The most important thing is knowing to the wire when we are going to build a new home. One of the most common kinds of wiring is Electrical wiring. One should have complete knowledge of which kind of wiring would be best for your home circuits. Another reason you should have an idea about wiring is to deal with any emergency. In ancient times people used to have different kinds of wiring at their homes that were difficult to maintain as the old wiring needed a particular type of electrical coding. That coding was challenging to understand for every ordinary person. But nowadays most of the wirings have similar cables and patterns for installation. Every person can have basic knowledge about these wires. The primary purpose of these wires is to connect the circuits to appliances.
Difference between Wire and Cable:
When we talk about wiring, it is essential to know the terms cable and wire. A wire is a simple conductor that helps to conduct electricity from the source to the place required. At home, we use wires made up of either aluminium or copper. However, the use of aluminium is significantly less in modern wiring. A stranded wire has a plastic coating that acts as an insulator.
On the other hand, Cable is a set of two or more wires covered by glass or plastic wrapping in a jacket. The NM cable is one of the most reliable cables we can use at our houses. This wire usually contains three wires, and one is a hot wire called the primary wire. The other two wires are secondary wires, neutral and ground wire. The direct wire conducts electricity. Here are the following types of wires one should know.
NM Cable:
Nm cable is one of the most reliable Cables, also known as Romex cable. This Cable consists of two or three wires wrapped in a flexible plastic coating. This type of Cable is best suitable for dry wirings like appliances, switches, outlets, and fixtures. These cables come in different colours in the market to identify the wire gauge. 40 and 55-ampere circuits come with black sheathing. At the same time, 30 and 20 amperes circuits come up with orange and yellow sheaths, respectively.
Underground Feeder Cable:
UF cables are suitable for wet locations and direct ground wiring. When you are going to have underground wiring, the Underground Feeder Cable is the best available option in the market. This wire supplies electricity to outdoor fixtures. It has ground and neutral wire along with the insulated hot wire. It also has solid sheathing around cables, which makes them more suitable for the external environment. This Cable is also ideal for main circuit wiring.
Armored Cable:
In some areas of the world, the electrical wiring rules are stricter than others, so the use of NM cables is restricted at some places. At those places, Armored cables are best to use. It has an extra layer for the protection of inside conductors. In the building that has more than two stories, this wiring would not work.
THHN/THWN wire:
This wire has colour coding with a single conductor. A tabular metal layer covers this Cable. In this Cable, the orange wire shows the hot wire, white or brown wire indicates the neutral wire and green or yellow wire shows ground wire. This type of wire is suitable in basements, garages, and some areas of the house. These are the circuit wires, so make sure not to keep the circuit turns on while complete rewiring.
Low voltage wire:
As the name indicates, this low voltage wiring is suitable for items that require low voltages like street bulbs, doorbells, etc. This type of wiring has low voltage, but you should avoid working with this wiring when the circuits are on.
Phone and data wire:
The phone and data wires are also very low voltage wires. The Cat 5 is the most common type of Cable ideal for phone or data wiring. It has eight wires for data transmission with more capacity than a standard wire. These wires contain low voltage but set them so that they don’t touch the electrical wires.
Cleat Wiring:
This wiring is suitable when used in ceilings and walls using cleats with plastic, wood, and groves. This wiring is not ideal for commercial electrical wiring as it’s an old way of wiring. This wiring is no longer used in domestic areas as well. If you are looking for temporary wiring, then one can use it.
The right kind of wiring makes your home a happy place to live. The proper wiring also increases the value of your house. When you think of wiring at your home, you should always avail professional residential electrical services because it’s a sensitive matter that affects life if not installed correctly.
