Electrical Wire and Cable Buying Guide

Armor-Clad (AC) Cable: AC cable includes THHN-insulated conductors with 16-gauge aluminum bond wire placed inside the armor to act as a grounding conductor.

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Automotive Cable: This is a general-purpose thermoplastic (GPT) wire, also referred to as primary wire. Normal applications are within motor vehicles with limited exposure to fluids, physical wear and abuse.

Bayonet Neill-Concelman (BNC) Cable: BNC cables are small, quick-connect/disconnect radio frequency connectors used for coaxial cables.

Category Cable: This is used for phone systems and data networking systems. Cat 5e is the most common variety of category cable that’s used for computer networking on internet service installations. The conductor pairs are twisted together to prevent cross-talk and interference from other paired conductors in the cable, as well as external interference. The higher the megahertz (MHz) capability, the more twists per foot.

Coaxial Cable: This is a metallic cable that carries television and video signals. It connects to video equipment and features a central conductor with a dielectric insulator, metallic shield and plastic jacket.

Doorbell Wire: Doorbell wire is used to connect a wired doorbell or video doorbell to a home’s electrical system. 18-gauge wire is the variety most often used.

Dual Armored Cable: This is a durable cable that offers protection without employing electrical conduit, elbows, offsets (which can be expensive) or conduit couplings. For areas where the cable may be exposed to moisture, metal-clad armor prevents corrosion. 

Flexible Cord: Typically used for industrial machinery, washing machines and large appliances, portable tools, equipment, and extension or power cords, flexible/power cord has its own naming convention based on a letter code, with a common option being SJEOOW.

• S: service cord (when not followed by a J, V or P; also indicates a rating of 600 volts)
• J: junior service cord, 300 volts
• T: thermoplastic
• E: elastomer, thermoplastic that looks and feels like rubber
• O: oil-resistant outer jacket
• OO: oil-resistant outer jacket and oil-resistant insulation
• P: parallel cord (light duty, flat)
• V: vacuum cleaner cord (light duty, round)
• W: sunlight- and moisture-resistant

Lamp Cord: Used with lamps, small appliances, radios and other similar products that don’t exceed 300 volts, lamp cord is available between 18- and 12-gauge sizes in a variety of colors. 

Landscape Lighting Low-Voltage (LV) Cable: This underground cable is suitable for outdoor accent lighting, landscape lighting and security lighting. Applications shouldn’t exceed 150 volts. It’s used for direct burial, is suitable for sunlight and is available between 16- and 8-gauge sizes.

Metal-Clad (MC) Cable: MC cable is used heavily in commercial electrical work, for running through concrete or in other commercial environments. Individual THHN wire conductors are run through an aluminum interlocked armor. It includes a grounding wire.

Mobile Home Feeder: This connects a mobile home to a supply of electricity where permanent wiring is required, and it’s suitable for direct burial and underground service entrance cable. It includes four RHH or RHW-2 conductors, with a white stripe for neutral and a green ground conductor. It’s sunlight-resistant.

Network and Data Cable: This comes in three types — fiber-optic, twisted-pair and coaxial cable — and is used to connect multiple networking devices or computers in a network.

NM-B: This is a non-metallic sheathed cable that’s used as a residential building wire for branch circuits for outlets, lighting and other residential applications. NM-B is available between 14 AWG and 6 AWG with two or three conductors.

Preassembled Whips: These are pre-cut lengths of armored cable designed to increase jobsite productivity. Assembly comes with pre-stripped THHN conductors and pre-installed zinc die-cast, snap-in fittings.

Residential Grounding Wire: This is bare copper wire that’s available in 4-, 6- and 8-gauge solid and stranded construction. It’s used to ground the residential electrical system, usually at the meter before it enters the dwelling. It’s also used for grounding the perimeter surface around pools.

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Service Entrance Cable: This includes individual conductors rated XHHW-2 or THHN/THWN and feeds power from a main breaker to a subpanel. It can be exposed to direct sunlight and used in wet or dry locations.

• SE-R: Twisted together with a bare ground, SE-R is used to bring service from the panel to other panels in multiple-unit dwellings and in SE-U purposes.
• SE-U: Bare conductor strands are helically wound about the two paralleled insulated conductors. It’s used for single-family residential buildings to convey power from the service drop to the meter base and from the meter base to the distribution panel board.

Speaker Wire: Made of copper and designed to transport a low-voltage electrical current, speaker wire has a variety of wiring uses, including doorbells, thermostats, home security sensors, landscape lighting and other low-current systems. 

Sprinkler Wire: Multi-conductor sprinkler wire is suitable for direct burial on applications up to 30 volts. It’s used in central controls for underground sprinkler systems and is available in 18-gauge construction with up to 25 conductors.

Submersible Pump Cable: This includes THWN copper conductors that are heat-, moisture-, oil- and gasoline-resistant. It’s suitable for temperatures below 75 degrees Celsius with two or three conductors. It’s used for power and circuits for submersible pump systems.

Thermostat Wire: Used in heating and air conditioning systems, along with bell and alarm systems, thermostat wire is available in 20- or 18-gauge sizes with up to 10 conductors.

Underground (UF-B) Wire: A copper wire used for underground purposes, including direct burial, it comes in a gray jacket and can be used for deck lighting, outdoor water features, landscape lighting and air conditioner compressors.

Underground Residential Distribution (URD) Cable: Used for secondary distribution and underground service applications at 600 volts or less, it’s suitable for direct burial or placement in ducts. It’s acceptable in wet locations in triplex or quadruplex. Conductors are stranded, compressed aluminum. The neutral conductor has a yellow, triple-extruded stripe.

Sure. What you're talking about is similar to the "Electrician's Outlet"... an outlet right next to the panel which is fed by a dedicated breaker. So the electrician can plug in portable lights etc. when the rest of the house is turned off for maintenance. That's pretty much standard practice for interior panels.

The electrician's outlet just uses a conduit "nipple" (prefab short pipe) that gives you an inch or so of length, so you get far enough away from the panel so the covers don't jam.

One common trick I see is using an offset nipple, which is about 2" long and has a small zig-zag. The offset isn't used for anything, it's just a handy, pre-made 2" nipple lol.

But if you want to run conduit a little farther and make it 3' away, that is fine. I recommend planning on water getting into the pipe, and exiting the bottom of the panel in a "drip loop" sort of deal.

Any outdoor recep is going to need an outdoor in-use cover.

You cannot use Romex (actually NM-B) in conduit because Romex (NM-B) is not rated for outdoor use. Also, there's a size issue: you must treat any cable as a single round wire of the large diameter (because it twists), and that makes it too big for many conduits. UF cable is allowed outdoors, but it's even thinner and wider than NM-B, and that makes it require HUGE conduit!

I'm not really sure what people's hangups are with THHN, it's really, really wonderful stuff, especially stranded. You'll never want to alligator-wrestle Romex again! The only snag with stranded is it's hard to hook over screws, but GFCI receps have screw-to-clamp terminals, and that makes it easy.

If you run #12 wire you are welcome to use either a 15A or 20A breaker as long as it's a dual 15A recep. (a 20A recep is also acceptable on a 20A breaker).

All the THHN I own is 12 AWG (except for the larger stuff obviously). I don't see any reason to own it any #14. #12 works for #14 and now I only have to stock one thing.

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