{"id":7200,"date":"2021-07-22T14:40:13","date_gmt":"2021-07-22T12:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/?p=7200"},"modified":"2021-07-22T14:47:41","modified_gmt":"2021-07-22T12:47:41","slug":"american-wire-gauge-awg-a-tech-explanation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/american-wire-gauge-awg-a-tech-explanation\/","title":{"rendered":"American Wire Gauge (AWG)-a tech explanation"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time-approximately:<\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span>\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"7200\" class=\"elementor elementor-7200\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-6200ae90 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"6200ae90\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-23276089\" data-id=\"23276089\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b527497 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"b527497\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"599\" height=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/awg-wire-sizes-with-corresponding-current-599x310.jpg\" class=\"attachment-agama-blog-large size-agama-blog-large wp-image-7203\" alt=\"awg wire sizes with corresponding current ratings\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3f72d314 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3f72d314\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>American Wire Gauge (AWG) is the standard way to denote wire size in North America. In AWG, the larger the number, the smaller the wire diameter and thickness.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/onlineimages\/wright_gavin.jpg\" alt=\"Gavin Wright\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techtarget.com\/contributor\/Gavin-Wright\">Gavin Wright<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The largest standard size is 0000 AWG, and 40 AWG is the smallest standard size. It may also be called\u00a0<em>Brown &amp; Sharpe wire gauge<\/em>\u00a0or simply the\u00a0<em>gauge of the wire<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AWG is for single-strand, solid, round, electrically conductive wire. It was first introduced in 1857 as a standard to replace the various measurements used by different manufacturers. Use of larger numbers denoting smaller wires is similar to Standard Wire Gauge, which is used in Britain. Most other countries use an international metric standard of wire cross-section in square\u00a0millimeters\u00a0(mm<sup>2<\/sup>) defined in\u00a0International Electrotechnical Commission\u00a060228.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AWG size does not include the size of the insulation protecting a wire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0000 AWG is defined as 0.46 inches in diameter, and 36 AWG is defined as 0.005 inches in diameter. All other sizes are derived as logarithmic steps between these two defined sizes. There are 39 gauge steps between these sizes, and the ratio is 1-to-92 in diameter. Therefore, each AWG step is the 39th root of 92, or approximately 1.12293 times the change in diameter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>A smaller gauge (larger size) wire can safely conduct more electricity than a larger gauge (smaller size) wire. Decreasing the AWG size of a wire by three will double the cross-sectional area of a wire and double the amount of current it can carry. Changing the AWG size by 10 will change the cross-section by tenfold.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Since aluminum is not as good of a\u00a0conductor\u00a0as copper, for calculating how much current an aluminum wire can carry compared to a copper one, consider it as being 2-gauge AWG larger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"What is a Conductor and What is it Used For?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OiV8WhI5gpw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is American Wire Gauge for stranded wire?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>AWG primarily describes single-strand solid wire. When multiple conductors, or stranded wire, use AWG, it gives the equivalent single-strand cross-section in AWG of all the strands cross-sections added together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stranded wire typically has three numbers to define it. These numbers include the AWG equivalent size, the number of strands and the AWG size of each strand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As an example, 23 AWG 5\/30 stranded wire has five strands of 30 AWG (0.0509 mm<sup>2<\/sup>) that equal one 23 AWG (0.258 mm<sup>2<\/sup>) wire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is the importance of American Wire Gauge?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The larger the cross-section of a wire, the less its resistance. Also, the larger the cross-section, the greater the amount of current (amperage) the wire can safely carry before overheating. A wire with a smaller gauge (larger diameter) can carry more power than one with a larger gauge. In general, a lower AWG number is better than higher AWG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>AWG is of primary importance for wires that will carry electrical power &#8212; for example, home or business electrical wiring, extension cords or high-power wire in automotive or audio use. If too small a wire is used (high AWG), then the wire may overheat, melt or catch fire. Therefore, it is important that the current carrying capacity of a wire or circuit be considered.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>Larger wire uses more metal and is, therefore, more expensive.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For signal carrying wires, such as audio hookup (RCA, S\/PDIF) or video interconnect (VGA, DVI or\u00a0HDMI), the AWG of the wire is not as important as for power wire. Since these electrical signals are usually low power, smaller AWG (larger wire) is not needed. In these situations, proper shielding and cable-pair twisting\u00a0is more important for signal integrity than the AWG of the strands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"614\" src=\"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Enterprise-cable-options-comparison-diagram-1024x614.png\" alt=\"Enterprise cable options comparison diagram\" class=\"wp-image-7201\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Enterprise-cable-options-comparison-diagram-1024x614.png 1024w, https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Enterprise-cable-options-comparison-diagram-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Enterprise-cable-options-comparison-diagram-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Enterprise-cable-options-comparison-diagram-800x480.png 800w, https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Enterprise-cable-options-comparison-diagram.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><strong>Enterprise cable options comparison diagram<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Lower AWG may increase the physical strength of the cable and can be useful in situations where it will be coiled, bent, pulled or otherwise handled to stop the cable from breaking internally. Stranded wire is also more resistant to breakage from bending than solid wire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Careful consideration is needed on what AWG wire to use for networking. Since thicker wire has less resistance, it may be needed for long cable runs. Therefore, long\u00a0Ethernet\u00a0runs may require a lower AWG cable than short patch cables. If\u00a0Power over Ethernet\u00a0is going to be employed, lower AWG wires may be needed to handle the additional current.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cat5 cable, which can be used for\u00a01000BASE-T\u00a0networking, uses 22 AWG to 26 AWG cables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"What is Ethernet? Ethernet vs Wi-Fi\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/i2qiNAVfQRw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time-approximately:<\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span>American Wire Gauge (AWG) is the standard way to denote wire size in North America. In AWG, the larger the number, the smaller the wire diameter and thickness. By Gavin Wright The largest standard size is 0000 AWG, and 40 AWG is the smallest standard size. It may also be called\u00a0Brown &amp; Sharpe wire gauge\u00a0or simply the\u00a0gauge of the wire.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/american-wire-gauge-awg-a-tech-explanation\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,8,4,30,3,9,224],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-practices-for-data-center-operations","category-data-center-hardware","category-datacenter-news","category-expert-advise-and-opinion","category-industry-news-and-expert-advise","category-tech-definitions","category-technical-explanations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7200"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7209,"href":"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7200\/revisions\/7209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}