How to Guide: Selecting Proper Wire Gauge
Sponsored LinksYou shall need to know how much current the wire will carry before you can select the proper size wire since most important factors to be considered in determining proper wire size are how much current the wire has to carry and how long the wire run is.
It used to call by “AWG” , more commonly known as “Gauge” to specify the diameter/wire size. In fact, most items for such lights, sound effects, smoke units, motors, etc tell you the current draw on their packaging. Once all of these individual amounts are known, you can add them up to determine the total. See the Wire Gauge Chart below for selecting the size wire needed.
| WIRE GAUGE | CURRENT CAPACITY (Amps) |
| 12 Gauge | 41 |
| 14 Gauge | 32 |
| 16 Gauge | 22 |
| 18 Gauge | 16 |
| 20 Gauge | 11 |
| 22 Gauge | 7 |
| 24 Gauge | 3.5 |
| 26 Gauge | 2.2 |
| 28 Gauge | 1.4 |
The resistance of the wire causes voltage drops, that is why the length also take an important part in selecting proper wire – the longer the wire, the more voltage lost and a larger wire (smaller gauge) may counter this.
