Types of Electrical Wires and Cables

 Labeling of Cables
 Residential Wiring Cables
o Service Drop Cable:
o Main Feeder Wires: 
o Panel Feed Wires:
o Non-Metallic Sheathed Wires: 
o Single Conductor Wire
 Types of Cables and Wires
o Communications Cable
 Coaxial Cable
 Hard line Coaxial or Heliax Cable
 Radiating or Leaky Coaxial Cable
 RG-6 Coaxial Cable
 Triaxial or Triax Cable
 Twin-axial or Twinax Cable
 Semi-rigid Coaxial Cable
 Rigid Line Coaxial Cable
 Twisted Pair Cable
 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Cable
 Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Cable
 Fiber Optic Cables
 Single Mode or Mono-mode Fiber Optics Cable:
 Multi-Mode Fiber Optics Cable:
o Direct-Buried Cable (DBC)
o Non-Metallic Sheathed Cable (NM, NM-B)
o Metallic Sheathed Cable (Armored Cable, AC or BX, MC)
 Armored Cable (AC)
 Metal Clad (MC) Cable
o Multi-Conductor or Multicore Cable:
o Paired Cable
o Portable or Extension Cord
o Ribbon Cable
o Shielded or Screened Cable
o Single Conductor Wire 
 Single Stranded Wire:
 Single Solid Wire:
o Submersible Cable
o Twin-lead
 Ladder Line
o Underground Feeder (UF) Cable:
o Flexible Cables
 Stranding in Layer
 Stranding in Bundles
o Overhead Power Line:
 All Aluminum Conductor (AAC)
 All Aluminum Alloy Conductor (AAAC)
 Aluminum Conductor Steel-Reinforced (ACSR) Cable

1
  Aluminum Conductor Aluminum-alloy Reinforced (ACAR)
 Bundled Conductors:
Labeling of Cables
The labeling of the cables is very important and it provides a lot of information
regarding its insulation types, numbers of wires and the gauge of the wires. Take a
look at some of labels written on the wires commonly used in home wiring. 
 14-2G: The cable contains two insulated wires and a ground wire; individual wire is 14-
gauge.
 14-3G: The cable contains three insulated wires and a ground wire; individual wires are
14-gauge.
 12-2 w/G: The cable contains two insulated wires with a ground wire; individual wires are
12-gauge.
 12-3 w/G: The cable contains three insulated wires with a ground wire; individual wires
are 12-gauge.
 600 V: This Cable is rated for a maximum of 600 volts; commonly used NM cable for
home wiring.
 TYPE NM-B: NM stands for Non-metallic, it is a non-metallic sheathed cable of type-B;
this is the commonly used cable for wiring appliances and devices in home.
The most important label of them is about the insulation or the plastic coating around
the conducting wires. Here are some of the common labels written on wires.
 THHN
 THWN
 THW
 XHHN
The meaning of each letter used in the labels above is given below:
 T: Thermoplastic insulation, a fire-resistant material
 H: Heat-resistant; able to withstand temperatures up to 167 F.
 HH: Highly heat-resistant; able to withstand temperatures up to 194 F.
 W: “Wet,” or approved for damp and wet locations; this wire is also suitable for dry
locations
 X: Insulation made of a synthetic polymer that is flame-retardant
 N: Nylon-coated for resistance to oil and gasoline

Residential Wiring Cables

The residential wiring from the utility pole to the appliances or devices inside the
home is divided into mainly five types.

Service Drop Cable:

It is the cable between the utility pole and the consumer’s premises or building. The
service drop cable is an overhead electrical line from the pole to the service weather
head of a house. The service drop cable can be of many types given below:

2
Duplex Cable: The duplex service drop cable is a two core conductor i.e. it has two
conductors; an insulated conductor for phase line and a bare conductor for neutral
line. It is used for supplying a single phase power to the building.

Triplex Cable: The Triplex service drop cable is a three core conductor. It has two insulated
conductors for phase line and a bare conductor for neutral line.

Quadruplex Cable: The Quadruplex service drop cable is a quad or four core

conductors. It has 4 conductors; three of them are insulated conductors for phase
lines and a bare conductor for neutral line. It is used for supplying a 3 phase power
supply from the utility pole to the building.

The phase conductor is an AAC cable while the neutral conductor is available

in AAC/AAAC/ACSR. The insulation used on these cables is XLPE that protects
these conductors from moisture, heat etc.
Main Feeder Wires: 
The main feeder cables & wires supply the power from the service weatherhead to
the building. The cables used for this purpose are 600v THHN, solid or stranded with
the rating of 25% more than the maximum required load.

Panel Feed Wires:

The panel feed wires supply power to the main distribution junction box. It is usually
black insulted THHN cables with rating of 25% more than maximum load current  

3
Non-Metallic Sheathed Wires: 
The non-metallic or NM sheathed wires are used for in-house wiring. It may consist
of 2 or more than 2 insulated conductors with an insulated or bare ground conductor.
There is another layer of plastic XLPE sheathing for more protection.  The latest
version NM type-B is currently used by electricians for interior installation. The
conductors could be solid or stranded. The stranded conductors are easier to route
through conduits.

Single Conductor Wire

Single Conductor wire is the most popular choice for electrical layout inside a home.
It is available in multiple gauges, color (for phase, neutral and ground identification)
and solid or stranded conductors. A single solid wire provides better connections but
single stranded wires are easier to route through conduits. Both of them are
available in THW and THHN insulation.

4
Types of Cables and Wires
There are several types of cables and wires depending on their applications and
uses.
Communications Cable
The types of cables and wires that are used for communication or signal
transmission purposes are called communication cable. There sole purpose is to
transmit information. Here are 3 types of communications cables:

Coaxial Cable
Coax or coaxial cable is type of electrical cable made from four layers, forming
coaxial shape (having common axis or center). The central part of coaxial cable is a
conductor covered by an insulating plastic layer which is surrounded by a metallic
shield. On top that is a fourth layer of plastic insulation.
The coaxial cable is used for transmission of high frequency signal. This is why the
metallic shield is used for blocking noise interference. It is commonly used for cable
television signal distribution, signal transmission between antennas, transmitter and
receiver.
The coaxial cable is further divided into various types and each of them has their
own application.  

Hard line Coaxial or Heliax Cable

Hardline coaxial or mostly known by its trademark name Heliax cable is a thick
coaxial cable with its center solid conductor made from copper and the shield made
from copper or silver tubing. It is specifically used for high frequency broadcast
transmission. It can carry hundreds of channels and is usually installed between a
transmitter on ground and aerial antenna.

5
Radiating or Leaky Coaxial Cable
Radiating or leaky coaxial cable is another type of coaxial cable where the shield is
deliberately designed in such way to radiate RF waves. The shield is made with slots
tuned for specific RF wavelength that provide bi directional leakage effect between
transmitter and receiver. This type of coaxial cable is used in places where antenna
is not feasible such as underground tunnels, elevator shafts etc.

RG-6 Coaxial Cable

RG-6 is the most common type of coaxial cable used for signal transmission in
residential and commercial applications. It is made from a solid copper wire with
plastic insulation covered by an aluminum foil and a braided shield for protection
against interference.  It is used for audio and video signal transmission in application
such as cable TV, Satellite TV signal and radio etc.

6
Triaxial or Triax Cable
Triaxial is another type of coaxial cable which includes another layer of insulation
and shield over the top of existing shield. The second or outer shield is grounded to
protect the inner shield from electromagnetic interference.

Twin-axial or Twinax Cable

Twinax cable is type of coaxial cable similar to RG-6 but with two inner conductors
instead of one. The two insulated inner conductors are twisted together surrounded
by a braided shield. It is used for high-speed short-range signal communication
usually for 10 Gigabit Ethernet Network.

7
Semi-rigid Coaxial Cable
Semi-rigid coax cable is another type of coax cable where the outer sheath is from
solid copper with an inner conductor. The outer shield provides better interference
protection. Due to the tube like structure of the shield, it is not very flexible and is not
meant to bent after initial forming.

Rigid Line Coaxial Cable

The rigid line coax cable is a modified form of semi-rigid cable made from two
concentric tubes (shield) that provides extra protection for high power signal. Such
cables are not meant to be bent which is why elbow and interconnects are used for
bending. They are used for high power signal transmission between RF components
of a transmitter and antenna.

8
Twisted Pair Cable
This type of communication cable is made from two insulated wires twisted together
to form a twisted pair. The purpose of twisting is to reduce the electromagnetic
interference or noise. They are used in Ethernet network and telephone
communication.
They are further divided into two types based on their noise protection.

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Cable

The UTP cables do not have any extra shield for protection against noise. They
twisted pairs may reduce the noise but it still affects it. Various categories of UTP
cables are used in residential and commercial building with various bandwidth e.g.
CAT1, CAT2 etc.

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Cable

The STP cable has an extra layer of foil that protects the wires from electromagnetic
interferences. They are used for high-end applications where the cables may get
affected by external environmental interferences.

9
Fiber Optic Cables
Fiber optic or optical fiber cable is a type of communication cable made of flexible,
transparent glass fibers known as optical fibers that transmit data in the form of light.
The fiber’s thickness is approximately equal to human hair and each individual fiber
is covered with plastic insulation. There is another external protection layer that
protects the fibers from interference.
The fiber optics cable is classified into two main types;
Single Mode or Mono-mode Fiber Optics Cable:
This cable allows only one mode of light to transmit. It is made of a very thin single
strand of fiber that allows only single light wave to propagate. This decreases the
number of light reflection which reduces the attenuation in signal. It provide high
transmission rate at long distance with very low attenuation but at high cost.

Multi-Mode Fiber Optics Cable:

This type of fiber optic cable is made of relatively thicker fibers that allow more than
one light waves so it can transmit relatively more data. But the number of light
reflections due to large number of waves at large distance causes attenuation and
distort the signal at the receiving end. This is why it is used for relatively short
distance transmission such as LAN, security system etc.

10
Direct-Buried Cable (DBC)
It is a type of cable used for communication and power transmission. It is specifically
designed to be buried directly underground without the need of extra insulation,
sheathing or piping. It is made of bundles of fiber optic cables with a thick metal core
for stiffness. It has multiple layers of protection such as plastic insulation layer,
waterproof layer as well as shock absorbing gel etc. to protect it from heat, moisture
and other underground factors.

Non-Metallic Sheathed Cable (NM, NM-B)

The non-metallic or NM sheathed cable or known by its trademark name “romex”
cable is a type of electrical cable whose outer sheath is made of plastic that protect
the inside conductors. It is commonly used for residential electrical wiring.
There are two types of NM sheathed cable based on number of conductors;

Two wires NM sheathed cable: This type of cables has two separately insulated
conductors with a bare conductor for ground connection that makes a total of 3
conductors. It comes in various gauges for various ratings and it is labeled as
“<gauge> – 2 WG”. It means this cable contains 2 wires plus a grounding wire.

11
Three wires NM sheathed cable: this type of cable contains 3 insulated wires with a
bare grounding wire. It is used for three phase application this is why the individual
conductor is marked with different phase color for identification.

12
The NM wires are available in solid as well as stranded form. The solid conductor
provides better connection at terminals but it is difficult to route through pipe or
conduits. While the stranded conductors are more flexible and easier to route
through conduits.
The NM-B (B for building) is a type of NM cable especially used for indoor building
wiring. They are used for wiring inside wall and floors but not to be used in wet
places such as external wiring.
Metallic Sheathed Cable (Armored Cable, AC or BX, MC)
Metallic sheathed cable, as the name suggest is a type of armored electrical cable
with a metallic protection over the insulated conductors. The conductors are
separately insulated with plastic layer which is surrounded by a metallic sheath for
extra protection. The metal sheath can be braided or twisted that surrounds
individual or all conductors or it could a solid pipe like structure.

13
The metallic sheathed cables are mostly known by AC (armored cable) or BX cable
and MC (metal clad) cable. BX is the registered trade name for AC cables.

Armored Cable (AC)

Such type of metallic sheathed cables has a protective twisted or braided metallic
layer usually made of steel over its conductor. The external sheath is made of
plastic. The metallic layer provides extra mechanical strength against any sort of
damage and can also be used for grounding connections. Thus they are not used in
damp or wet location as well as underground. The armoured layer can be wire braid,
steel wire or steel tape. The steel wire armored (SWA) cable is most common type of
armored cable used for power transmission.
 

Metal Clad (MC) Cable

The difference between AC and MC cables is that MC Cable’s metallic sheath
cannot be used as grounding wire. It has an extra green colored insulated wire for
ground connection. Thus they can be used as direct burial type and in wet locations
but if they have their protective PVC outer sheath.

14
The metallic sheathed cables are expensive and hard to route and needs special
tools for cutting or ripping as compared to NM cable which is the best choice for
residential wiring. They are used in power supply for large appliance and external
use.
Multi-Conductor or Multicore Cable:
Multi-core or multi-conductor cable has multiple conductors with insulated sheaths
that are rolled into one jacketed cable. Its job is to avoid the messy connection by
having one single cable instead of 10 or 20 separate wires and save time by
connecting them one by one.

15
The individual conductors have insulation sheath with a common housing made from
insulating material. But in some cases, there is an aluminum layer for protection
against EMI (electromagnetic interference) or an extra armored layer for more
protection. The multiple core cables usually ends in a multi-pin connector.

The cores are the number of useful connections; a simple 3-phase cable cannot be
called a multi-core cable but a cable having 2 or more then 2 separate 3-phase
16
conductors is a multicore cable. For example, an audio mixer has multiple input
cables from microphones, the cables are joined together to form a multi-core cable
which is easier to plug in instead of plugging each cable in its own spot.
They are mostly used in electronics for data transmission in application such as:
 Transmitting audio signal to audio mixer.
 Sending audio and video signal in gaming consoles.
 Sending camera signal to CCU (camera control unit) in TV studios
 Sending audio and video signal using a single cable from camera.
 in networking

Paired Cable
Paired cables are type of electrical cable made from a pair of two insulated
conductor covered by an insulation sheath. They are mostly used for DC application
and also in low frequency AC applications.

Portable or Extension Cord

It is a flexible electrical cable with connectors on both ends to provide a temporary
AC power supply. it is usually used as extension of power source for powering
portable equipment, machines and devices.
They type of insulation material used for the conductor determines its application or
environment of use (such as temperature, moisture, weather, oil etc.). While the
rating of cord is determined by the size of the wire conductor.

Ribbon Cable
This type of cable is made from multiple small grade insulated wires parallel to each
other in a flat shape that resemble a piece of ribbon thus the name ribbon cable.
They are flexible and they can handle very low voltages.

17
They are mostly used in electronic devices and computers to connect different
internal peripheral that require data buses like hard drives, CD drives, printers etc.
Due to their flat shape, they block the airflow inside computer which affects the
cooling system. Nowadays, they are mostly replaced by round cables.

Shielded or Screened Cable

Shielded cable or screened cable is a type of electrical cable whose conductors are
protected by an extra metallic layer known as shield. The shield may be made from
braided aluminum, copper or any other metal or it could be a foil, a spiral tape or a
solid layer made from the said conducting metals.

18
It provides protection against electrical noise or EMI (electromagnetic interference)
generated by any near electrical sources. It is eliminated by grounding the shield at
one end. In power cables, the shield layer is grounded to protect the insulation from
breaking due to corona discharge as well as avoid electrical shock.

Single Conductor Wire 

Single conductor wire or most commonly known as just wire, is made of a single
insulated conductor. It is the most popular choice for residential wiring. It is available
in multiple colors for phase and earth identification. The single conductor wire has
two types;

Single Stranded Wire:

Single stranded wire is made of multiple thin strands of wires that form together one
conductor. The stranded design offers flexibility thus they are suitable for
applications where wires need to be bent or twisted. Electrician prefer stranded over
solid because it is easier to route through pipes in walls due to its flexibility.

19
Single Solid Wire:
Single solid wire is made of single solid core with plastic insulation. The solid design
offer better connection but it is difficult to bend or twist due to its stiffness. Multiple
bending might damage and break the conductor inside. They are used in
applications where there is no movement or bending required for wires.

20
Submersible Cable
As the name suggest, this type of electrical cable is designed to be used in wet
locations or submersed in a liquid. The insulation used for such cables is very
rugged, abrasion-resilient and extremely durable and reliable to meet the challenges
present in the installation environment. They are designed to be used as direct
buried cable.
They are available in single as well as multiple conductor design having flat or round
structure to meet its applications. The conductors are color coded to identify phase
and earth connections as well as the control wires that runs along the power
conductors.

They are used in location that is physically restrictive and inaccessible. The most
common use of submersible cable is to supply power to submersible motors and
pumps underwater, in agriculture industries, underground mining or drilling purposes.
Twin-lead
Twin lead cable is a two conductor flat cable used as a balanced line to carry radio
frequency RF signal. The conductors are held apart and uniformly space by a plastic
layer between them. The equal spacing is very important because it keeps the signal
from distortion. The conductors are mostly stranded to avoid skin effects and they
are insulated using the same plastic material.

21
They are more susceptible to external noise interference and weather conditions that
is why these factors are kept in mind during installation. Of course, the coaxial cable
has better noise protection but twin lead cable is preferred due to its low power
losses.

Ladder Line
Sometimes, due to wet condition such as rain, wind etc. the water drop gets
accumulated on top of the plastic between the conductors. This causes interference
in the signal. In order to avoid such condition, a window like slots is cut into the
plastic layer. The resulting wire resembles a ladder like structure, thus the name
ladder Line.
The twin lead is available in 600, 450, 300, and 75 ohm characteristics impedance.
The most common type is known by 300 ohm twin lead cable used for television
sets. They are mainly used to connect the transmitter or receiver with RF antennas
in TV and Radios etc.

Underground Feeder (UF) Cable:

It is a type of non-metallic sheathed cable designed for use in wet location such as
supplying power to lamp post or street light. NM cables have a loose wrap of plastic
sheath around it whereas the conductors in UF cables are individually surrounded by

22
a solid layer of thermoplastic that provide flexibility and extra protection. The water-
resistant insulation material allow them to be used in damp locations such as
supplying power to garden shed, lamp post. They are mostly available in gray color
outer sheath. They are the best choice for avoiding poles and exposed wire by
simply running them underground.

Flexible Cables
Flexible cables are a type of electrical cables that can withstand continues bending
in moving applications. The flexibility is achieved by using stranded conductors. They
are used in automation industries where the machines are continuously moving such
as pick and place machines and CNC based machines such engraving, milling
machines etc.
The flexible cables are of two types;

Stranding in Layer
This type of cable is made from multiple layers of strands of conductor. The cores of
this cables is designed to be firm and the surrounding layers are made long.
Because the outer layer stretches during bending while the center core compresses.

23
This type of cable is easier to manufacture and is cheaper. The material used for
such cable is flexible but too much bending might deform the cable.

Stranding in Bundles
This type of cable is achieved by braiding the conductor around each other so that
the conductor stretches uniformly when the cable bends. This type of cable is more
durable because of its tension proof core but a little stiffer than the stranded cable.

Overhead Power Line:

Overhead power lines are conductors suspended from electrical towers or poles to
transmit power over long distance. The conductors used are completely bare and
made from aluminum. The electrical and mechanical properties of the conductor
depend on its construction. Here are some of the cables used for power
transmission.    

24
All Aluminum Conductor (AAC)
AAC transmission cable, also known as aluminum stranded conductor is made from
multiple strands of hard drawn 1350 aluminum alloy which is 99 % pure with a little
bit of silicon, iron etc. it has very high conductivity and resistive to corrosion but very
poor strength to weight ratio. That is why it is preferred short distances in the stations
not for rural power transmission over long distance.

All Aluminum Alloy Conductor (AAAC)

In order to increase the mechanical strength of the AAC cable, a special aluminum
alloy is used made with magnesium and Silicium. It increases the strength to weight
ratio while maintaining the corrosion resistivity. However, the conductivity falls a bit
Aluminum Conductor Steel-Reinforced (ACSR) Cable
ACSR is also a stranded aluminum cable whose inner strands are made from
galvanized steel surrounded by strands of pure aluminum conductors. The steel core
increases the tensile strength of cable while the aluminum provides good
conductivity and low weight. They are used in long distance transmission line
because we can alter the strength of its steel core to meet the requirement.

25
Aluminum Conductor Aluminum-alloy Reinforced (ACAR)
It is made of pure aluminum conductors surrounding an aluminum core. The
structure of ACAR resembles ACSR but instead of its core made from galvanized
steel, it is made of aluminum alloy which increase the overall conductivity (ampacity)
while maintaining the tensile strength if ACSR.

26
Bundled Conductors:
Due to high voltage transmission of above 132KV over long distances, a
phenomenon occurs in the conductors known as corona discharge. High voltage
ionizes the air around it which causes power loss as well as interference in the
communication lines nearby. To reduce this effect 2 or more than 2 conductors are
used per phase also known as bundled conductor. These conductors are made from
same materials and are equally separated by a spacer.

27