It’s wires and cables that helps in delivering electricity in your home. Whether it is a fuse box or a breaker panel or any electrical item placed either indoor or outdoor, wires and cables keep the electricity running through them.
It’s wires and cables that helps in delivering electricity in your home. Whether it is a fuse box or a breaker panel or any electrical item placed either indoor or outdoor, wires and cables keep the electricity running through them. Though used interchangeably, wires and cables are different from each other. If you differentiate them on the basis of technical features, wire means single electrical conductor while cable means bundle of conductors. Different type of wires and cables are used in different electrical applications. Manner of installation of these cables also differ from each other. If you are about to buy wires and cables online or offline for your electrical project, it would be better if you gain some first-hand information about their various types and characteristics.
This this article, we will discuss about wires and cables in detail.
1.WIRES
While buying wires there are three factors you should always pay attention to. These are:
Label information
Wires always come printed with some information on their label. Always read it carefully as this information can help a lot in choosing the right wire for your home. Usually this information includes.
• THHN or THWN: These letters points towards individual wires that are used in residential applications. Let’s find out what these letters explain. T stands for thermoplastic insulation and H for heat resistance. The second time H stands for heat resistance that goes up to 194-degrees Fahrenheit and W means it can be used in wet locations. And last but not the least N means the wire can-not be damaged by oil or gas.
• Material: The other information label provides is material type. Nowadays, most of the wires are available in the copper material and hence come with “CU” symbol.
• Voltage rating: You can also check maximum voltage it can carry on the label. • Gauge: In addition to the voltage rating, material type and application, you can also find out wire size by checking gauges on its label.
Color
• Black, blue and red are used in residential wiring and are always hot.
• White colored wires are neutral while green and copper wires are always used for the ground wiring.
Applications
Different type of wiring is conducted for different purposes. So, if you are about to embark on your home wiring project, take advice of your local building inspector.
2. CABLES
Different types of cables are used in different applications. Therefore, before buying them for your home it would be better if you gather information about different types of cables and characteristics.
NM-B cable: In most of the residential wiring NM-B Cable is used. These are non-metallic cables which can carry heat up to 194-degrees Fahrenheit and come covered with PVC sheathing. This rating of the cables indicates that they can work under certain levels of heat without getting overheated and causing safety hazards.
UF cable: It is just like NM-B Cable but is used in underground and damp areas. Although, UF cables appear just like NM-B Cables but they come embedded with thermoplastic. UF cables are provided in the market in a variety of gauges. Coaxial cables: Also known as coax, these metallic cables are used in transmission of signals and during making connection of video equipment.
Category 5e cables: Also known as CAT-5e, these are the twisted-pair cables that are used to connect phones and computer networks. These are also called Ethernet cables and consist of 4 pairs of copper wires.
Armored cable: These cables are usually utilized during new residential construction but are widely found in older homes too. Also known as BX, armored cables are available in the market at high cost and can be used only for indoor purposes.
Metal-clad cable: Just like the above one, these cables are also rated for indoor use and can’t be used for outdoor purposes.
There are many online suppliers from whom you can buy wires and cables online. Not only cables, they provide all type of electrical items. Whether you want to buy switches online or sockets, you can get them from these suppliers as well.
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