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.

Underground electrical wire types.

Deep direct burial of type uf underground feeder cable is another easy alternative. Smaller diameter wires have more resistance than larger diameter wires. 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. 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.

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. A second method 12 in. 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.

When it comes to underground wire the longer the wire the greater the voltage drop. The jacketed wire is sun and uv resistant. 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.

The jacketed wire is sun and uv resistant. This type of cable is combination of h type and s l. The product meets the useb 90 cable requirements of csa. 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.

Wire size is another factor. The copper wire serving is the neutral. For a 6 in deep trench use galvanized rigid metal electrical conduit with individual conductors inside. In these cables each core is insulated with impregnated paper and provided with seperate lead sheaths.

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. 10 2 uf b wire can be used 500 ft.