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Is it worth paying for thicker gauge wire and how much thicker to decrease resistance and thereby use less electricity?
Wiki User
∙ 16y ago
If you believe the "Copper Association" it is always worth it. It does save a little bit of money by not wasting energy along the wires, but the benefit varies depending on the continuousness of the load and the degree of loading. Most circuits are never used at full load; if fact I would venture to say that most circuits don't exceed 50% max load. In residential applications I doesn't pay. In commercial applications where the circuits are fully loaded for long periods of time, like kitchen equipment, and air conditioning, stairway lighting, then it might be worth it. How much bigger should the wire size be? Without doing calculations I would say one size bigger is enough.
Wiki User
∙ 16y ago
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoThe gauge of wire is determined by load size and distance wire will be run. You have greater loss, or voltage drop, with DC then AC. So a smaller gauge (bigger wire) will be run for DC vs. AC. Most wire is rated up to 1000v, its the amp that determine the gauge. so the greater the voltage the less the amp and a bigger gauge can be used. So if you are wiring you well pump that is 15amp 120VAC then you may want to use 12 gauge wire, but the same pump may be 240VAC, which will gut the amps in half making it 7 or 8 amps, so you could use 14 gauge. so to answer your question wire doesnt use electricity the device that the wire is hooked to (load) determine the amount of electricity that is used (a watt)
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A thicker resistance wire produces more heat?
I'm not sure what you mean by "thicker resistance" wire? The thicker or more diameter of a wire the less resistance it has. A larger diameter wire would produce less heat. More resistance would produce more heat.
Do thin wires have a greater or lesser resistance to electron flow than do thicker wires?
Thinner wire has greater resistance than thicker wire, assuming the same amount of current.
Why are wires supplying electric current to the water heater thicker than those supplying current to the lights?
the water heater operates at high power compared to the lights and so the water heater requires a larger current. The wires supplying current to the water heater are thicker so that the wires have a low resistance. This reduces the risk of the wires overheating.
Why do we use thicker wires for heaters than for lamps?
Heaters draw a lot more amperage. As your amperage increases, so does resistance to the flow of the current. Too much resistance, and your wire overheats, melts the casing, and can potentially catch fire.
What makes an electromagnet more powerful?
more coils around the metal object, thicker wire being coiled, and more electricity going to the wire.
What is one thing that you could do to the wire used in a circuit to decrease the amount of resistance bulb by the wire?
Use thicker wire. Doubling the diameter gives one quarter the resistance.
If you have a thick wire in a circuit would the electricity have more space to flow in?
Yes. Resistance = L*Rho/A where: L:length of wire Rho:Resistivity of the used material (for copper: 16.8 nΩm) A:cross sectional area As you can see, making a wire "thicker" will increase A and decrease resistance, because the electrons have more moving space.
When wire is thicker its resistance is?
When a wire is made thicker it's resistance decreases.
When a wire is made thicker it resistance?
When a wire is made thicker it's resistance decreases.
What happens to the resistance of a filament if it is replaced by a thicker wire?
The resistance decreases
A thicker resistance wire produces more heat?
I'm not sure what you mean by "thicker resistance" wire? The thicker or more diameter of a wire the less resistance it has. A larger diameter wire would produce less heat. More resistance would produce more heat.
Will increasing the conductor thickness increase resistance?
No. A thicker conductor will lower resistance.
Which has the thickest filament - a high-resistance or a low-resistance bulb?
A low resistance bulb has a thicker filament.
What tends to be thicker and more resistance to flow?
Blood
How does the thickness of the wire affect resistance?
A thicker wire has less resistance than a thinner wire.
How does the thickness of wire affect the resistance?
A thicker wire has less resistance than a thinner wire.
How does generate electricity?
The resistance of electrons flowing through conductors cause heat. When alloy metals such as Tungsten, Nichrome, Geman silver, brass or bronze are used they heat up quickly. Generally the thicker the wire the less resistance therefore less heat.
