Electrical Cable and Conduit Choices
Electrical wiring in homes can come in many different types. Older homes, for example, used a very different method of wiring that provided power throughout the home. Some wiring utilizes single strands run through insulators, called knob and tube wiring. Thais is one of the oldest methods you may still find in older homes today.Â
Others use flexible cables, mainly nonmetallic sheathed cable, that is strung through walls, ceilings, and basements.its outer plastic coating protects the wires within, but not from all hazards.
 It is likely that you may see an older version of cloth wrapped wires in homes built around 1950 or so. NM wiring is widely used today in areas around the country that don't require the home to have its wiring run in conduit.
That brings us to conduit. Conduit comes in different styles from plastic to thin wall, to heavy wall. It is used to contain the individual wires within. Conduit pipes run in the interior of homes are metal and use metal boxes and fittings to create a bonded ground connection to the electrical panel. The advantage of using conduit is that you can go back later and add wires to existing feeds if need be without opening up the walls to get from point A to point B.
Now that you know all of that, it is time for you to decide which you have in your home, which you will use for remodeling your home, or which makes more sense for wiring a newly built home. To help you choose, let's take a look at the many different types of electrical wiring methods used.
Electrical Knob-and-Tube Wiring
Electrical knob-and-tube wiring is a wiring method that was installed in homes many moons ago. It no longer is installed in homes, but there are still homes that are still utilizing the old wiring system. If its sheathing is undisturbed, is not cracked, and intact, it can be a viable power source. One may ask if such a system is expandable and the answer is yes if great care is taken while adding to the system.
For safety reasons, you should have a licensed electrician do the work.
Electrical Cable Wiring
One of the more modern types of electrical wiring used today is cable wiring. Nonmetallic sheathed cable, commonly know as NM or Romex, is the flexible cable of choice today. This cable is easy to install, easy to cut, and easy to run throughout your home's framing and inside walls. Sheathing color and the printed information on the outside of the sheathing tells the story of cable size,its amperage rating, and number of electrical wires within.Nonmetallic sheathed cable has a thermoplastic covering that protects the inner wires and makes installation easier.
One type, UF cable, is used for underground installations.
Electrical conduit wiring is one of the safest wiring installations. Electrical wiring is pulled into and through electrical conduit to protect it from damage. Depending on the installation, the wire may be pulled in electrical metallic tubing (EMT), aluminum, or poly-vinyl chloride plastic conduit. Heavy walled conduit is used outdoors for things like service entrances and areas that are subject to damage.
Rigid and intermediate metallic conduit are commonly used in these instances. Metal conduit actually can act as its own ground, but plastic conduit requires a ground wire as a means of a path back to ground.
Flexible conduit is another method of encasing and protecting electrical wires. Flexible conduit bends with ease and is used for installations like lighting, where the installations are indoor and dry locations. Other types include armor clad (AC) and metal clad (MC) which are both flexible, but not as much as what we call extra flex.
Electrical wiring in homes can come in many different types. Older homes, for example, used a very different method of wiring that provided power throughout the home. Some wiring utilizes single strands run through insulators, called knob and tube wiring. Thais is one of the oldest methods you may still find in older homes today.Â
Others use flexible cables, mainly nonmetallic sheathed cable, that is strung through walls, ceilings, and basements.its outer plastic coating protects the wires within, but not from all hazards.
 It is likely that you may see an older version of cloth wrapped wires in homes built around 1950 or so. NM wiring is widely used today in areas around the country that don't require the home to have its wiring run in conduit.
That brings us to conduit. Conduit comes in different styles from plastic to thin wall, to heavy wall. It is used to contain the individual wires within. Conduit pipes run in the interior of homes are metal and use metal boxes and fittings to create a bonded ground connection to the electrical panel. The advantage of using conduit is that you can go back later and add wires to existing feeds if need be without opening up the walls to get from point A to point B.
Now that you know all of that, it is time for you to decide which you have in your home, which you will use for remodeling your home, or which makes more sense for wiring a newly built home. To help you choose, let's take a look at the many different types of electrical wiring methods used.
Electrical Knob-and-Tube Wiring
Electrical knob-and-tube wiring is a wiring method that was installed in homes many moons ago. It no longer is installed in homes, but there are still homes that are still utilizing the old wiring system. If its sheathing is undisturbed, is not cracked, and intact, it can be a viable power source. One may ask if such a system is expandable and the answer is yes if great care is taken while adding to the system.
For safety reasons, you should have a licensed electrician do the work.
Electrical Cable Wiring
One of the more modern types of electrical wiring used today is cable wiring. Nonmetallic sheathed cable, commonly know as NM or Romex, is the flexible cable of choice today. This cable is easy to install, easy to cut, and easy to run throughout your home's framing and inside walls. Sheathing color and the printed information on the outside of the sheathing tells the story of cable size,its amperage rating, and number of electrical wires within.Nonmetallic sheathed cable has a thermoplastic covering that protects the inner wires and makes installation easier.
One type, UF cable, is used for underground installations.
Electrical conduit wiring is one of the safest wiring installations. Electrical wiring is pulled into and through electrical conduit to protect it from damage. Depending on the installation, the wire may be pulled in electrical metallic tubing (EMT), aluminum, or poly-vinyl chloride plastic conduit. Heavy walled conduit is used outdoors for things like service entrances and areas that are subject to damage.
Rigid and intermediate metallic conduit are commonly used in these instances. Metal conduit actually can act as its own ground, but plastic conduit requires a ground wire as a means of a path back to ground.
Flexible conduit is another method of encasing and protecting electrical wires. Flexible conduit bends with ease and is used for installations like lighting, where the installations are indoor and dry locations. Other types include armor clad (AC) and metal clad (MC) which are both flexible, but not as much as what we call extra flex.