About Conductor Ampacity

less resistance than conductors with a smaller cross-sectional area.AZ70XXFor bare conductors, the ultimate limit is the point at which power lost to resistance causes the conductor to melt. Aside from fuses, most conductors in the real world are operated far below this limit, however. AZ70XXFor example, household wiring is usually insulated with PVC insulation that is only rated to operate to about 60 °C, therefore, the current flowing in such wires must be limited so that it never heats the copper conductor above 60 °C, causing a risk of fire. Other, more expensive insulations such as Teflon or fiberglass may allow operation at much higher temperatures.AZG489The American wire gauge article contains a table showing allowable ampacities for a variety of copper wire sizes.Of the metals commonly used for conductors, copper has a high conductivity. Silver is more conductive, but due to cost it is not practical in most cases. However, it is used in specialized equipment, such as satellites, and as a thin plating to mitigate skin effect losses at high frequencies. Because of its ease of connection by soldering or clamping, copper is still the most common choice for most light-gauge wires.
Main article: Aluminum wire
Aluminium has been used aAZG489s a conductor in housing applications for cost reasons.