Wire gauge and cable drop
AWG/area/diameter conversion and a two-conductor DC cable with entered material properties.
Development preview. Check the assumptions below before relying on a result. Calculations run in your browser.
How it calculates
Model: d(mm)=0.127×92^((36−AWG)/39); A=πd²/4; Rloop=ρ(T)Loneway(1/Asupply+1/Areturn); ΔV=IR; P=I²R.
Assumptions
- Default material is annealed copper near 20 °C: ρ=1.7241×10⁻⁸ Ω·m and linear α=0.00393/°C. Edit material values as needed.
- AWG diameter is an equivalent solid round conductor; stranded bundle outside diameter differs. Both conductors have equal one-way length. No installation ampacity, AC skin/proximity effects or fuse coordination is inferred.
Worked example
These are the calculator's default inputs. Change any input above to recalculate.
Inputs
- Entered conductor size
- AWG
- AWG (−3 means 4/0)
- 18
- Conductor area
- 0.823 mm²
- Solid-conductor diameter
- 1.024 mm
- Cable length
- 5 m
- Length definition
- one-way
- Return area / supply area
- 1
- Material resistivity at reference
- 1.7241e-8 Ω·m
- Resistivity temperature coefficient
- 0.00393 1/°C
- Resistivity reference temperature
- 20 °C
- Conductor temperature
- 20 °C
- DC circuit current
- 2 A
- Source voltage
- 12 V
- Entered manufacturer cable current limit (0 skips)
- 0 A
Results
- Signed cable voltage drop
- 0.418956 V
- Load voltage
- 11.581 V
- Supply conductor area
- 0.823047 mm²
- Equivalent solid diameter
- 1.02369 mm
- Equivalent continuous AWG
- 18
- Supply + return resistance
- 0.209478 Ω
- Cable dissipation
- 0.837911 W
- Voltage-drop magnitude
- 3.4913 %