If I run the speaker wire under the carpet it is 16 gage wire, could it get overheated and start a fire? Sorry I don't know much about wires, I don't think it will but want to make sure don't want to burn the house down.
The main consideration is where it's routed. If it's in a traffic area, it can eventually get stepped on enough to cause problems with shorting or broken conductors. Not that that's a fire hazard with speaker wire, but it can cause troubleshooting fits if you don't think about it.
16 AWG has an ampacity of 13 amps when in an enclosed space.
continously into an 8 Ohm speaker or 675 into 4 Ohms. Things will get warm but not dangerously hot.
