Power Cables: Pros and Cons of Overhead Cables
Electrical cable or Electrical Cable is a medium for conducting electric current that consists of a conductor and an insulator. Conductor materials such as copper and aluminium are commonly used, although some use gold and silver; however, these materials are rarely used as conductors because they are more expensive. Insulators, on the other hand, are usually made of materials that do not easily conduct electric current, such as Thermoplastik and Thermosetting namely polymer (plastic and rubber).
An electrical cable is a number of insulated wires bundled together to form a multi-conductor transmission path. Based on the American Wire Gauge (AWG) size, cable sizes include 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and so on, where these numbers represent the diameter of the wires in the cable. In Indonesia, the unit usually used is mm2 such as 4mm2.
Electrical cables come in several types with different uses. Each type of cable is used according to need. If the cable used does not match its purpose and capacity, the consequences can be fatal: the cable may short-circuit and cause a fire. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to matching the cable type to the need. The following are several types of electrical cables;
- NYM Cable
- NYY Cable
- NYA Cable
- NYAF Cable
- HYYHY Cable
- NYMHY Cable
- NYMHYO Cable
- BC Cable
- NYRGBY/NYFGBF/NYBY Cable
This article will focus on the NYA cable type. The explanation is as follows.
The NYA cable is a cable commonly used for home installations and power systems. N means a copper-core cable, Y means copper coated with PVC insulation, and A means a single-copper cable. In other words, an NYA cable is a cable with 1 copper core.
NYA cable sizes range on average from 1.5 mm to 400 mm. NYA cable is in the category of low voltage meaning a cable with low voltage. NYA cable comes in several colors such as red, blue, black, and yellow with a green stripe. The function of these different colors is to make it easier for electricians to install electrical lines.
The advantage of this NYA cable is its affordable price compared with other cable types. A 1.5 mm NYA cable of 50 meters weighing 990 grams costs Rp. 102,000.00. This NYA cable is easy to install because it has only a single copper conductor. With a cable that has only 1 copper core, the installation of electrical wiring can be done more easily. This NYA cable also offers the best performance among other cables, such as network stability and higher and smoother bandwidth. This cable also conducts electrical energy at relatively higher speeds, up to gigabit speeds. NYA cable also has a relatively higher level of security than other cable types because the network can only be accessed through a physical cable connection.
Besides the many advantages of the NYA cable, it also has several disadvantages. If the cable is strung too low, it is vulnerable to being broken by passing vehicles or fallen trees. Strung cables usually overlap with other cables. Another disadvantage is that NYA cable is usually coated with only one layer of PVC insulation, which makes it very easy for rodents such as mice to bite the cable and damage it. An effort that can be made is to equip the NYA cable with protection such as PVC pipe or conduit pipe to reduce the possibility of damage. Poorly planned cable installation can also look messy and dirty. Sometimes this cable is less effective when expansion or extension of the cabling is needed (extending the distance of cable use). Wired LAN must be placed in a safe location because, with its coating consisting of only one PVC insulation layer, the cable is vulnerable to damage or may stop functioning. Security on a wired LAN will be lost when the network cable is cut or tapped. Lastly, this NYA cable only reaches clients with limited access.
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Written by Nuryunita Fauziah Arrohmah
