Cable and Conduit Size Design Guide

Steps and examples to size a cable per the NEC:
Step 1 – Size the overcurrent device in accordance with 210.20(A) and 215.3. These two NEC rules require
the overcurrent device (breaker or fuse) be sized no less than 100% of the noncontinuous load, plus 125%
of the continuous load.
Step 2 – Select the conductor to comply with 210.19(A), 215.2, and 230.42(A). Sections 210.19(A), 215.2
and 230.42(A) require the conductor to be sized no less than 100% of the noncontinuous load, plus 125% of
the continuous load. In addition, 110.14(C) requires consideration of the temperature rating of the
equipment terminals when sizing conductors. Circuit conductors must be sized according to the 60°C column
of Table 310.15(B)(16) for equipment rated 100 amperes and less, unless marked otherwise, and equipment
rated over 100 amperes must be sized to the 75°C column of Table 310.15(B)(16) [110.14(C)]. The purpose
of this rule is to insure that the heat generated on equipment terminals can be properly dissipated without
damaging the conductors. For all practical purposes, most electrical equipment is designed to accept
conductors sized to the 75°C column of Table 310.15(B)(16).
Step 3 – The selected conductor must be protected against overcurrent in accordance with 240.4. This
requires the branch circuit, feeder, and service conductors be protected against overcurrent in accordance
with their ampacities as specified in Table 310.15(B)(16).
Branch Circuit Continuous Load Example for How to Size a Cable

What size branch-circuit over-current protection device and conductor (THHN) is required for a 23A
continuous load (75°C terminals).
Step 1 – Size the overcurrent protection device in accordance with 210.20(A) – The branch-circuit
overcurrent protection device must be sized not less than 125% of 23A.
23A x 125% = 28.75A or 30A [240.6(A)]
Step 2 – Select the conductor to comply with 210.19(A), which requires the branch-circuit conductor to be
sized no less than 125% of the continuous load, 23A x 125% = 28.75A. The conductor is selected to the 75°C
temperature rating of the equipment terminals in accordance with Table 310.15(B)(16). In this case, 10 THHN
having a rating of 35A at 75°C is suitable.
Step 3 – We must ensure the conductor is protected against overcurrent in accordance with the
requirements of 240.4. Again in this case, 10 THHN (from Step 2) rated 35A [Table 310.15(B)(16) is protected
by the 30A protection device.
Feeder Continuous Load Example for How to Size a Cable:

What size feeder overcurrent protection device and conductor (THHN) is required for a 184A continuous
load on a panel board (75°C terminals).
Step 1 – Size the overcurrent device in accordance with 215.3. The feeder overcurrent device must be sized
not less than 125% of 184A, 184A x 125% = 230A. According to 240.6(A) we must select a minimum 250A
overcurrent device.
Step 2 – Select the conductor to comply with 215.2, which requires the feeder conductor to be sized no less
than 125% of the continuous load, 184A x 125% = 230A. We must select the conductor according to the 75°C
temperature rating of the panel boards terminals [110.14(C)] – 4/0 THHN has a rating of 230A at 75°C will
meet this requirement.
Step 3 – Verify the conductors selected in Step 2 is properly protected against overcurrent in accordance
with 240.4. The 4/0 AWG conductor from Step 2 is rated 230A at 75°C, it is permitted to be protected by a
250A protection device in accordance with the “the next size up rule” of 240.4(B).
Meeting minimums of conductor size when choosing your

cable size
From an NEC standpoint, conductors must be of a certain size to prevent a fire [90.1(B)]. This is
the minimum conductor size, not necessarily the recommended conductor size. From an operational
efficiency standpoint, you should size conductors to reduce voltage drop and/or to cope with nonlinear
loads. Other reasons for exceeding NEC minimums may also apply.
If your installation doesn’t even meet the NEC requirements, it will fail to meet other requirements that may
also exist (such as those for operational efficiency). To prevent that, remember the ampacity of a conductor
changes with changing conditions. Part of your job in sizing conductors is to anticipate what those conditions
will be. To determine the correct ampacity, you have to determine:
 Allowable ampacity, as listed in Table 310.16.

 Ambient temperature correction factors, if the ambient temperature is not 86°F.
 Conductor ampacity adjustment factors, if four or more current-carrying conductors are bundled
together.
The last two items are where things can get dicey if you don’t do your homework. Find out what the ambient
temperature will be along the entire length of each conductor. Such things as cable routing [see the example
in Appendix D3(a)] and ventilation can change ambient temperature considerably, so take the time to review
the entire installation — not just the electrical drawings.
If you correctly anticipate the ambient temperatures and perform the necessary ampacity adjustments, then
you’ll meet the NEC minimums for conductor sizing. From there, you can decide whether to allow for other
considerations in making a final determination of conductor size.
For sizing Equipment Grounding Conductor refer to NEC 250.66
table
For sizing Grounding Electrode Conductor refer to NEC 250.66
table
Refer to NEC table 310.15(B)(2)(a) for ambient temperature
correction factor based on 30 degree Celsius.
Refer to NEC table 310.15(B)(3)(a) for Adjustment factors for

more than three-current carrying conductors
Steps and examples to calculate conduit Fill per the NEC:
Calculating conduit fill is a straightforward process, but important to comply with NEC requirements
(National Electrical Code) and avoid expensive rewiring (and most importantly, to keep your electrical
installation safe!). The following steps describe these factors and explains how to correctly calculate conduit
fill.
There are three different factors that must be considered when performing raceway fill calculations:
1. Number of cables in the conduit

2. Cross section area of the cables
3. Number of bends in the conduit
Step 1: Calculating wire cross-section area

If you already know how many wires you need (this means you know the number of wires and what
insulation type and gauge these will be) all you need to do is find the cross-sectional area for each wire and
add these up.
Example:
You have the following wire types and amounts:
 4 wires, with insulation type THHN, and gauge of 8 AWG

 2 wires, with insulation type THW, and gauge of 4 AWG
From chapter-9, table-5 NEC 2017, A 8AWG THHN wire has a cross section of 0.03659 square inches, while
a 4 AWG THW has a cross section of 0.0824 square inches. This means the total cross section area of all the
wires is:
(0.0366 sq. inches)*4 + (0.0824 sq. inches)*2 = 0.3112 sq. inches
Finding minimum available conduit area
The National Electrical Code establishes that if a conduit only contains 1 wire, the max fill percentage is 53%.
If it contains 2 wires, the max fill percentage is 31%. And if it contains 3 or more wires, the max fill percentage
is 40%. Using the wire cross section areas calculated previously we can obtain the minimum conduit size we
must use.
Example:
Following the previous example, we noted that we’re using a total of 6 wires, which means that in our case,
the max fill percentage is 40%. Since we had already calculated the total wire area, we can easily calculate
the minimum conduit area:
0.3112 sq. inches / 0.4 = 0.778 sq. inches
Using a simple lookup from chapter-9, table-5 NEC 2017, we can find the closest conduit size.
Example: If we need to use an EMT conduit, we can find that the closest conduit size is a 1-inch conduit,
which gives us a 40% conduit fill.

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Steps and examples to size a cable per the NEC:

Branch Circuit Continuous Load Example for How to Size a Cable

23A x 125% = 28.75A or 30A [240.6(A)]

Feeder Continuous Load Example for How to Size a Cable:

Meeting minimums of conductor size when choosing your

 Allowable ampacity, as listed in Table 310.16.

Refer to NEC table 310.15(B)(3)(a) for Adjustment factors for

1. Number of cables in the conduit

Step 1: Calculating wire cross-section area

 4 wires, with insulation type THHN, and gauge of 8 AWG

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