Electronic Wires: Expert Tips For Selecting (2022)

With the rapid development of technology and the improvement of people’s living standards, every household is now inseparable from household appliances, which of course, cannot be separated from the role played by electric wires in the process. According to their usage, there are many types of wires, which can be divided into electronic wires, power wires, speaker wires, telephone wires, and so on.

This guide mainly introduces electronic wire, one of the common-used wires, in detail from the concept, characteristics, performance, and types. I believe that after reading, you must have a great harvest; I hope you can solve some doubts that existed before. 

What is an electronic wire?

The electronic wire is a kind of abbreviation for the internal wire of the electrical equipment; the electricity is mainly weak, with the strong category of cable being a different concept. The circulation of electronic wires on the market is distinguished as UL standard, 3C standard, VDE standard wire, UL standard is generally in AWG units, while 3C standard or VDE standard is generally in a square unit, the domestic electronic wire manufacturers are mainly 3C and UL these two standards.

What is the construction of electronic wires?

The electronic wire has a simple structure consisting of only two parts, the conductor and the insulation jacket. The picture below shows a diagram of an electronic wire.

The primary raw materials for the conductors are bare copper (BC), tinned copper (TC), copper clad steel (TCCS), copper foil wire, aluminum (AL), and enameled copper, of which bare copper can be divided into oxygen-free copper (99.9%), recycled copper, hard copper, soft copper, semi-hard copper, and flat-angle copper.

Meanwhile, insulators are available in PVC, PE (HDPE, LDPE), PP, PU, rubber, silicone, PVF, DD, SSDD-NY, PVB, and APB for enameled wire.

The most common materials for electrical wire are mainly made of copper and aluminum, which are not the best conductors. However, they are abundant and low cost. Gold is also used in applications because it is corrosion resistant. The insulation jacket is mainly made of PVC.

What are the characteristics of UL electronic wires?

UL electronic wires insulation thickness is uniform, convenient for peeling as well as taking; in the meanwhile, it has excellent thermal stability and mechanical wear resistance and good electrical insulation performance and can resist acid, alkali, and corrosion resistance; it burns with little smoke and is halogen-free, non-aging.; it can conform to different shapes and packaging scales.

What are the basic performances of wires?

Conductivity: Electrical conductivity can be a majority of goods specified with excellent electrical conductivity, certain goods specified with a specific resistor range. Insulation characteristics a grounding resistance, relative dielectric constant, dielectric loss, resistance to working voltage characteristics, etc. Transmission characteristics: High-frequency transmission characteristics, interference resistance characteristics, etc.

Physical properties: tensile and compressive strength, elongation, bending, ductility, flexibility, vibration resistance, strength to abrasion and impact resistance, etc.

Thermal properties: refers to the high-temperature resistance level of the commodity, the operating temperature, the hot and heat emission characteristics of the power engineering cable, the current-carrying sting, short-circuit fault and load working ability, the thermal deformation and high-temperature impact resistance working ability of the composite material, the thermal deformation of the raw material and the dip or plating raw material drip characteristics, etc.

What are the types of electronic wires?

There are mainly 5 types of electronic wires: Triplex Wires, Main Feeder Wires, Panel Feed Wires, Non-Metallic Sheathed Wires, and Single Strand Wires.

Triplex Wires

Triplex wires are usually used in single-phase service drop conductors between the power pole and weather heads. They are composed of two insulated aluminum wires wrapped with a third bare wire which is used as a common neutral. The neutral is usually of a smaller gauge and grounded at both the electric meter and the transformer.

Main Feeder Wires

The main power feeder wires are the wires that connect the service weather head to the house. They’re made with stranded or solid THHN wire and the cable installed is 25% more than the load required.

Panel Feed Wires

Panel feed cables are generally black insulated THHN wire, which is used to power the main junction box and the circuit breaker panels. Like the main power feeder wires, the cables should be rated 25% more than the actual load.

Non-Metallic Sheathed Wires

Non-metallic sheath wire, or Romex, is used in most homes and has 2-3 conductors, each with plastic insulation and a bare ground wire. The individual wires are covered with another layer of non-metallic sheathing. Since it’s relatively cheaper and available in ratings for 15, 20, and 20 amps, this type is preferred for in-house wiring.

Single Strand Wires

Single strand wire also uses THHN wire, though there are other variants. Each wire is separate, and multiple wires can easily be drawn together through a pipe. Single strand wires are the most popular choice for layouts that use pipes to contain wires.

What are the differences between different types of ULelectronic wires?

What do wire labels mean? 

The information on the sides of the wire indicates its THHN/THWN, material, max voltage rating, and gauge.

THHN/THWN

THHN/THWN letters represent residential applications’ most common electrical wires. Look for these letters on wire packaging to know what qualities the wire has:

T – Thermoplastic insulation  

H – Heat resistant 

HH – High heat resistance up to 194 degrees Fahrenheit  

W – Rated for wet locations  

N – Nylon-coated to resist damage from oil or gasoline 

X – Synthetic polymer, flame-resistant 

Material

The most wire will be marked “CU” for copper, the most common conductor of residential electricity. Because electricity travels outside the copper wire, these wires are insulated to protect against fire and shock. 

Aluminum wire is more conductive than copper wire but degrades faster. For this reason, aluminum wire typically isn’t used in homes, and older wire could be aluminum or copper-clad aluminum. To comply with NEC guidelines, a professional electrician should only install aluminum wire.

Maximum Voltage Rating

The maximum voltage rating will be a number such as 600, which indicates the maximum voltage the wire can carry. For safety purposes, stay around 80 percent of the max wattage your gauge can carry.

Gauge

The gauge indicates the electrical wire sizing, as defined by the American Wire (AWG) system. The most common gauges are 10, 12, or 14. The gauge and diameter of the wire are inversely related. In other words, as the gauge number gets higher, the diameter of the wire gets smaller. For example, a 10-gauge wire is bigger than a 12-gauge wire. Larger wires can carry more amperage and wattage than smaller wires.

Tip: If a project calls for longer lengths of wire (such as 80 or more feet from the breaker), increase the gauge size to ensure enough electricity can pass through it.

What is the color code for wires?

A wire’s color tells you its purpose of the wire. Typically, white wires are neutral wires, green or bare wires are ground wires, and any other color is a hot wire that carries an electrical current.

• White insulation: Typically considered neutral but can sometimes be used as a hot lead in certain situations, such as switch loops. In existing wiring jobs, white wires may also be marked with black or red to indicate that it’s now hot wire.
• Green insulation and bare copper: Ground wire.
• Black insulation: Hotwire for switches and outlets.
• Red insulation: Hotwire for switch legs and hardwired smoke detectors.
• Blue/Yellow insulation: Hotwire pulled through a conduit.

Safety: A neutral can be just as dangerous as a hot wire, with the potential to electrocute you or to “ground out” and electrify any metal it meets. Treat every wire as though it’s a hot wire. If you are uncertain whether a white wire is used as neutral or hot in a project, check with a professional electrician.

How do you check the construction of electronic wires?

There is plenty of data in a small electronic wire, and you can also examine its construction with them.

Basic data in the electronic wire: verify insulation compound, verify jacket compound, conductor material, conductor dimensions, strand lay length, insulation thickness, jacket thickness, verify extruded overings compound, jacket thickness, conductor lay length, tape thickness, tape overlap, tag markings, surface print markings.

How do you determine electronic wire size?

First, measure the bare diameter of a single strand and locate the circular mils value in the row that matches your measurement. Second, multiply the circular mils by the number of strands in the cable. Lastly, locate the row in the table with the circular mils number that most closely matches your calculation.

Where to buy electronic wires?

Delightfire is proud to be a specialist wholesale supplier of standard and custom electronic wires, electrical cables, power cables, and more. Having been in business for over a decade, Delightfire has served almost every industry and market, and our team has the experience and skills to meet your needs.

Please look at our website to find out more and explore the wire & cable products that better suit your needs. You can contact us anytime if you need anything.