When carrying out installation work related to electrical wiring, various conductors are used - cables, cords. During operation, it may be necessary to install new or replace old conductors, and then you need to know their labeling. It contains a symbol as well as colors that describe the different characteristics of the device. To understand the labeling, you need to understand what each of its components is responsible for.
Purpose of marking
When buying electrical equipment, you should understand what the letters and numbers in the name mean. This code is a marking that gives the electrician the following useful information about the conductor:
- Material of manufacture of veins, their number. The most commonly used aluminum and copper conductors with one or more conductors.
- Insulation type. Shows what material the insulating layer is made of.
- Conductor cross-section. This indicator directly depends on what kind of load can be connected to the wire. Copper and aluminum conductors with the same cross-section withstand different loads.
- Rated electrical values. These are operating voltage, current, power.
- Resistance to environmental factors. For the street, models are taken with resistance to moisture, ultraviolet light, and mechanical stress. Household conductors are usually installed in a distribution board or cabinet, along or inside walls, so they do not require a high level of resistance to negative influences.
- Design.
- Flexibility.
The marking may also indicate the type of conductor - cable, electrical wire or cord. A wire is understood as a product made of a monolithic or multi-wire current-carrying component with or without insulation. A cord is a series of stranded insulated wires that are used to connect to a power point for electrical appliances. A cable is a product with both single-core and multi-core wires, with insulation, armor or other design features. They are distinguished by purpose - power, control, used in radio frequency installations. Cable types, types of wires and designation must be present both on the conductor itself and in the documentation for it.
The markings are different. There are domestic and foreign ones - the decoding principle is the same, only the letters differ. The material used is the same. There is also a color coding for wires. Among domestic products, you can always find an analogue of a foreign conductor and vice versa.
Cable marking
All materials from which cable products are made are designated by a specific letter. The location of the letter is also important - it shows what is made of the given material.
The first character in the cable marking indicates the material of the conductors. A - aluminum, pass - copper. The next 3 signs represent insulation, armor and protection. First, you should figure out what is meant by each of these concepts.
The insulating layer is used to protect the conductors from short circuiting with each other. Various dielectrics are used - rubber, PVC and others.
The protective inner shell is the layer that is placed under the armor. It can also be an outer protective layer to protect the insulation and increase its resistance to negative influences (UV, temperature, liquid, kinks).Not used on all cables.
Armor is steel tape or wire braid. Increases the mechanical strength of the product. It is not used in all cables, but only when there is a high risk of damage or constant loads are applied. Application - underground, underwater, overhead wiring.
The cable marking is as follows:
- 1 sign - what the veins are made of. A - aluminum, pass - copper.
- 2 sign - insulation material. B - PVC, P - polyethylene, R - rubber, HP - non-combustible rubber, F - fluoroplastic, G - bare (without insulation), C - film, K - control cable (purpose), KG - flexible.
- 3 sign - type of protection, if it is present in the cable. A - aluminum, C - lead, P - polyethylene hose, PU - reinforced polyethylene hose, B - PVC, R - rubber.
- 4th sign - armor, if present.
- 5 sign - outer cover, cable design. Г - waterproofing, in the absence of the letter Г - protection against mechanical stress; E - shielding; O - insulated wires that are connected by winding; B - if the last letter, then paper insulation, otherwise PVC.
A numerical value is written after the letters. The numbers show the operating voltage of the cable (in the absence of a value, the voltage is equal to the mains 220 V), the number and cross-section of the cores.
How the wire cross-section is indicated depends on the thickness of all the cores. If they have the same cross-section, there is one such pair of numbers in the designation. If there is a thinner grounding conductor, the second pair of numbers is placed after the + sign.
Temperature regime and GOST
Important information about the operating conditions and the name of the GOST according to which the conductor is produced can be applied to the cable. Temperature conditions play an important role in outdoor cabling. It is indicated on the marking of electrical wires in the case of a special purpose of the product.
GOST and TU are also not always indicated in the marking. This does not mean that the product is not made in accordance with standards.
Wire marking
The way of marking the wires does not differ from the cable designations. These two electrical installation tools are similar in their purpose and characteristics.
The designation of the wires is as follows:
- The first position is the material of the veins. Similarly to cables, in the presence of the letter A, it can be judged that the conductors are made of aluminum, in the absence of it, of copper.
- The second position shows which wire it is. P - ordinary (most often single-core), PP - flat (two, three or more conductors), W - cord. Also recently, heating wires have appeared on the market, which are designated as PN.
- The last third position is insulation material. Also, information about the design and purpose can be given here. G - flexible, C - connecting, T - gasket is allowed only in pipes.
- Next, a digital code is put. The first number is the number of cores, the second is the cross-section.
When decoding, you need to understand exactly where the wire is and where the cable is. Otherwise, you can get confused, since in the first case the letter P will mean "wire", and in the second - material. You can also understand where which conductor is by the number of letters in the designation. Wires usually contain no more than 4 letters, as opposed to cables with a longer code.
Optical cable marking
These types of conductors have a different designation scheme in contrast to classic cables. The first two letters indicate the purpose - OK (optical cable). This will allow the technician to accurately identify the conductor.
Further, the algorithm is similar. There is a set of letters and numbers that represent certain characteristics.
- Condition for laying the cable.
- Modular design. M - multi-module, C - single-module.
- Flammability. NG - non-combustible material for group laying, N - non-combustible for single laying, without letter - combustible.
- After the letters H and NG, the type of shell is prescribed. LS - halogen-free polyethylene with reduced smoke emission. HF - polyethylene, which does not spread corrosive gases during combustion, without halogens.
- Design.
- The number of optical modules x the number of fibers in the module.
- Optical fiber type. They can be single and multimode. E stands for singlemode, M for multimode.
- Permissible tensile reinforcement.
Optical cables are used for indoor and outdoor installation. Special-purpose cables are laid in the ground, under water: swamps, reservoirs, rivers and other water bodies.
Color coding
The land according to the accepted norms should be painted in green-yellow color. The insulation can either be painted completely in this color, or have a strip along the entire conductor of the yellow-green range. Letter designation of PE grounding. When determining, it is important to pay attention to the name - the land can also be equipped with zero protection. This core should not be confused with the usual zero, so as not to disrupt the correct connection.
Zero is usually painted blue or cyan. The phase can be of different colors (except for those assigned to zero and ground), depending on the manufacturer.
According to GOST 31947-2012, it is better not to paint the conductors red and white. The recommended staining scheme is as follows:
- Three-core conductors - yellow-green, blue, brown, blue, black.
- 4-core - yellow-green, blue, brown, black, brown, black and gray.
- Five-core wires - yellow-green, blue, brown, black, gray, brown, black, gray, black.
A prerequisite is lightness in the difference in colors.
In the absence of color coding, you will have to use special means - multimeters, which will determine the purpose of the core. The phase can also be determined using an indicator screwdriver.
There is also a non-standard coloring, which depends on the brand of wires. In this case, zero must be blue to simplify the search. In this case, the ground can be black or white, as it was painted before. The remaining wire will be phase. This method of determination with non-standard staining is dangerous, so it is better to use a tester.
Foreign labeling
Wire and cable marking:
- A type. N - power, H - coordinated.
- Rated voltage. The marking of electrical wires is prescribed by a digital code.
- Material lived. No designation or Cu - copper, A - aluminum.
- Insulation material. Y, PVC, V - PVC; G, R - rubber; N - polychloroprene rubber.
- Conductive layer. H - semi-conductive.
- Screen, filler in power cables. C, S - concentric conductor or shield, copper. A - aluminum. F - sheathed core with hydrophobic filling.
- Shell. V - PVC, R - rubber, N, Y, PVC - polychloroprene rubber, 2Y - polyethylene.
- Design. U - round monolithic, R - round multi-wire flexible, H - multi-wire with increased flexibility.
- Armor. B - flat steel strip, SWA - round steel wire.
For some manufacturers, foreign wire decoding may differ.
