Wire Gauge Wattage Charts For AWG Wires (4/0 AWG To 14 AWG) (2024)

How many watts can a wire handle? This is quite easy to calculate, and we will explain how you can do it. On top of that, we include wire gauge wattage charts (with amps) for every relevant AWG gauge wire (0000 AWG, 000 AWG, 00 AWG, 0 AWG, 1 AWG, 2 AWG, 3 AWG, 4 AWG, 6 AWG, 8 AWG, 10 AWG, 12 AWG, and 14 AWG).

All of these wire gauge wattage charts specify the maximum amount of watts a wire can handle given:

• Wire material. We distinguish between copper wire and aluminum wires. Same-gauge copper wires can handle more watts than aluminum wires (due to the high conductivity of copper wires). Example: Smaller 8 AWG copper wire can handle the same amount of amps as bigger 6 AWG aluminum wire (they have the same 50A ampacity at 75°C).
• Voltage. Watts a wire can handle depend on ampacity (how many amps can a wire handle; this is determined by the AWG gauge) and voltage. In high voltage circuits (220V-240V) wires can carry more watts. Example: A 14 AWG copper wire can carry 3,520 watts at 220V. At a much smaller 12V voltage (batteries, for example), the same 14 AWG wire can handle only 192 watts of electrical power. In the wattage charts below, we calculated wattages at 12V, 24V, 110V, 120V, 220V, and 240V for all wires.

Before we look at wire gauge wattage charts for all these AWG wires, let’s just preface that with how you can calculate how many watts can a wire handle. Here is the simple step-by-step wire wattage calculation:

1. Check wire ampacity (consult this AWG wire gauge ampacity chart). Different AWG gauge wires have different ampacities. Ampacity also depends on wire material (primarily) and temperature (secondarily). Example: 8 AWG copper wire has a rated ampacity of 50 amps at a median 75°C temperature. Under the same conditions, an 8 AWG aluminum wire has a rated ampacity of 40 amps.
2. Account for NEC 80% rule by multiplying wire ampacity by 0.8. National Electricity Code specifies that a wire can be loaded only to 80% of the rated ampacity. That means that you can put only 40 amps on a 50A ampacity AWG copper wire (since 50A×0.8 = 40A).
3. Multiply the amps by voltage. To get the wattage, you have to use the basic electrical power equation (P = I × V or Watts = Amps × Volts). This will give you the maximum allowable wattage a wire can carry.

Note: With all wattage charts, we will also include how many amps can a wire handle (ampacity with accounted NEC 80% rule).

With all this in mind, let’s proceed to the wattage charts. We will start with the thickest 0000 AWG wire (which can carry the most amps) and will go step by step to the small 14 AWG wire. This can be quite repetitive, it’s best to just scroll to the AWG wire you want amps and watts for (or use the Table Of Contents to move around the article):

0000 AWG Wire Wattage Chart + How Many Amps Can A 0000 AWG Wire Handle?

0000 AWG gauge wire can also be denoted as 4/0 AWG gauge wire. Here are the amps and watts this wire can handle:

At a median 75°C temperature, the ampacity of the 0000 AWG copper wire is 230A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 0000 AWG copper wire can handle up to 184 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 0000 AWG copper wire can carry anywhere from 2208 watts (12V circuit) to 44160 watts (240V circuit).

Under the same conditions, the ampacity of the 0000 AWG aluminum wire is 180A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 0000 AWG aluminum wire can handle up to 144 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 0000 AWG aluminum wire can carry anywhere from 1728 watts (12V circuit) to 34560 watts (240V circuit).

000 AWG Wire Wattage Chart + How Many Amps Can A 000 AWG Wire Handle?

000 AWG gauge wire can also be denoted as 3/0 AWG gauge wire. Here are the amps and watts this wire can handle:

At a median 75°C temperature, the ampacity of the 000 AWG copper wire is 200A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 000 AWG copper wire can handle up to 160 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 0000 AWG copper wire can carry anywhere from 1920 watts (12V circuit) to 38400 watts (240V circuit).

Under the same conditions, the ampacity of the 000 AWG aluminum wire is 155A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 000 AWG aluminum wire can handle up to 124 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 000 AWG aluminum wire can carry anywhere from 1488 watts (12V circuit) to 29760 watts (240V circuit).

00 AWG Wire Wattage Chart + How Many Amps Can A 00 AWG Wire Handle?

00 AWG gauge wire can also be denoted as 2/0 AWG gauge wire. Here are the amps and watts this wire can handle:

At a median 75°C temperature, the ampacity of the 00 AWG copper wire is 175A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 00 AWG copper wire can handle up to 140 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 00 AWG copper wire can carry anywhere from 1680 watts (12V circuit) to 33600 watts (240V circuit).

Under the same conditions, the ampacity of the 00 AWG aluminum wire is 135A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 00 AWG aluminum wire can handle up to 108 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 00 AWG aluminum wire can carry anywhere from 1296 watts (12V circuit) to 25920 watts (240V circuit).

0 AWG Wire Wattage Chart + How Many Amps Can A 0 AWG Wire Handle?

0 AWG gauge wire can also be denoted as 1/0 AWG gauge wire. Here are the amps and watts this wire can handle:

At a median 75°C temperature, the ampacity of the 0 AWG copper wire is 150A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 0 AWG copper wire can handle up to 120 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 0 AWG copper wire can carry anywhere from 1440 watts (12V circuit) to 28800 watts (240V circuit).

Under the same conditions, the ampacity of the 0 AWG aluminum wire is 120A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 0 AWG aluminum wire can handle up to 96 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 0 AWG aluminum wire can carry anywhere from 1152 watts (12V circuit) to 23040 watts (240V circuit).

1 AWG Wire Wattage Chart + How Many Amps Can A 1 AWG Wire Handle?

Here are the amps and watts 1 AWG gauge wire can handle:

At a median 75°C temperature, the ampacity of the 1 AWG copper wire is 130A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 1 AWG copper wire can handle up to 104 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 1 AWG copper wire can carry anywhere from 1248 watts (12V circuit) to 24960 watts (240V circuit).

Under the same conditions, the ampacity of the 1 AWG aluminum wire is 100A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 1 AWG aluminum wire can handle up to 80 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 1 AWG aluminum wire can carry anywhere from 960 watts (12V circuit) to 19200 watts (240V circuit).

2 AWG Wire Wattage Chart + How Many Amps Can A 2 AWG Wire Handle?

Here are the amps and watts 2 AWG gauge wire can handle:

At a median 75°C temperature, the ampacity of the 2 AWG copper wire is 115A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 2 AWG copper wire can handle up to 92 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 2 AWG copper wire can carry anywhere from 1104 watts (12V circuit) to 22080 watts (240V circuit).

Under the same conditions, the ampacity of the 2 AWG aluminum wire is 90A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 2 AWG aluminum wire can handle up to 72 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 2 AWG aluminum wire can carry anywhere from 864 watts (12V circuit) to 17280 watts (240V circuit).

3 AWG Wire Wattage Chart + How Many Amps Can A 3 AWG Wire Handle?

Here are the amps and watts 3 AWG gauge wire can handle:

At a median 75°C temperature, the ampacity of the 3 AWG copper wire is 100A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 3 AWG copper wire can handle up to 80 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 3 AWG copper wire can carry anywhere from 960 watts (12V circuit) to 19200 watts (240V circuit).

Under the same conditions, the ampacity of the 3 AWG aluminum wire is 75A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 3 AWG aluminum wire can handle up to 60 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 3 AWG aluminum wire can carry anywhere from 720 watts (12V circuit) to 14400 watts (240V circuit).

4 AWG Wire Wattage Chart + How Many Amps Can A 4 AWG Wire Handle?

Here are the amps and watts 4 AWG gauge wire can handle:

At a median 75°C temperature, the ampacity of the 4 AWG copper wire is 85A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 4 AWG copper wire can handle up to 68 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 4 AWG copper wire can carry anywhere from 816 watts (12V circuit) to 16320 watts (240V circuit).

Under the same conditions, the ampacity of the 4 AWG aluminum wire is 65A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 4 AWG aluminum wire can handle up to 52 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 4 AWG aluminum wire can carry anywhere from 624 watts (12V circuit) to 12480 watts (240V circuit).

6 AWG Wire Wattage Chart + How Many Amps Can A 6 AWG Wire Handle?

Here are the amps and watts 6 AWG gauge wire can handle:

At a median 75°C temperature, the ampacity of the 6 AWG copper wire is 65A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 6 AWG copper wire can handle up to 52 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 6 AWG copper wire can carry anywhere from 624 watts (12V circuit) to 12480 watts (240V circuit).

Under the same conditions, the ampacity of the 6 AWG aluminum wire is 50A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 6 AWG aluminum wire can handle up to 40 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 6 AWG aluminum wire can carry anywhere from 480 watts (12V circuit) to 9600 watts (240V circuit).

8 AWG Wire Wattage Chart + How Many Amps Can A 8 AWG Wire Handle?

Here are the amps and watts 8 AWG gauge wire can handle:

At a median 75°C temperature, the ampacity of the 8 AWG copper wire is 50A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that an 8 AWG copper wire can handle up to 40 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 8 AWG copper wire can carry anywhere from 480 watts (12V circuit) to 9600 watts (240V circuit).

Under the same conditions, the ampacity of the 8 AWG aluminum wire is 40A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 8 AWG aluminum wire can handle up to 32 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 8 AWG aluminum wire can carry anywhere from 384 watts (12V circuit) to 7680 watts (240V circuit).

10 AWG Wire Wattage Chart + How Many Amps Can A 10 AWG Wire Handle?

0000 AWG gauge wire can also be denoted as 4/0 AWG gauge wire. Here are the amps and watts this wire can handle:

At a median 75°C temperature, the ampacity of the 10 AWG copper wire is 35A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 10 AWG copper wire can handle up to 28 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 10 AWG copper wire can carry anywhere from 336 watts (12V circuit) to 6720 watts (240V circuit).

Under the same conditions, the ampacity of the 10 AWG aluminum wire is 30A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 10 AWG aluminum wire can handle up to 24 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 10 AWG aluminum wire can carry anywhere from 288 watts (12V circuit) to 5760 watts (240V circuit).

12 AWG Wire Wattage Chart + How Many Amps Can A 12 AWG Wire Handle?

Here are the amps and watts 12 AWG gauge wire can handle:

At a median 75°C temperature, the ampacity of the 12 AWG copper wire is 25A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 12 AWG copper wire can handle up to 20 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 12 AWG copper wire can carry anywhere from 240 watts (12V circuit) to 4800 watts (240V circuit).

Under the same conditions, the ampacity of the 12 AWG aluminum wire is 20A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 12 AWG aluminum wire can handle up to 16 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 12 AWG aluminum wire can carry anywhere from 192 watts (12V circuit) to 3840 watts (240V circuit).

14 AWG Wire Wattage Chart + How Many Amps Can A 14 AWG Wire Handle?

Here are the amps and watts 14 AWG gauge wire can handle:

At a median 75°C temperature, the ampacity of the 14 AWG copper wire is 20A. Accounting for NEC 80% rule, this means that a 14 AWG copper wire can handle up to 16 amps of current. Depending on the voltage, the 14 AWG copper wire can carry anywhere from 192 watts (12V circuit) to 3840 watts (240V circuit).

We don’t have the rated ampacity for a 14 AWG aluminum wire. These smaller wires don’t have rated amps or wattage.

Hopefully, you will find all the information on how many watts and amps AWG wires can handle here. If you haven’t found an adequate answer, you can turn to the comment section, ask the question, and we’ll try to help you out.

Thank you.