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Electrical Construction and Maintenance

Mike Holt

Mike Holt, NEC Consultant

Wed, 2000-03-01 12:00

Voltage Drop -- Part 3

As discussed in Part 1 of this series (Jan. 2000 issue, page 44), the NEC does not generally consider voltage drop
a safety issue. As a result, it contains Fine Print Notes (FPNs) recommending you size circuit conductors large
enough to provide reasonable efficiency of equipment. However, two NEC rules require you to increase the size
of circuit conductors to accommodate voltage drop: Grounding Conductors in Sec. 250-122(b) and Fire Pumps
in Sec. 695-7.
When sizing conductors, make sure you size the conductor to meet NEC requirements, such as continuous load,
motors, conductor bundling, etc. Then, determine if the conductor is sufficiently large enough to meet the NEC
recommendations or requirements for voltage drop.
In Part 2 (Feb. 2000 issue, page 50), I demonstrated two methods used to calculate the voltage drop of
conductors using Ohms Law and the Voltage Drop (VD) formula. You can rearrange the VD formulas to solve
for CM (circular mils of the circuit conductor necessary to prevent voltage drop).
CM (single-phase) = (2 x K x I x D)/VD
CM (3-phase) = (1.732 x K x I x D)/VD
Lets go through a couple of examples to show you how to calculate appropriate conductor size.
Single-phase example:
A 5 hp motor is located 100 ft from a 120/240V panelboard. What size conductor should you use if the motor
nameplate indicates the voltage range is between 208V and 230V? Limit voltage drop to the NEC
recommendation of 3% of the voltage source. Assume terminals are rated 75C.
(a) No. 10 THHN
(b) No. 8 THHN
(c) No. 6 THHN
(d) No. 4 THHN
Answer: (a) No. 10 THHN
Sec. 430-22(a) requires you to size motor conductors not less than 125% of the motor full-load current (28A) as
listed in Table 430-148. A No. 10 is rated 35A at 75C [Table 310-16 and Sec. 110-14(c)], and it is suitable to
meet the NEC requirements (28A x 1.25 = 35A). A No. 10 conductor also limits the voltage drop to meet the
manufacturers voltage limitation rating [Sec. 110-3(b)].

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Next, calculate conductor size to limit voltage drop to 3% of voltage source:

CM = (2 x K x I x D)/VD, where
CM = wire size (Chapter 9, Table 8)
K = 12.9 ohm, copper
I = 28A
D = 100 ft
VD = 240V x 3% = 7.2V
CM = (2 x 12.9 ohms x 28A x 100 ft)/7.2V
CM = 10,033, which calls for a No. 10 conductor per Chapter 9, Table 8.
Three-phase example:
A 25 hp, 208V, 3-phase fire pump motor is 175 ft from the service. The fire pump motor controller is 150 ft from
the service (the motor is 25 ft from the controller). What size conductor must you install to the fire pump motor?
Assume the terminals are rated at 75C.
(a) No. 4 THHN
(b) No. 3 THHN
(c) No. 2 THHN
(d) No. 1 THHN
Answer: (b) No. 3 THHN
When sizing conductors for a fire pump motor, size the conductor to meet these requirements:
Calculation 1: Sec. 695-6(c)(2)
You must size branch-circuit conductors no less than 125% of the fire pump motor full-load current as listed in
Table 430-148 or 430-150, based on a 75C terminal rating [Sec. 110-14(c)(1)] as listed in Table 310-16.
74.8A x 1.25 = 93.4A,
No. 3 THHN at 75C is rated 100A
Calculation 2: Sec. 695-7
Operating voltage at the motor controller terminals shall not drop more than 15% below the controller-rated
voltage when the motor starts (lock-rotor current).
CM = (1.732 x K x I x D)/VD
CM = wire size (Chapter 9, Table 8)
K = 12.9 ohms, copper
I = 404A (locked-rotor, Table 430-151B)
D = 150 ft
VD = 31.2V (208V x 15%)
CM4(1.732 x 12.9 ohms x 404A x 150 ft)/31.2V
CM = 43,396, which calls for a No. 3 conductor per Chapter 9, Table 8.
Calculation 3: Sec. 695-7
The operating voltage at the terminals of the motor shall not drop more than 5% below the motors voltage rating

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while the motor operates at 115% of its full-load current rating.

CM = (1.732 x K x I x D)/VD
CM = wire size (Chapter 9, Table 8)
K = 12.9 ohms, copper
I = 86A (74.8A x 115%), Table 430-150
D = 175 ft
VD = 10.4V (208V x 5%)
CM = (1.732 x 12.9 ohms x 86A x 175 ft)/10.4V
CM = 32,332, which calls for a No. 4 conductor per Chapter 9, Table 8.
Caution: For voltage drop, the No. 4 wire is okay from the controller to the motor, but Sec. 695-6(c)(2)
requires the branch-circuit conductors to be no smaller than No. 3.
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