Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Cable Management
Cable Management
Christopher Lindridge
Christopher.lindridge@newdur.ac.uk
Contents
1
An overview of cable management systems
There are a wide variety of containment systems available to organise and store cables within an
installation. They tend not to be used exclusively for a particular type of wiring system, and the
containment system chosen is often as much decided by the budget and practical considerations of
the building it is being installed in as the cabling type itself.
2
What types of cable management systems are there?
There are lots of different options for containment systems, depending on the types of cables and
the building or area where the system is being installed. Some of the most common include:
Cable baskets
Lightweight and easily connected, these usually clip together making them quickly installed. They are
often used for Category 5A and Category 6 TCP/IP data cabling, but can be used for many types of
cable that have more than basic insulation. This includes PVC / PVC 6242Y, MICC, fireproof or steel
wire armoured cables.
3
What is a conduit system?
Electrical conduits are tubes used to protect and route wiring and come in a range of materials
depending on the conditions of the installation – for example if it is situated somewhere damp, PVC
or galvanised metal should be used. Conduits can be used for entire systems or single thermoplastic
or XLPE cables with basic insulation, when they protect the cable’s insulation from damage and
reduce the risk of faults.
Conduits are secured using saddles. As standard these tend to be spacer bar saddles, but distance
saddles can be used to fix conduit to uneven surfaces, while hospital saddles – which have a thicker
base – allow for easier cleaning around the conduit in places where hygiene is a concern.
Conduit systems also allow for wiring system ‘drops’ to yet-to-be-installed electrical equipment,
meaning building work can be completed and the cables pulled into place later.
Lengths of conduit are connected by couplings. Where a conduit enters a box with no thread entry it
is terminated by a coupling and a brass bush to complete the connection.
If two systems can’t be screwed together a running coupling can be improvised, using two standard
couplings, a nipple, a locknut and a length of extra-long threaded conduit. These are a potential area
of weakness in the conduit and ideally avoided.
4
Mostly used for single insulated cable, trunking can be bent and jointed into complex configurations,
making it a versatile way to carry many different types of cables. Systems are available in a range of
shapes and sizes. Conduit and trunking systems effectively act as parallel conductors, so standard
earth fault loop impedance in trunking systems often ends up being less than calculated.
What is mini-trunking?
In installations with minimal amounts of cable (for example, smaller offices), mini-trunking can be
used in place of larger PVC trunking. It often comes with a self-adhesive backing so can be fixed
easily to a wall.
BS 7671 contains regulations relating to the use of trunking in electrical installations. These rules are
that:
Non-sheathed cables can be installed in a trunking system if it provides a protection level of at least
IPXXD or IP4X and if the cover can only be removed by means of a wool or deliberate action.
In the case of systems that include site-fabricated joints, the installer must confirm that these too,
meet at least protection level IPXXD.
The introduction of these regulations had far-reaching consequences for the industry because
traditionally IP30-rated trunking was used with single insulated cables.
5
What is an IP rating?
All trunking is given an Internal Protection (IP) rating. This denotes the degree of protection an
enclosure provides against a range of external agents.
First number: 0 to 6 or the letter X – this denotes the protection level of persons against
access to hazardous parts inside enclosures.
Second number: 0 to 8 or the letter X – this denotes the protection level of equipment
against ingress, or access, by solid foreign objects.
Optional additional letter 1: A, B, C or D – this denotes the protection of equipment
against penetration by water.
Optional supplementary letter 2: H, M, S or W – this denotes the level of protection
against access to hazardous parts.
The additional letter is only used if the protection against access to hazardous parts is greater than
that indicated by the first number.
P4X and IPXXD rated trunking systems offer a high degree of protection. IP4X systems must have an
enclosure that offers full protection against solid foreign objects larger than 1mm. IPXXD enclosures
have a similar level of protection, although the probe is allowed to enter the product as long as it
does not touch any hazardous parts