What Is The Difference Between A Wire And Cable?

Wire and cable is just not the same thing. Learn in the article below what the difference is exactly and also what types or cord are used for the most common purposes.

Wire and cable safety tips:

Although wire and cable is not the same thing, there are a few common rules of safety regarding them both.

Follow manufacturer's instruction and use correct cable and wire.

Damaged or torn cords should be replaced! Do not try to repair them.

Make sure all cords in your home are polarised and have safety closures.

When using an extension cord, make sure it can carry the right amount of electrical load you need. Attaching two extension cords to reach required length is not safe.

Keep cords out of reach of children and where people can trip on them.

Do not use non-polarise receptacles.

Cord should be permanently attached to the plug and connector, so that no exposed wire can be seen.

Do not place cords under furniture or carpets.

What is wire?

The wire is the conductor used in electrical instalments. It is usually located inside a cable for easy and safe use. Copper and tinned copper are the most commonly used conductors today, because they have low resistance and low cost.

Wire is measured by its diameter and grouped by gauge number. The smaller the number is, the thicker the wire. For home use the common gauges are 10 and 20. Larger wires carry more current. So be careful not to push too much power into your appliance with a wire that is too big. This will cause burning of fuses or even the electric appliance may be ruined.

Wires are also defined by their electrical capacity and insulation type.

Grounding wires (coated in yellow) provide a low resistance path from the electrical appliance to the ground, thus protecting the user against electrical shocks.

What is a cable?

A cable contains two or more wires or conductors wrapped together in one jacket.

A cable has a "hot" or "positive" in it to carry the current and a "neutral" line to complete the loop. Often the third wire is also there to act as a ground wire.

The cable is classified according to the number of wires it contains and their gauge.

The cable is marked with letters and numbers that indicate the type of insulation the wires and the cable have. The resistance of the wires in the cable and the number of conductor in the cable are also marked by numbers. "G" indicates that the cable has a ground wire in it that does not carry current.

The most common jackets are NM-B (Non-Metallic Building Indoor), UF-B (Underground Feed) and BX, which is flexible metallic cable.

The most common types of cable are:

Two conductor cable: it contains a black "hot" wire and a white "neutral" wire.

Three conductors cable: Contains black and red "hot" wires that must be fused, each carrying an 110V current, and a white neutral wire. This is the most common cable for home wiring because it accommodates the 220v homes usually require.

BX cable: is an armoured metallic cable. Each wire in it is wrapped separately with paper. The casing usually acts as a ground wire. This cable contains usually 2 or 3 conductors.

Romex cable: This is a flat cable and it contains wires lines one next to the other. Each wore has its own insulation. NM Romex is for indoor use. NMC is also good for outdoors. UF is good for underground outdoors.

The most common cables and their purposes are:

Thermostat cable: Used in low voltage control and alarm systems, since it is mounted on the wall it does carry UL listing.

TV wire: Although this is called a wire it is technically a cable. It is used for connecting a television set to an antenna.

Home networking: Cables used to connect phone lines and computers, TV and audio appliances to each other in the home. The system's heart is a hub, which is the centre of the network.

Extension cord: These cables come with two wires inside and are used for easy access to electrical appliances. Make sure that when using an extension cord outside, that you are using a cable that is intended for outdoor use. It should be UL listed and be flame redundant. They should have grounding and be robust and safe to step on.

Appliance cords: A combined cord and connector. Usually fitting for the appliance it was supplied with, but there are some standard appliance cords.

Range and dryer cords: are cords with free end "pigtails" that can be attached directly to an appliance. The safest way to work with these cords is to connect them to appliance via a cable and screw terminal. A small clamp serves to relieve the tension where the wire will enter the appliance.

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