Underground Electrical Wire Types

Typically considered neutral but can sometimes be used as a hot lead in certain situations such as switch loops.

Underground electrical wire types.

Direct burial cable is a special type of electrical wiring or cable that is designed to be buried in a trench underground. 10 2 uf b wire can be used 500 ft. The individual electrical conducting wires inside the cable are encased in a solid thermoplastic sheath that seals out moisture and protects the conducting wires within. Underground cable for running electrical power to a remote location can be installed at different depths depending on the type of conduit and type of wire used.

Deep pvc conduit method we show is about the easiest and most practical for running a typical 15 amp line. 10 2 uf b wire can be used outdoors underground and in wet areas. There are several different methods for safely running the underground wiring but the 12 in. Copper wire has lower resistance than aluminum wire but chances are good that you ll be using copper in any case.

Nec 300 5 underground wiring conduits emerging from the ground conductors emerging from underground shall be installed in rigid metal conduit intermediate metal conduit or schedule 80 rigid nonmetallic conduit from 18 inches below grade or the minimum cover distance to the point of. Wire size is another factor. For a 6 in deep trench use galvanized rigid metal electrical conduit with individual conductors inside. The jacketed wire is sun and uv resistant.

In these cables each core is insulated with impregnated paper and provided with seperate lead sheaths. Nec 300 5 underground wiring conduit movement protection where subject to movement direct buried cables or raceways shall be arranged to prevent damage to the enclosed conductors or connected equipment. 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. When it comes to underground wire the longer the wire the greater the voltage drop.

The product meets the useb 90 cable requirements of csa. Useb90 useb 90 underground service entrance cable consists of two compact aluminum conductors individually insulated with rw90 xlpe insulation laid in parallel with a helical plain copper wire serving and an overall pvc jacket covering. Type uf b cable is made for direct burial underground without the use of conduit or other piping and is also gray in color and is marked as type uf b cable to denote the difference between it and the regular type uf cable which is not suitable for direct burial outside of conduit or the proper piping material. Deep direct burial of type uf underground feeder cable is another easy alternative.

A second method 12 in. The copper wire serving is the neutral.