Huebsters' Website: Wire Ampacity - Metric compared with English


Wire size is usually identified as the area of the conductor in square millimeters. The following sizes are for 60ēC insulation, copper wire, 3 current carrying conductors in a raceway. Sizes over 6 square millimeter are normally stranded so the measured diameter will be slightly larger.

These ampacities are approximate and must be modified for the environment - number of current carrying conductors in the raceway, ambient temperature, etc.

The following wire areas were translated from a Chinese Electrical Code Manual Ampacity Table.
The Chinese Electrical Code ampacities are close to the ampacities listed in the NEC.
The NEC ampacity table is below the Chinese ampacities listed here:

Single Strand (solid) conductor:

The areas in square millimeters are, apparently, standard sizes available in China.

1. 1.13 mm diameter = 1.0mm2 This size is not normally used in industry – equivalent to zip-cord in U.S.
2. 1.37 mm diameter = 1.5 mm2 = 15 Amp
3. 1.76 mm diameter = 2.5 mm2 – 21 Amp
4. 2.24 mm diameter = 4.0 mm2 – 26 Amp
5. 2.73 mm diameter = 6.0 mm2 – 34 Amp
6. 3.56 mm diameter = 10.0 mm2 – 46 Amp
7. 4.51 mm diameter = 16.0 mm2 – 61 Amp
8. 5.64 mm diameter = 25.0 mm2 – 80 Amp
9. 6.67 mm diameter = 35.0 mm2 – 98 Amp
10. 7.97 mm diameter = 50.0 mm2 – 121 Amp
11. 9.44 mm diameter = 70.0 mm2 – 156 Amp
12. 10.99 mm diameter = 95.0 mm2 – 187 Amp
13. 12.36 mm diameter = 120.0 mm2 – 215 Amp
14. 13.81 mm diameter = 150.0 mm2 – 262 Amp
15. 15.34 mm diameter = 185.0 mm2 – 289 Amp

Wire color/conductor identification
This is the color/conductor identification I have found in Fuzhou China . . .

Single phase circuit:
Black – Ground (grounding conductor)
Blue – Neutral (grounded conductor)
Red – Ungrounded Conductor (hot – standard voltage in China is 240 for single phase utility circuits)

Three phase circuit:
Yellow – phase A
Green – phase B
Red – phase C
Blue – neutral (grounded conductor)
Black – ground (grounding conductor)

Three phase power is 360VAC, phase to phase and 240VAC phase to ground/neutral, 50Hz

The following tables compare English (NEC) wire sizes to metric wire sizes
(Areas and diameters in the following tables are for bare copper)
AWG mm2 mm-Dia Solid mm-Dia Stranded 60° C Amps 75° C Amps 90° C Amps
18 0.823 1.02 1.16 - - 14
16 1.31 1.29 1.46 - - -
14 2.08 1.63 1.85 20 20 25
12 3.31 2.05 2.32 25 25 30
10 5.261 2.588 2.95 30 35 40
8 8.367 3.264 3.71 40 50 55

AWG mm2 mm-Dia Stranded 60° C Amps 75° C Amps 90° C Amps
6 13.30 4.67 55 65 75
4 21.15 5.89 70 85 95
3 26.67 6.60 85 100 110
2 33.62 7.42 95 115 130
1 42.41 8.43 110 130 150
1/0 53.49 9.45 125 150 170
2/0 67.43 10.62 145 175 195
3/0 85.01 11.94 165 200 225
4/0 107.2 13.41 195 230 260
AWG mm2 mm-Dia Stranded 60° C Amps 75° C Amps 90° C Amps
250kcmil 127 14.61 215 255 290
300kcmil 152 16.00 240 285 320
350kcmil 177 17.30 260 310 350
400kcmil 203 18.49 280 335 380
500kcmil 253 20.65 320 380 430
600kcmil 304 22.68 355 420 475
700kcmil 355 24.49 385 460 520
AWG mm2 mm-Dia Stranded 60° C Amps 75° C Amps 90° C Amps
750kcmil 380 25.35 400 475 535
800kcmil 405 26.16 410 490 555
900kcmil 456 27.79 435 520 585
1000kcmil 507 29.26 455 545 615
1250kcmil 633 32.74 495 590 665
1500kcmil 760 35.86 520 625 705
1750kcmil 887 38.76 545 650 735
2000kcmil 1013 41.45 560 665 750


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