Does neutral wire need to be same size?

The “neutral” wire should ALWAYS be the same size as the “hot” wire. That said, that isn’t alway true either, as there is the case of a 220/120 vac appliance, such as an electric stove/oven. The cord on those will have a smaller neutral.

Why is the neutral wire bigger?

The neutral wire should be thicker than phase wire when no. of loads uses a common neutral. Generally, in house wiring purpose a common neutral wire is used for all loads, in this case, the neutral should be thicker because the neutral wire carrying more current than phase currents.

Why is neutral wire thinner?

in 3-phase 4-wire systems line wires are big as compare to neutral wire. so,area of neutral wire is low ,then resistance of neutral wire is high. so, heat loss is more. so,my question is why we use thin wire for neutral.

Are neutral and live wires the same?

To sum up, a live wire carries the full load current, while a neutral wire carries some current, only when the loads are not balanced. The voltage on live and neutral varies depending on country and even within a country on the location.

Can a neutral be one size smaller?

The neutral (grounded conductor) cannot be smaller than the required size of the GEC (per table 250.66) and is not required to be larger than the largest ungrounded conductor.

How do I know what size neutral wire to use?

Sizing the neutral: Sec. 220-22. You must size the neutral conductor to carry the maximum unbalanced current in the circuit (i.e. the largest load between the neutral and any one ungrounded phase conductor). You calculate the first 200A of neutral current at 100\%.

Can the neutral be smaller than the ground?

The neutral (grounded conductor) cannot be smaller than the required size of the GEC (per table 250.66) and is not required to be larger than the largest ungrounded conductor. This post was automatically imported from our archived forum. Jeff, that’s saying that the neutral cannot be smaller than the ground.

How do I choose a neutral wire size?

What is the size of neutral wire?

The neutral conductor is protected against short-circuit. The size of the neutral conductor is at least equal to 16 mm2 in copper or 25 mm2 in aluminium.

Why does the neutral wire have to be the same size?

By code, the hot wire, neutral wire and ground wires all need to be the same guage. That gauge as determined by the load current. The neutral has always had to be the same size as the hot lead because all of the load current returns through it.

What is the difference between live/neutral and earth wire?

With fixed wiring, the protective earth wire is usually of a smaller gauge than the live and neutral. The reason is simple. The earth wire only has to carry current under fault conditions, and then only long enough for the circuit breaker or residual current device to trip. In contrast, the live/neutral has to carry load current current.

Does wire size depend on amperage or current?

I thought that the wire size depends on the amperage that the current passes. However in a 3 conductor cable, the size of the neutral wire is the same as the hot wire; which puzzles me. If both hot…

Can a ground wire be smaller than the minimum requirement?

The grounding conductor may be larger than this minimum requirement, but should not be smaller. Why does my neutral wire have voltage? Because the resistance of the copper neutral wire is usually very near zero, this also keeps the voltage low.