Does IEC 60228 select a cable cross-section?

No. IEC 60228:2023 specifies conductor nominal cross-sectional areas, construction and resistance requirements. Complete cable selection also requires installation, current-carrying capacity, protection, voltage drop and other checks.

Why enter resistance and reactance instead of material resistivity?

Cable voltage drop depends on the candidate cable's actual operating resistance, construction, temperature and AC reactance. Use manufacturer or verified engineering data for the applicable condition.

Is a voltage-drop result enough to approve a cable?

No. Ampacity, grouping, ambient conditions, harmonics, fault protection, short-circuit withstand, insulation, terminals and local rules must also be verified.

Candidate-cable arithmetic

Cable Voltage-Drop Candidate Check

Calculate steady-state voltage drop from operating R/X data for a candidate cable. This page does not select conductor cross-section, ampacity or protection.

IEC 60228:2023 scopeIEC 60364-5-52 contextNo generic ampacity table

Steady-state candidate result

Comparison with entered drop limit

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Calculated voltage drop ΔU

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Calculated voltage drop

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Series term R′cosφ + X′sinφ

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Conductor I²R loss over circuit

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Steady-state equations

2-wire DC: ΔU = 2ILR′/1000

1φ AC: ΔU = 2IL(R′cosφ + X′sinφ)/1000

balanced 3φ AC: ΔU = √3IL(R′cosφ + X′sinφ)/1000

L is one-way metres and R′/X′ are per-conductor Ω/km. For DC the displayed series term is R′. Circuit conductor loss is 2I²R′L/1000 for two-wire DC/1φ and 3I²R′L/1000 for balanced 3φ. These are candidate-circuit calculations, not short-circuit loop calculations.

The equations follow the steady-load formulation in the Schneider Electric Electrical Installation Guide.

IEC scope, editions and tables

IEC 60228:2023, edition 4 specifies nominal conductor cross-sectional areas from 0.5 to 3500 mm² plus construction and resistance requirements. It does not by itself select a safe installed cable and does not establish an AWG equivalence table.

IEC 60364-5-52:2009 with Amendment 1:2024 covers wiring-system selection/erection, current-carrying capacity, harmonics and voltage drop. Exact values and national rules must be obtained from the licensed standard and applicable local implementation; this page reproduces no normative ampacity or voltage-drop table.

No cable approval: verify installation method, conductor count, insulation and temperature limits, ambient/grouping/soil factors, harmonic neutral loading, protective-device coordination, fault-loop impedance, automatic disconnection, short-circuit thermal withstand, minimum mechanical size, voltage-drop limits for the whole installation, terminals, parallel conductors and applicable national code.