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OpenSpecEngineering

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Wire/Cable Sizing & Voltage Drop

Copper conductor ampacity from NFPA 70 (National Electrical Code) Table 310.16 (75°C column), and voltage drop from the standard NEC/IEEE design formula VD = 2·K·I·L / CM (K = 12.9 Ω·cmil/ft for copper, CM = circular mils, L = one-way run length, the factor of 2 accounting for the round-trip conductor). Either check a chosen gauge, or find the smallest gauge that satisfies both ampacity and a maximum voltage-drop percentage.

Source Load L (one-way length) round-trip conductor length = 2 × L
Voltage drop accumulates over both conductors of the run — out and back.

Solution

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