what size wire to run elctricity to a shed 100ft away

Sure, if money is no object

Yeah, 6 AWG copper cable will requite you a 20A circuit, at sixty cents a foot 10 3 conductors x length.

A better choice is 4 AWG Aluminum for 1/3 the cost. Yes, aluminum is condom in these big wire sizes.

That's awfully heavy wire for a couple LEDs.

You're not legally required to upsize the cable. As long as the breaker is correct for the wire size (i.e. 20A billow for 12 AWG wire), it will protect the wiring from overheating, and that is the purpose of breakers.

It's a big mistake on those "voltage drib calculators" to give the amperage of the breaker instead of the amperage of the practical, existent-world load. The latter is the one you're concerned with. It's OK to temporarily load the circuit beyond that, so long equally the breaker is right for the wire. In fact, you lot already practice that - how practise you get ability beyond the m? With a long orange extension cord. Look at yours - is it hooty-tooty 6 AWG? Of course not, I bet it's 16 AWG, or 14 at most. And yeah it gets warm - I've melted plenty of snowfall with mine. The tools got a lot of voltage drib, didn't fry, and nosotros all lived to tell the tale.

Then if it'south OK to run 16 AWG extension cords, why do you need half dozen AWG if information technology's in conduit? Y'all DON'T. Yous do need to protect the wire though, which is why you need 12AWG wire if the billow is 20A.

Consider an extreme scenario: a 1000-foot run of 12 AWG to run a couple of post lights, "and a convenience outlet". 2x 15W LED post lights. xxx watts total, at 120V that's 1/4 amp or 0.25A. Now, go and punch that into the voltage drop calculator and allow a 99% driblet but to run across what happens:

Huh what? ane% drop? The figurer goes to minimums - since it's for Code electrical, minimum wire size is fourteen AWG. This gives a i% drop. 14AWG is more than acceptable even for a g foot run.

So what happens if our child is going to school, we put a shelter there, and put a 1500W heater in the convenience outlet? That actually requires some sharp-pencil work with Ohm's Law, simply it boils down to the circuit flowing 8.03A, the heater giving 618W of useful heat while 345W is lost in the wiring (0.345 watts per foot, no big deal). And remember that's with 14AWG wire going 1000 feet, which is pretty farthermost.

Just for chuckles, become back and plug 20A and 3% voltage drop into the calculator. It'll spec 3/0 copper or 300MCM aluminum. At present price 3000' of that.

I'm only suggesting 12 AWG wire going 120 feet.

Then my best answer is, don't worry about it. Breaker it for 20A, or 15A if information technology actually bothers yous.

Best of both worlds: reduce voltage drop farther with 240V.

OK so, shift gears. Instead of 12AWG, run 14 AWG. what!?

Run two-wire (hot-hot) 240V power. Fit a NEMA 6 receptacle.

You're skeptical. I get it.

Now add a footstep-downwards transformer. This plugs into the 240V source and gives 120V output. One-half the voltage, double the amps, or vice versa. If we plug in a huge 16A 120V tool, it's only going to draw 8A at 240V. Become dorsum and plug that into the voltage driblet calculator.

Win!

So what do you exercise virtually the lights?

• many LED fixtures and well-nigh new fluorescents will accept 240V. (you're not allowed to accept E26 Edison bases on 240V lighting, however.)
• Run a second 120V circuit - xiv AWG is ample, equally you saw from the yard foot instance in a higher place. The ii circuits can share the ground wire (four wires + ground)
• Run hot+hot+neutral (three wires + footing) put in a sub-panel. Feed the lights with 120V and the transformer with 240V. Yes, on 15A fed with 14AWG. And then you can brag that you lot did that!

Now you accept a wire size, choose conduit

If nosotros were talking about wrestling big old 4 AWG aluminum, I woulda said a ii" conduit if not 3", just to make it possible to pull without hiring an electrician for his truck full of varsity pulling tools. But now that we're talking 14AWG, that'due south and so piece of cake to work with, only become it over there whatsoever practical way... bury a little (if you bury, exercise use large conduit for future expansion)... staple it to the fence, any's legal... and if it breaks, splice it.

It actually boils down to money. What's the least expensive mode that'll do what you want legally, and give you future headroom?

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Source: https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/104362/what-size-wire-should-i-use-for-my-yard-shed-and-how-deep-should-i-bury-it

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