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How to Tell the Difference in House Wire Size

Electric wire is used to carry electric current through a building. The amount of current that a circuit can carry is highly dependent upon the diameter of the wire carrying the current; the thicker the wire, the more current that the circuit can carry. Buildings in North America use the American Wire Gauge system for measuring the wire diameter; in general, the lower the wire gauge number, the more current the wire is capable of carrying. If you are unsure of how much current the wiring in your house will carry, you may choose to measure the diameter of the wire to tell the difference in the wire size.

Things You'll Need

  • Digital caliper
  • Wire stripper
  • Electric wire
  • Wire gauge measurement and ampacity chart
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Instructions

    • 1

      Calibrate the caliper by closing the jaws completely and pressing the reset button. Ensure that the caliper display reads “0.00” with the jaws completely closed.

    • 2

      Strip 1/2 inch of insulating material off the end of the electrical wire using the wire stripper.

    • 3

      Open the jaws of the caliper slowly by sliding the bottom half of the caliper jaw downward. Insert the bare wire between the caliper jaws. Close the caliper jaws slowly until the caliper jaws hold the stripped wire gently.

    • 4

      Check the measurement on the caliper display.

    • 5

      Determine the wire gauge by matching the caliper reading to the wire diameter measurements listed in the wire gauge measurement chart. Obtain the wire size (in AWG) by comparing the wire diameter measurement to the specified AWG measurement in the chart.

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