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Benefits of Bigger Wire For Your Power Bill and Ho

- The document discusses the benefits of using larger gauge wire for home electrical systems, including increased safety, energy efficiency, flexibility, and future expandability. - Smaller gauge wire heats up more when carrying electrical current loads compared to larger gauge wire, which can pose a fire hazard. Larger wire also reduces energy losses over time. - Upgrading to larger gauge wire during new construction or renovations can future-proof a home's electrical system and potentially save costs in the long run from avoided future upgrades and lower power bills.

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Kolade Yousuff
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58 views4 pages

Benefits of Bigger Wire For Your Power Bill and Ho

- The document discusses the benefits of using larger gauge wire for home electrical systems, including increased safety, energy efficiency, flexibility, and future expandability. - Smaller gauge wire heats up more when carrying electrical current loads compared to larger gauge wire, which can pose a fire hazard. Larger wire also reduces energy losses over time. - Upgrading to larger gauge wire during new construction or renovations can future-proof a home's electrical system and potentially save costs in the long run from avoided future upgrades and lower power bills.

Uploaded by

Kolade Yousuff
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Bene ts of Bigger Wire for Your Power Bill


and Home
by A To Z Electric Co | Nov 21, 2018 | Electrical Tips

In new construction and older home renovation, installing an electrical system with
adequate sized wiring is a must. However, you can increase the energy e iciency of
your home by asking your electrician to use a larger gauge wire than the minimum
recommended size.

Upsize the wires in your home for additional benefits of safety, flexibility, and
expandability. Here’s what you need to know about home wiring and wire sizes.

Electrons Move Slowly Through Wire

Wire conducts electricity as electrons make their way through the metal material that
makes up the wire. The electrons are not e icient racers through the wire, but bounce
around as they make their way to your outlets and appliances. Individual electrons
only move around 1.2 inches per minute in a standard 10 amp, 12-gauge copper wire.
Electrons take longer to move through smaller wire than through larger diameter wire.
Think of the larger wiring as a superhighway and the smaller wiring as a two-lane
road. The larger diameter of the bigger wire o ers more area for electrons to move
through the circuit.

For this reason, smaller gauge wire is rated for lower amperage (electric current) limits
than larger gauge wire. The smallest size of common household wire can carry 15
amps of current. The largest common type of wire (generally only used for electrical
service panels) can carry a maximum current of 95 amps.

Too-Small Wire Can Get Hot

If you have an outlet in your home wired with 15 amp wire, and you plug in a 20-amp
appliance, you’re asking your wiring to deliver more current than its capacity rating.
Your circuit breaker should trip and stop the flow of electricity through the circuit. The
breaker disrupts electrical flow to protect the a ected wire.

Why does the wire need to be protected? When you overload a wire by plugging in an
appliance that needs more current than the wire’s rating, the wiring gets very hot.
Overheated wires can melt their protective insulation. Exposed wires are a shock
hazard to people who accidentally make contact with the wires.

If exposed wiring is located near flammable materials, the wires are an extreme fire
hazard. Attic insulation and other flammable materials behind walls can ignite from
the high heat of exposed electrical wires. If your circuit breaker doesn’t work properly,
you could cause a house fire by overloading your home’s wiring.

Add a higher capacity circuit breaker or disable the breaker to allow an over-rated
appliance to work, but you also increase the risk of burning down your house. The
new circuit won’t save your residence from the consequences of overloading your too-
small wiring.

Larger Diameter Wires Stay Cooler

Even when your wiring is properly rated for the amperage you demand, smaller wires
get hotter than larger diameter wires when both carry the same current load. The
smaller wire loses more electricity to the heat loss than the larger capacity wire.

For example, 100 feet of 12 gauge wire delivering 15 amps of current loses 77 watts of
energy. A 10 gauge wire of the same length only loses 48 watts of energy when
delivering the same load of current. Over time, larger electrical wire lowers your
overall energy costs because less energy is being lost in your electrical system.
Depending on the size of your electrical system, you could recoup the cost of the larger
wire in two to three years because of the power savings. Remember that most labor
costs will be the same whether you use standard or upsized wiring. Most of your
investment for larger sized wiring is for the wire itself.

Bigger Wires O er Additional Benefits

Using larger gauge AWG wire o ers you more flexibility in how your electrical system is
laid out. Your electrician can add more outlets when your wiring has increased current
potential. Larger wiring can sometimes be installed in risky areas where small wiring is
not recommended.

If you decide to upgrade your home’s wiring in the future, you may not need to install
larger wires when you already have higher rated wiring in your home. If you plan to
add outlets or other upgrades to a room later, installing increased-capacity wiring now
will save you the headache of having walls ripped out to upsize the wires in the future.

Larger wire is also insurance against voltage drops that lower the performance of your
electrical devices and appliances. For example, inadequate wiring causes lights to dim
when a refrigerator’s compressor starts. Voltage drops are frustrating and can damage
motors and other electrical devices over time.

If your fuses blow o en or your toaster’s too slow, your wiring is not delivering the
current you need. Increase your home’s safety, energy e iciency, and future electrical
expandability by hiring an electrician to install larger wiring for you.

Schedule an upgrade of your electrical wiring in Chicago, Illinois by contacting A to Z


Electric Co. today. Our rewiring upgrades increase your quality of life and the safety of
your residence.

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