Which conduit carries the most wires in the described multi-conduit arrangement?

Which conduit carries the most wires in the described multi-conduit arrangement?

• A. Conduits 1 and 4
• B. Conduits 2 and 5
• C. Conduits 3 and 6
• D. All conduits carry the same number of wires

Answer: (A)

In this kind of setup the number of wires in a conduit depends on how many circuits pass through it. The conduits that act as the main feeders will carry every hot and neutral for all the circuits they serve, plus any grounding conductors, so they end up with more conductors than the others. In the described arrangement, the two conduits that serve as the central feeding paths carry all of the branch conductors, making them the ones with the most wires. If you count all insulated conductors in each conduit, you’ll see those two contain the highest total. The other conduits have fewer wires because they only carry a subset of circuits or merely pass through portions of the run.

In this kind of setup the number of wires in a conduit depends on how many circuits pass through it. The conduits that act as the main feeders will carry every hot and neutral for all the circuits they serve, plus any grounding conductors, so they end up with more conductors than the others. In the described arrangement, the two conduits that serve as the central feeding paths carry all of the branch conductors, making them the ones with the most wires. If you count all insulated conductors in each conduit, you’ll see those two contain the highest total. The other conduits have fewer wires because they only carry a subset of circuits or merely pass through portions of the run.