches | mm | Approx. metric equivs. |
| 3 | 0.2294 | 5.827 | 196/0.4 |
| 5 | 0.1819 | 4.621 | 126/0.4 |
| 7 | 0.1443 | 3.665 | 80/0.4 |
| 9 | 0.1144 | 2.906 | 84/0.3 |
| 11 | 0.0907 | 2.305 | 56/0.3 |
| 13 | 0.072 | 1.828 | 50/0.25 |
| 14 | 0.0641 | 1.628 | 64/0.2 |
| 15 | 0.0571 | 1.45 | 30/0.25 |
| 17 | 0.0453 | 1.15 | 32/0.2 |
| 18 | 0.0403 | 1.024 | 24/0.2 |
| 20 | 0.032 | 0.812 | 16/0.2 |
| 21 | 0.0285 | 0.723 | 13/0.2 |
| 22 | 0.0253 | 0.644 | 7/0.25 |
| 24 | 0.0201 | 0.511 | 1/0.5, 7/0.2, 30/0.1 |
| 26 | 0.0159 | 0.405 | 1/0.4, 7/0.15 |
| 28 | 0.0126 | 0.321 | 7/0.12 |
| 30 | 0.01 | 0.255 | 1/0.25, 7/0.1 |
| 32 | 0.00795 | 0.202 | 1/0.2, 7/0.08 |
References
- ^ ASTM Standard B 258-02, Standard specification for standard nominal diameters and cross-sectional areas of AWG sizes of solid round wires used as electrical conductors, ASTM International, 2002
Further reading
- Donald G. Fink and H. Wayne Beaty, Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers, Eleventh Edition,McGraw-Hill, New York, 1978, ISBN 0-07-020974-X, page 4-18 and table 4-11.