I installed 1mm2 copper AC power cable across house for video surveillance (8 cameras, Power Consumption for each camera is Max 4W, 12V). For each camera has its own 220V->12V converter rated 3A. Total ac power cable length is about 150 meters. (In case that cameras are connected to APC Smart-UPS, I plan to plug 50" LED TV (190W) to that AC line too)
I am reading AWG specs in Wikipedia. I also read AWG Sizes and Current Limits table. Then I looked on my computer power cord.
So, 17 AWG area is 1mm2, AWG Sizes and Current Limits shows that max current is 2.9 amps. But my computer power cable is labeled that it is 0.75mm2 and max amperage is 16 amps.
So, questions:
- How can it be, that a cable which is less than 1mm2 can handle
larger load than 17 AWG? - Or my computer cable has different measurement system used? Or listed 16A mean peak only?
- And how can I actually calculate max cable load by cable area (mm2)?
- Or
AWG Sizes and Current Limits
table is wrong? - General question – Will the installed 1mm2 cable be good enough for that load?
Best Answer
It can't be.
16A/250V on your photo is just plug rating, not whole wire rating. Check other end of wire - it may have 10 or 20A rating :)
You can use some table. Table you mentioned (AWG Sizes and Current Limits) has a note:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge
These are many tables, maximum currents are calculated with diffrent rules. There are NEC standards, IEC standards, cable manufacturers standards, some local rules in many countries in the world. I think IEC is not bad idea for reference, but you can use any other reliable organisation or company.
Here is wire calculator based on "IEC 60364-5-52: Low Voltage Electrical Installations (2009)" standards (low voltage is < 1kV in IEC nomenclature).
For 8 camera power supplies (probably not more than 50W total) and 190W TV - this is more than enough. These camera power supplies have 3A/220V rating, but 3A is peak current.
Additional note:
If you have a lot voltage converters connected to one UPS - turning them on all at once may cause very high pulse current and your UPS may have problems with startup.
Maybe it doesn't matter for 8 small camera power supplies and 1 big TV, but you should know.
3A on your camera power supply is pulse current for charging converter input capacitor.