What Size Wire for a Pool Pump?

A pool pump is a motor load under NEC Article 430 with extra pool rules from Article 680. A typical single-speed 1-2 HP pump is 240V and lands on a 20A breaker; the code-minimum conductor by ampacity is #14 copper (125% of the table full-load current, 430.22), but #12 copper is the common real-world choice for margin and voltage drop over the run to the equipment pad. Variable-speed pumps draw less and are often on a 15-20A circuit as well. Always confirm the pump's nameplate amps, and remember the whole circuit must be GFCI-protected (680.21(C)).

Yes. NEC 680.21(C) requires GFCI protection for the outlet supplying any pool pump motor on a branch circuit rated 150 volts or less to ground and 60 amperes or less, single- or three-phase. That is satisfied by a GFCI breaker at the panel (common for a hardwired 240V pump) or a GFCI receptacle for a cord-and-plug pump. This is on top of the motor branch-circuit sizing, not a substitute for it.

No, it is a separate conductor. NEC 680.26 requires an 8 AWG solid copper equipotential bonding conductor that ties the pump motor, metal pool parts, ladders, rails, and the surrounding deck reinforcement into one bonded grid, so everything sits at the same potential and no dangerous voltage can appear across a swimmer. That 8 AWG solid bond is in addition to the equipment grounding conductor that runs with the circuit; the two do different jobs. Many pool motors have a dedicated external bonding lug for it.

Size it from the motor's full-load current, not the nameplate horsepower marketing. An inverse-time breaker may be up to 250% of the table FLC (NEC 430.52); a 1-1.5 HP 240V pump runs on a 20-25A breaker and a 2 HP on 30A, and it must be a GFCI breaker (or the circuit otherwise GFCI-protected) per 680.21(C). A disconnecting means must also be within sight of the pump and at least 5 feet from the inside pool walls (NEC 680.12).

The rules are the same, but the numbers are smaller. Variable-speed pumps (now required for most new and replacement residential filtration pumps under federal DOE efficiency rules) draw less current than the old single-speed motors, so many run on a 15A or 20A 240V circuit with #14 or #12 copper. The GFCI, the 8 AWG equipotential bond, and the within-sight disconnect still apply exactly the same. Size the conductor from the drive's nameplate input amps.