AWG stands for American Wire Gauge, a standardized wire gauge system used predominantly in North America since 1857. An important caveat: the higher the AWG number, the thinner the physical wire. (e.g., 14 AWG is much thinner than 8 AWG).

Resistance is cumulative. A thin 14 AWG wire can easily carry 15 amps for 10 feet. However, if you try to pull 15 amps over 200 feet, the total resistance of the long wire becomes enormous, resulting in a severe voltage drop that will likely damage whatever is plugged into the end of it.

If the wire is too thin for the distance and current, it will act like a resistor. It will heat up, potentially melting its insulation or causing a fire. Furthermore, the appliance at the end of the line won't receive enough voltage, causing motors to stall or electronics to malfunction.

Yes! It is always safe to "upsize" to a thicker wire (e.g., using a 10 AWG instead of the recommended 12 AWG). A thicker wire will simply reduce the voltage drop further and run cooler. The only downside is that thicker wires are more expensive and physically harder to bend.

A Circular Mil is a unit of area used exclusively for denoting the cross-sectional size of electrical wires. It is defined as the area of a circle with a diameter of one mil (one thousandth of an inch). We use CM in formulas to find exact cross-sections before converting them to the AWG scale.