BUILDING SERVICES MARKET SURVEY

CABLE
S
 WHAT IS AN ELECTRICAL CABLE 2

The cable that is used for the transmission and distribution of electrical power is known as
the electrical power cable. It is used for the transmission of high voltages in places where
overhead lines are impractical to use.
The power cable is made of three main components, namely, conductor, dielectric, and
sheath. The conducting path for the current in the cable is provided by the conductor. The
insulation or dielectric withstands the service voltage and isolates the live conductor with
other objects. The sheath does not allow the moistures to enter and protects the cables from
all external influences like chemical or electrochemical attack and fire.
TYPES OF ELECTRICAL CABLES 3

Various types of Cables are used everywhere for various applications. Not all cables perform the same
application. The function of a cable depends upon the type of cable. The electrical cables are made of
aluminium or copper wires protected by an insulating coating which can be made of synthetic polymers.

1. RIBBON ELECTRIC CABLES

2. SHIELDED CABLES

3. TWISTED PAIR CABLES

4. COAXIAL CABLES

5. FIBRE OPTICS CABLES

RIBBON ELECTRIC CABLES 4

A ribbon cable (also known as multi-wire planar cable) is a cable with many conducting wires running
parallel to each other on the same flat plane. As a result the cable is wide and flat. Its name comes from its
resemblance to a piece of ribbon.
Ribbon cables are usually seen for internal peripherals in computers, such as hard drives, CD
drives and floppy drives. On some older computer systems (such as the BBC Micro and Apple II series) they
were used for external connections as well. The ribbon-like shape interferes with computer cooling by
disrupting airflow within the case and also makes the cables awkward to handle, especially when there are a
lot of them; as a result, round cables have almost entirely replaced ribbon cables for external connections and
are increasingly being used internally as well.
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SHIELDED CABLES 6

Cable shielding uses either a braided, spiral design or metal-coated Mylar or foil shield. The shielding wraps
around each conductor to mitigate noise by 85% to 100%, depending on the configuration. The maximum
shielding a braided shield can have is 90%.
Spiral shields can offer 98%, while metal-coated Mylar can deflect 100% of EMI. A cable shield consists of a
respective amount of strands, depending on the braiding machine (16, 24, 32). The total amount of strands
equals the number of strands in a braiding element times the amount of elements. 
The use of shielded cables in security systems provides some protection from power frequency and radio
frequency interference, reducing the number of false alarms being generated. The best practice is to keep data
or signal cables physically separated by at least 3 inches (75mm) from 'heavy' power circuits which are in
parallel.
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TWISTED PAIR CABLES- 8

A twisted pair cable is a type of cable made by putting two separate insulated wires together in a twisted pattern
and running them parallel to each other. This type of cable is widely used in different kinds of data and voice
infrastructures.

In general, twisted-pair cabling may be preferred over a common alternative, coaxial cable, for different reasons.
Coaxial cable involves a single, thicker wire. Many of those who use this type of cable claim that twisted pair has
a more accommodating bend radius, is easier to terminate, and provides more versatility in selecting network
topologies.

 It is made by intertwining two separate insulated wires. There are two twisted pair types: shielded and unshielded.
A STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) cable has a fine wire mesh surrounding the wires to protect the transmission and a 
UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) cable does not.
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COAXIAL CABLE - 10

• Coaxial cable is commonly used by cable operators, telephone companies, and internet providers around the world
to convey data, video, and voice communications to customers. It has also been used extensively within homes.

• Coaxial cable is a type of cable that has an inner conductor surrounded by an insulating layer, surrounded by a
conductive shielding. Many also have an insulating outer jacket The diagram below illustrates the construction of a
typical cable. Electrical signal flows through the center conductor. 
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1.Center conductor 
2.Center conductor bond 
3.Dielectric 
4.First outer conductor 
5.Second outer conductor 
6.Third outer conductor
7.Fourth outer conductor 
8.Corrosion resistant protectant
1. Indoor and aerial 
2. Underground 
9.Jacket 
10.Integral messenger 
FIBRE OPTIC CABLES - 12

• An optical fiber cable is a type of cable that has a number of optical fibers bundled together, which are normally
covered in their individual protective plastic covers. 

•  Optical cables are used to transfer digital data signals in the form of light up to distances of hundreds of miles with
higher throughput rates than those achievable via electrical communication cables. All optical fibers use a core of
hair-like transparent silicon covered with less refractive indexed cladding to avoid light leakage to the surroundings.
Due to the extreme sensitivity of the optical fiber, it is normally covered with a high-strength, lightweight protective
material like Kevlar.

• Two common types of fiber optics are:

Single-mode fiber (SMF)

Multi-mode fiber (MMF)
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