If we go with the evidences, then the earliest use of the electrical cables was for the early commercialized telegraph lines, that too in US. These cables were used to be made from the iron and it was not easy to produce them. However, the production of the wires was improved by ensuring a copper coating on the wires with the help of copper sulphate. After that, the superior ability of the copper to act as a better conductor than the iron makes the manufacturers to replace the iron wires with the copper ones. Since that time, many improvements were introduced in the wires and cables, and now we are having different types of wires & cables in order to serve each and every type of the sector and for almost any equipment/device. In this article, we are going to talk about the major types of the wires offered by wire suppliers, which you should know about. So, without any delay, let’s get started.
- Triplex wires: These are the wires which are most commonly used for the single-phase service drop conductors, usually existing between the weather heads and the power poles.These wires are usually made with the two insulated wires of aluminium which are then wrapped with a third bare wire. This bare wire is used a s a common neutral. The neutral is normally of a smaller gauge. Also, it is grounded at both the transformer and the electric meter.
- Main feeder wires: These are the powerful wires which connects the houses with the service weather heads. These are usually made with the solid or stranded THHN wire. Another thing to know is that these wires/cables are 25% powerful than the capacity which is required to handle the load.
- Panel feed wires: These are most commonly black insulated THHN wires. These are mainly used to supply the power mainly to the circuit breaker panels and the main junction boxes. These are used just like main feeder wires. However, these wires follow a bit different production method to be produced. As in the case of main feeder wires, these wires should also be rated 25% more than the load which they are supposed to bear or handle.
- Non-metallic sheathed wires: Romex wires or Non-metallic sheathed wires has 2-3 conductors and are most commonly used in the homes. The conductors are usually plastic insulated and have a bare ground wire. Each individual wire in NM sheathed wire is usually covered with the non-metallic sheathing by the wire manufacturers. That’s from where the name ‘Non-metallic sheathed wires” has been taken. This type of wire is not much expensive when we compare it with other major types. Moreover, this is available in the ratings for 12,15,20 and more than 20 amps. This type of wire is most widely used for the houses or other small buildings like small shops.
These were the major types of the wires, which exist in the market and can be found easily in almost any city. Each type of wire is used for catering the different set of needs, thus making it very much easy for the customers to choose.