10 tips for choosing the right fire-resistant wires
Flame-resistant cables play a big role in the safety of your target location. These will prevent escalation in the case of wire and keep the site’s power system going. Here are 10 tips to keep in mind if you’re looking for wiring resistant to fire.
1. High-quality cable materials
The best electrical wire materials are copper and aluminum — they are safe and long-lasting, with copper being a better option for your homes. Make sure there’s an ISI mark on your wire of choice to ensure superior cable quality.
2. Stranding
Wires that have multiple strands are better when flame resistance is needed. So choose multiple stranded cables over single-stranded ones.
3. Cable insulation material
PVC-insulated cables are most often used for flame resistance wiring. Also, wires insulated with mineral materials have great fire-resistant capabilities. This type of insulation also makes the wire explosion-proof.
4. Wire insulation color
The color of the cable’s insulation matters — choose:
- black, blue, yellow, or red for three phases
- green for earth
- grey or white for neutral
5. Cable size
Cable size is impacted by three factors, namely its voltage, short circuit rating, and current-carrying capacity. Make sure to investigate each factor before purchasing your wiring to decide on the cable size you need.
6. Proper installation site
When you’re looking for a flame-resistant cable, or actually any cable for your project, make sure to keep in mind the location where it will be installed. The reason is that you will need different types of cables depending on their target location — you will need one kind of wiring for underground installation and another one for outside.
7. Flame temperature & burning time
Temperature rating, of course, plays a key role in flame-resistant wiring choice. Look for cables that can withstand the flame temperature of 750°C-1,000°C with a burning time of at least 90 minutes. Flame-resistant wires with these characteristics will be a good fit.
8. Cable class
Flame temperature, burning time, rated voltage and cable fire performance make up cable classes, namely class A or class B, which also impact wiring choice. Class A cable withstands 750°C-800°C flame temperature and shows better performance, while class B wire can bear 950°C-1000°C. The minimum burning time both can handle is 90 minutes.
9. Fire resistance vs fire redundancy
The two are different characteristics of wiring, so make sure you get the right one. Having a wire that is resistant to flame is crucial for safety reasons in the case of fire. While a fire-resistant cable can replace a fire-redundant one, the replacement can’t happen vice-versa.
10. The right wire store
Finding a cable of good quality requires some digging since you need a store that specializes in wiring for various applications. At places like Nassau National Cable, you can always be sure that you will end up getting exactly the wire you need.
