The American Wire Gauge describes the wire's diameter; the metric (ISO) conductor sizes describe the nominal area of the cross section of the conductor. The actual cross-sectional areas depend in part upon the stranding of the cable.
A cable with the AWG value shown will have at least as much carrying capacity as the metric cable for which it is being substituted. In other words, values have always been rounded down. For that reason, do not use this table to find the metric equivalent to an AWG cable. For that, go here.
The table assumes the AWG-sized cable is substituted for a metric-sized cable of the same type. It cannot be used, for example, to find an AWG-sized aluminum cable to substitute for a copper metric cable. If the types are dissimilar, consult the cable manufacturer's literature to determine capacity.
| Nominal Cross-sectional Area in square millimeters (the ISO standard) |
Substitute this American Wire Gauge |
|---|---|
| 0.5 | 20 |
| 0.75 | 18 |
| 1.0 | 16 |
| 1.5 | 14 |
| 2.5 | 12 |
| 4 | 10 |
| 6 | 9 |
| 10 | 7 |
| 16 | 5 |
| 25 | 3 |
| 35 | 1 |
| 50 | 0 |
| 70 | 3/0 |
| 95 | 4/0 |
| 120 | 250MCM |
| 150 | 350MCM |
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Copyright © 2005 Sizes, Inc. All rights reserved.
Last revised: 7 December 2005.