ELECTRIC WIRES

AND CABLES
AAQUIB MAHFUZ
MAAZ AKBAR KHAN
MOHD AAMIR KHAN
MOHD HASHIM
MOHD KHALID RAZA
SHAHBAZ KHAN
WIRES
ELECTRICAL WIRE
• Electrical wire is a strand of drawn metal used especially in electrical
conductors.
• Electrical wires are used to carry electrical power from one place to
other, from manufacturing unit to the consuming unit.
• Electrical wiring can be understood as insulated conductors that carry
electricity and the associated devices.
Wire
Label information, which is printed on wire coverings, provides all of
the information you need to choose the right wire for your home. That
information includes:
• THHN or THWN – These letters represent the most common types of
individual wires used in residential applications. The letters represent
the following NEC requirements:
• T is for the thermoplastic insulation on the wire;
• H is for heat resistance;
• H is for high heat resistance up to 194° Fahrenheit;
• W means the wire is rated for wet locations, such as outdoors; and
• N means the wire is impervious to damage from oil or gas.
• Material — Most wire will be marked “CU,” for copper, the most
common conductor of residential electricity. Other wire could be
aluminum or copper-clad aluminum.

• Maximum voltage rating — This will be a number such as 600V,

which indicates the maximum voltage the wire can carry.

• Gauge – This number indicates wire size. The most common gauges
are 10, 12 or 14. Larger numbers represent smaller sizes or gauges of
wire.
Color
• Colored insulated wires other than white or green are always hot.
Black, blue and red wires are typical hot wires in residential wiring.
• White insulated wires are always neutral.
• Green insulated and bare copper wires are always ground wires.
Wire Types
• Type T - dry locations
• Type TW - dry or wet
• THHN - dry, high temps
• THW and THWN - wet, high temps
• XHHW - high moisture & heat resistance
• UF - direct burial in soil but not concrete
Making of Electrical Wire

• A wire is generally made by drawing a metal through a hole in a die or

draw plate.

• Electrical wires are generally covered with insulating materials like

plastic, rubber-like polymers, or varnish. Insulating and jacketing of
electrical wires and cables is done by passing them through an
extruder.
As it is risky to work with electrical wires, they are also
protected with materials like paraffin or some other type of
preservative compound, bitumen, lead, or aluminium sheathing,
or even steel taping.
Properties of Electrical Wire
The general properties of electrical wires for which they are used are
listed as follows
• Electrical wires are made of a conductor and an insulation.
• They are good conductors of electricity.
• They are flexible as well as strong.
Use of Electrical Wire
Apart from home and office wiring uses, electrical wires have many industrial
applications too. . They are used for the functioning and running of a number
of machines and devices. Here is the list of some important industries where
electrical wires are used:
• Electrical and Electronics Industry
• Telecommunication Industry
• IT Industry
• Transport Industry
• Metal Industry
• Automobile Industry
• Heavy Machinery Industry
Electrical Wire Types
There are different types of electrical wires categorized on the basis of
their uses like high voltage power cables which are used to carry
electricity from one place to other, low voltage cables which are
generally used in house wiring, control cables etc.
Different types of electrical wires are used for different electrical
appliances like electric motors, refrigerators, fans, bulbs etc.
Various types of electrical wires available in the market and used in our
daily life are made of a conductor generally aluminum or copper and an
insulation covering the conductor.
These insulated wires have conductors in them which may be solid or
stranded. The insulation material is made of some kind of plastic or
rubber.
Electrical Wires Types

Metal Wires

Different metals and their alloys are used to make various types of
metal wires for electrical wiring requirements in a home. These
electrical wires types can be described as explained below.
Copper Electrical Wire

Copper has the most reputable status among all types of electrical
wiring. Copper cables are preferred as home wiring solution and also
for electrical appliances because copper is a very good conductor of
electricity and is very easy to mold and bend. The price of copper wires
too are reasonable for residential use.
MERITS
• Very good conductor of electricity
• Easy to mold and bend
• Can carry large current with a small diameter wire
• Reasonable price

DEMERITS
• One of the most serious disadvantages of copper wire is its susceptibility to
corrosion
• Copper is susceptible to a great degree of electrical interference, leading to
a less clear signal
Aluminum Electrical Wire

Aluminum has more resources than copper and thus is cheaper too.
Although aluminium cables are less conductive material, they can be
easily shaped. There are certain disadvantages of aluminum wires
regarding electrical safety in homes. It also poses fire hazard.
Aluminum wiring (in larger diameters), today is mainly used for
commercial purposes. Some modern electrical appliances too have
aluminum wires.
MERITS
• Cheaper than copper wires
• Can be easily shaped
• Aluminium wires in large diameters are used for commercial purposes

DEMERITS
• Aluminium cables are less conductive material
• If using aluminum wire for carrying the same amount of electricity as
is expected of copper wires than it should be have greater diameter.
• Generates excess heat as compared to copper wire
• It also poses fire hazard
Alloys and Silver Wires

Electrical wires that are made from alloys generally use aluminum and
copper to get advantage of both performance and cost effectiveness.
However, there are certain problems with silver wires- first, silver is not
so easy to bend and secondly it costs much too higher. Also the amount
of silver makes a difference as many of these wires contain a
percentage of copper.
MERITS
• Silver is the best conductor of electricity
• Used in electrical wires for high temperature conditions
• Many people use silver wiring in their homes audio and video
equipment. This makes signals travel better through pure silver

DEMERITS
• Normally not found in homes as it costs much too higher
• Silver is not so easy to bend
• A small amount of silver in wiring, naturally, doesn't make noticeable
difference in signal quality for any home electronics.
General Electrical Wiring In Homes

• There are many types house wire cables, in your home too. All these
types of electrical wires and fuse wires have specific application to
accommodate the load and conditions it is exposed to. Below are
mentioned the electrical wire types that are used in the electrical
system of any home.
Triplex Wire

This is an aerial cable used by the utility companies to feed the power
pole. Triplex wire ties to the wires sticking out of the weather head.
Main Feeder Wires
These wires are generally type THHN wire. They are rated for 125% of
the load required. Main feeder wires are generally black insulated wires
coming out of the service weather head.
Panel Feed Wires
• This is another type of THHN wire. A typical 100-amp service has a #2
THHN set of wires. They are rated at 125 amps. This protects the
wires if the amperage was a full 100 amps.
Non-Metallic Sheathed Wire (NM)
Often called Romex, NM is a plastic coated wire that has either two or
three conductors and a bare ground wire. This can be termed as the
typical wiring used in most of the houses. The rating for non-metallic
sheathed wire is either 15 amps, 20 amps, or 30 amps, based upon the
installation.
Single Strand Wire
This type of electrical wire is insulated and many of them can be pulled
into the same pipe. Generally THHN wire is used for this type of
installation.
CABLES
 ELECTRICAL CABLE
A cable is most often two or more wires running side by side and
bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly.
Electrical cables may be made more flexible by stranding the wires.
In this process, smaller individual wires are twisted or braided
together to produce larger wires that are more flexible than solid
wires of similar size
• Cable
NM-B cable is the most common form of indoor residential electrical
wiring. The “NM” stands for non-metallic, which refers to the flexible,
generally PVC sheathing surrounding the cable. The “B” represents a
heat rating of 194° Fahrenheit. This rating ensures wires can operate
at certain levels without overheating, melting the insulation and
creating fire and safety hazards. Inside the sheathing are at least two
thermoplastic insulated wires of the same gauge, though different
cables can have different gauges. As with wire, all the information you
need to know about NM-B cable is printed on the sheathing.
• Type — This label will most commonly read NM-B.
• Gauge — This number is the gauge of the individual wires inside the
cable, such as 14, 12, 10, etc.
• Number of wires — This number follows gauge. For example, 14/2
indicates that there are two 14-gauge wires (a ground wire, if part of
the cable, is not included in this number) within the cable.
• Grounding — The word “GROUND” or the letter “G” indicates the
presence of a ground wire.
• Voltage rating — The most common rating for residential use is 600
volts, though the number can vary. The number indicates the
maximum voltage the wire can safely carry.
• UL — Indicates that the cable is safety certified and approved for use
by Underwriters Laboratories.
 CABLES & E-MAGNETIC FIELDS
Any current-carrying conductor, including a cable, radiates
an electromagnetic field. A conductor or cable will pick up energy
from any existing electromagnetic field around it. These effects
produce following undesirable effects:
1. Unwanted transmission of energy
2. Unwanted pickup of noise

1. Keep cable lengths in buildings short, since pick up and transmission

are essentially proportional to the length of the cable
2. Principal design techniques are shielding, coaxial geometry,
and twisted-pair geometry
 RIBBON CABLE
A Ribbon cable (also known as multi-wire planar cable) is a cable
with many conducting wires running parallel to each other on the
same flat plane. As a result the cable is wide and flat.

APPLICATION:
Ribbon cables are usually seen for internal peripherals
in computers, such as hard drives, CD drives and floppy drives.
 COAXIAL CABLE
Coaxial cable, or coax, has an inner conductor surrounded by a
flexible, tubular insulating layer, surrounded by a tubular conducting
shield. The term coaxial comes from the inner conductor and the
outer shield sharing a geometric axis.

A: outer plastic sheath

B: woven copper shield
C: inner dielectric insulator
D: copper core
ADVANTAGES OF COAXIAL CABLE

1.Reduced Power Loss: Ideal coaxial cable the electromagnetic

field carrying the signal exists only in the space between the
inner and outer conductors

2. Coaxial cable also provides protection of the signal from

external electromagnetic interference
 MINERAL INSULATED COPPER CLAD
CABLE
Mineral-insulated copper-clad cable is a variety of electrical
cable made from copper conductors inside a copper sheath,
insulated by inorganic magnesium oxide powder.
MI cable is made by placing copper rods inside a circular
copper tube and filling the intervening spaces with
dry magnesium oxide powder. The overall assembly is then
pressed between rollers to reduce its diameter (and increase
its length).
COPPER ROD

Mg POWDER

COPPER TUBE
 APPLICATION
MI cables are used for power and control circuits of critical equipment, such as
the following examples:
• Nuclear reactors
• Air pressurisation systems for stairwells to enable building egress during a fire
• Hospital operating rooms
• Fire alarm systems
• Emergency power systems
• Emergency lighting systems
• Temperature measurement devices; RTD's and Thermocouples.
• Public buildings such as theatres, cinemas, hotels
• Transport hubs (railway stations, airports etc.)
• Mains supply cables within residential apartment blocks
• Tunnels and mines
• Electrical equipment in hazardous areas where flammable gases may be present
e.g. oil refineries, petrol stations
• Areas where corrosive chemicals may be present e.g. factories
• Building plant rooms
PROPERTIES
 MERITS
• Mechanically robust and resistant to impact.
• Copper sheathing is waterproof and resistant to ultraviolet light and
many corrosive elements.
• Approved by electrical codes for use in hazardous conditions.
• MI cable does not allow propagation of an explosion inside the copper
tube, and the cable is unlikely to initiate an explosion even during
circuit fault conditions.
• Metal sheathing will not contribute fuel or hazardous combustion
products to a fire, and cannot propagate a fire along a cable tray or
within a building.
• It provides a supply cable that cannot easily be 'tapped' into to obtain
free energy.
 DISADVANTAGES
• Repair: If the MI cable jacket has been damaged the magnesium oxide
will wick moisture into the cable and it will lose its insulating
properties causing high resistance shorts to the grounding jacket
(Copper Jacket)
• Moisture absorption: The magnesium oxide insultion has a high
affinity for moisture. Moisture introduced into the cable can cause
electrical leakage from the internal conductors to the metal sheath.
Moisture absorbed at a cut end of the cable may be driven off by
heating the cable.
• Voltage rating: MI cable is only manufactured with ratings up to 1000
volts
NM-B cable
• NM-B cable is the most common form of indoor residential electrical
wiring. The “NM” stands for non-metallic, which refers to the flexible,
generally PVC sheathing surrounding the cable. The “B” represents a
heat rating of 194° Fahrenheit
• Run NM-B cable behind walls and ceilings, inside floor cavities and in
other unexposed areas
• Use NM-B indoors only, in spaces that are dry and free from moisture.
Exposure to water can subject the wires to corrosion
UF cable
• UF cable is similar to NM cable, but is rated for in-ground and damp-
area installation. In fact, UF stands for underground feeder.

• From the outside UF cable looks like NM-B cable, but the wires are
embedded as a group in solid thermoplastic (rather than individually
encased in flexible thermoplastic).
Armored cable
• Armored cable (AC) is wire enclosed in metal sheathing. Often called
by the trade name, BX, AC consists of insulated hot and neutral wires,
plus a bare bonding wire, all wrapped in paper
• The metal sheathing acts as the grounding conductor. AC is relatively
expensive and difficult to work with, so it’s not often used in new
residential construction.
Category 5e cables
• Category 5e cables, also called cat-5e, are the industry standard for
unshielded twisted-pair cables (UTP) for connecting phones,
computer networks, home automation networks and audio/video
distribution systems
RATE ANALYSIS
COPPER WIRE RATE
• DIA (mm ) PRICE/BUNDLE (90 YARD)
RS.

0.75 mm 350
1 mm 450
1.5 mm 600
2.5 mm 850
4 mm 1250
6 mm 2500
7076 5500
Flat wire 450
ALUMINIUM WIRE

• DIA (mm ) PRICE/BUNDLE (90 YARD)

RS.
4076 [2 core] 300
4076 [3 core] 450
2.5 mm 430
4 mm 600
6 mm 1300
SILVER

• DIA (mm ) PRICE/BUNDLE (90 YARD)

RS.
Flat wire double 225
Flat wire 2376 260

Cable 700 30 M
HEAT PROOF WIRE 1200 90 YARD
COVERED WIRE 800 30 YARD
ENAMELED WIRE 650 30 YARD