VFD Cable Selection Guide

Cable Properties

Ampacity
NEC Art. 310-16, 90°C
Four Conductors (3 Black with white numbers + G/Y ground)

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AWG Amps (3/c + Grid) AWG Amps (3/c + Grid)
22 6* 10 40
20 8* 8 55
18 14 6 75
16 18 4 95
14 25 3 110
12 30 2 130

*not from NEC
table (Calculated)


Motor Properties

Four Conductors (3 Black with white numbers + G/Y ground)
Selection (NEC Art. 430-22 exc. 2)
Wire size @125% of FLC (4/c cable)

Drive 230 V
460 V
575 V
Drive 230 V
460 V
575 V
HP AWG AWG AWG HP AWG AWG AWG
1/4 22 n/a n/a 10 10 16 18
1/3 22 n/a n/a 15 8 12 14
1/2 22 22 22 20 6 10 12
3/4 22 22 22 25 4 8 10
1 20 22 22 30 3 8 10
1 1/2 20 22 22 40 2 6 8
2 18 20 20 50 ** 4 6
3 18 20 20 60 ** 3 4
5 14 18 18 75 ** 2 3
7 1/2 12 16 18 100 ** ** 2

NOTE: Above tables reference the suggested wire AWG to use based on Horse Power (HP) and FLC times 125% per NEC Art 430-22 exc. 2.Amperes (FLC) were determined from NEC Art. 430-150: Full-Load Current for Three Phase AC Motors. For Example: For a 5 HP and 460 Volt motor, the FLC is 7.6A.7.6Ax125%=9.5A. The right AWG wire for 9.5A is 18 per NEC Art. 310-16, 90°C.

** Use single conductors
++ Use 4 Conductor Cable


Installation Properties

Voltage Drop Factors
Volts/ft at FLC at 20°C

HP @ 230 V @ 460 V @ 575 V HP @ 230 V @ 460 V @ 575 V HP @ 230 V @ 460 V @ 575 V
1/2 .045 .022 .018 15 .034 .043 .053 125 .020* .020* .016*
3/4 .064 .032 .026 20 .028 .038 .047 150 .020* .022* .018*
1 .056 .042 .034 25 .020 .028 .036 200 .016* .025* .024*
1 1/2 .079 .060 .048 30 .020 .032 .042 250 n/a .020* .019*
2 .052 .045 .036 40 .021 .027 .033 300 n/a .020* .019*
3 .073 .063 .052 50 .016* .020 .026 350 n/a .016* .014*
5 .050 .058 .046 60 .019* .019 .018 400 n/a .016* .014*
7 1/2 .045 .058 .046 75 .024* .020 .019 450 n/a .016* .016*
10 .036 .072 .084 100 .020* .016* .012 500 n/a n/a .016*

NOTE: Above tables reference the voltage drop over distances. It was determined by using the selection criteria of Motor Properties Table. In order to determine the voltage drop, multiply the length by the data above. For Example: For a 5 HP and 460 V motor, P/N 701804 would be used. For a distance of 200 feet, your voltage drop would be 200x.058=11.6 volts.
*Value is based on using single conductor table.

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