Let's face it, all of us have, at one point or another, just walked into a building supply store rushing towards the electrical department to get a cable or two for a project that's waiting for us at home. In most cases, we just pick a random cable, without being able to tell the difference between a 100-amp wire and a 200-amp fire, let alone the difference between lower amp wires.
These simple examples are reason enough to take a step back and realise that most people aren't paying the attention to wiring as they should, and they impose a safety hazard upon themselves. However, if you're responsible for the cables in commercial settings, then you're putting the lives of many other people on the line as well, which makes looking for the right electrical cable for sale even more so important.
With that said, when looking for an electrical cable for sale, there are a couple of important things to consider. There are different types of cables, including indoor, outdoor, underground and specific application cables, such as corrosion-proof or heat-resistant cables.
People usually use the terms cable and wire interchangeably, and while quite similar, there are some key differences between them. Wires feature a single electrical conductor (typically copper) that conducts electricity and allows it to flow throughout the wire. A cable, on the other hand, consists of multiple conductors wrapped together in a non-conductive material known as a jacket.
That being said, depending on the jacket, and what its properties are, different cables can be used for different applications. Some of the most common types of cables are:
- THNN (thermoplastic insulation high heat-resistant nylon) cables, which are multi-purpose building cables used as conductors in several assemblies
- MHF (mobile home feeder) cables, used for feeding power to mobile homes and applications where a breaker panel is present in a detached building, away from a main panel or service disconnect
- NM-B (nonmetallic-sheathed) cables, used for indoor circuit wiring in dry locations, and can be used for both concealed and exposed work
- UF-B (underground feeder) cables can be used in damp locations, making them suitable for direct burial, as long as they're installed inside a conduit that protects them from physical damage
The properties of all these cable types are usually listed on the spec sheet, so you need to look into it before deciding based solely of the short description of each type I just gave. Remember, cables play a huge rule in our everyday life, so we oftentimes take them for granted, but getting the right one is extremely important for appliances to function optimally and for safety to be at the necessary level.
