QA

Quick Answer: What Size Wire For Air Handler

It is strongly recommended that you use a 10/2 or 10/3 wire for all air conditioners. This is the standard wire size used in the U.S. It is also the recommended size of wire for most refrigerators, washing machines, and dryers.

What size wire do I need for a 3 ton AC unit?

3 ton, single phase, 240v, non-inverter A.C. are typically installed using stranded 8–2 with a ground. Inverter and 3 phase can get by with smaller wire.

What size breaker do I need for a 3 ton air handler?

The inside air handler unit needs a 60 ampere circuit breaker. Less than 15 amperes for the blower and the rest for the electrical heating elements.

What type of wire is used for HVAC?

Like any other electrical circuit, air conditioner circuits are generally wired with nonmetallic (NM) cable. The wire gauge must be appropriate for the amperage of the circuit. For a 20-amp window air conditioner, 12-gauge wire is typically used; for a 30-amp window air conditioner, 10-gauge wire is used.

What size wire do I need for a 2 ton AC?

2 tons of cooling is about 7kW (ignoring efficiency losses, the fan load, controls load, etc.). At 120VAC (ignoring power factor) that’s about 60A. For a 60 degree C copper conductor and a noncontinuous load (the AC runs less than three hours at a time) you could use a #4 AWG.

How many amps does a 3.5 ton AC draw?

At 240 volts that’s a little over 30 amps. Different units will have different requirements. This is just a rule of thumb. The actual wattage will depend on the outdoor temperature, the indoor setting of the thermostat.

What size wire do I need for a 4 ton AC unit?

It depends on the unit that’s being installed, but usually it’s 30-60 Amp with 10-4 AWG wire.

How many amps does a 4 ton AC draw?

14.91 amps Air Conditioner Capacity (Ton) BTU Amps 3 Ton 36,000 BTU 11.18 amps 3.5 Ton 42,000 BTU 13.04 amps 4 Ton 48,000 BTU 14.91 amps 5 Ton 60,000 BTU 18.63 amps.

How do I know what gauge wire to use?

To determine what gauge wire you need, consider the carrying capacity and the amount of current the wire needs to conduct (measured in amperage or amps). Wire gauge is directly related to how many amps you need to run through it. The distance you need the wire to go can also impact the gauge of wire you need.

How many amps does it take to run a 3 ton heat pump?

AIR CONDITIONING & HEAT PUMP LOADS – TYPICAL SIZE BTU Running Load 1 Ton 12,000 5 2 Ton 24,000 10 3 Ton 36,000 15.

What size wire do I need for a 24000 BTU air conditioner?

12 gauge wire. I used 60 amp disconnect.

Why you should use the correct size of wire in air condition unit?

The minimum circuit ampacity also tells us the minimum size of the circuit breaker; it needs to be sized large enough to help prevent nuisance tripping when the air conditioner first turns on.

What size wire do I need for a 5 ton AC unit?

A 4 and 5-ton air-conditioner will likely need a circuit breaker rated 45-50 A connected with 8-10 AWG wire when supplied with 197-253 volts. The breaker and wire size will largely depend on the power consumption (W) of the air-conditioner.

Which wire is suitable for 1.5 ton AC?

Your 1.5 ton ac draws around 8~9A and should run on 2.5 mm wires even though 4 mm is better. Finally, length of the wire also plays a crucial role when choosing wire gauge.

How many amps does a 2 ton AC pull?

A 2-ton central air unit can use up to 20 Amps.

What size wire is needed for AC unit?

It’s going to completely depend on the unit that’s being installed, but commonly it’ll be 30-60 amp with 10-4 AWG wire. You’re probably looking at a 3.5 ton unit, so you’ll be in the 30-40A (10-8 AWG) range.

What size wire do I need for a 18000 BTU air conditioner?

What gauge wire is required for the 18000 mini split? This system would take a 20A double-pole breaker with 12 AWG wire.

How many amps does a 18000 BTU air conditioner use?

That is, in comparison, higher amperage than it’s needed to power an 18,000 BTU portable air conditioner (about 13-19 amps).