Now on the Internet you can find many reviews of various wires and cables, each of them is used only in a certain case. However, our subscribers are increasingly interested in which cable to choose to connect the house to the mains, because reading all the reviews and choosing the best one for yourself is long and tedious. In this article, we decided to tell you what kind of wire is needed for wiring through the air and underground. We've rounded up the most popular wires trusted by professional electricians.

Which cable to use over the air

SIP

gained serious popularity due to its low cost and large selection of sections. It works in the temperature range from -60 to +50 degrees. Suitable for connecting two-phase and three-phase network. Made of aluminum with strong insulation. However, this conductor has the following disadvantages:

It must be connected using special couplings.
The wire causes indignation among the inspectors. Indeed, the rules state that this conductor cannot be used to connect. The fact is that the line must be solid, and this conductor must be connected to a more flexible one.

AVK

The AVK cable is considered a reliable conductor that operates at temperatures from -45 to +45 degrees. It is distinguished by its reliability and versatility. With it, you can connect networks up to 380 volts, which is more than enough for home use. The cable received aluminum conductors and high-quality vinyl insulation, which is equipped with a coaxial braid.

AVVG

used in temperate climate withstands voltages up to 1000 volts. Its cost is acceptable. The conductor is deciphered as follows: aluminum, there is core insulation, a PVC sheath. However, there are no protective covers in this wire, although it will be more than enough for an over-the-air connection.

Note! This conductor can only be connected using cable wiring.

VVG

It is considered the most popular in our country. After all, its veins are made of copper (drunks do not steal it, no matter how regrettable it may sound). It can be used in networks up to 1000 volts. Its installation can only be through cable wiring. The price of this type of wire is kept at a low level, and it also shows excellent durability.

Which cable to use underground

If you wish to lay the wire in the ground, then we recommend using the following conductors:

VBbShv

made of copper, sheath - PVC. This conductor also received an additional armored coating, which makes it the best for laying underground. You can learn more about it in the article: specifications cable VBbShv.

AVBbShv

The AVBbShv cable received the following design: aluminum cores, PVC sheath, armored coating, protective hose made of polyvinyl chloride. The nominal voltage of this wire is 3,000 volts. Service life - 30 years.

The cross section of the electrical wire - all you need to know

Very often, repairs in a house are accompanied by changes in the wiring diagram, or even its complete replacement, because earlier aluminum wiring was used in residential premises, the characteristics of which do not meet modern requirements. Many want to save their cash and come to the decision to independently replace the wiring. However, in order to correctly calculate and install the wiring, you need to stock up on certain knowledge in this area.

The main step is calculation of the cross section of the electric wire. In principle, without using any formulas, it is enough to know that a copper conductor can withstand a current ten times its cross section. This means that a conductor with a cross section of 1 square millimeter can withstand a current of 10 amperes, a wire of 2.5 square millimeters - 25 amperes, etc. More accurate values for copper conductors can be found in the "summary table of conductor cross-sections, current, power and load characteristics". The main sections of wires used in home wiring: 0.75; one; 1.5; 2.5; 4 sq. mm.

Now you need to determine the consumption of electrical appliances in the room in which the wiring is being replaced. For example, an iron has a power of 1800 watts. Knowing the voltage in the network, according to Ohm's law, you can determine the current consumed by it: 1800W / 220V \u003d 8.2A. Now it is clear that a wire of 1 square millimeter is enough to power the iron. But the fact is that other appliances connected to sockets can work simultaneously with the iron in the room. Therefore, you need to add up the current consumption of all devices that can be connected at the same time and, based on the value obtained, select the cross section of the wiring wires.

Most often, a wire of 2.5 square meters is enough. mm. for connecting sockets and 1.5 sq. mm. to illuminate the room. It is necessary to take a wire of the same section for other household "electrical equipment". If the kitchen in the apartment is equipped with an electric stove, then a wire with a cross section of 4 square meters must be connected to it. mm. It can withstand a load of 8 kW. The given cross-sections of the conductors are approximate, for an accurate calculation, of course, the actual consumption of electrical appliances must be taken into account.

The cross section of the wires cannot be selected "butt" to the connected load. There must be a power reserve, because it is not known what new electrical appliance you will buy tomorrow, it may be dangerous to connect it to the new wiring.

When wiring circuits, wiring must be provided as a common circuit breaker, with which you can de-energize all rooms, as well as separate electromechanical machines for different wiring branches. Particular attention in terms of protection should be given to rooms with high humidity.

Calculating is only half the battle. House wiring is a source of potential danger, therefore, its installation must be carried out in accordance with all the rules, which must be learned from the relevant literature. Only after accumulating a sufficient level of knowledge and understanding all the intricacies, you can proceed to independent design and installation, otherwise, contact the services of an experienced electrician.

A huge variety of cable products baffles beginners who decide to do electrical work with their own hands. And the very first question that they usually have is which wire to use for wiring in the house? The question is really serious and requires special analysis. So, let's figure out which electrical wires for internal wiring can be used.

Let's start with the fact that at present, the rules of the PUE prohibit electrical wiring in the house with wires or cables with aluminum conductors. We will not go into the details of this ban, just keep in mind for the future that such a requirement exists. So, when choosing a cable, you will have to look for a product with copper conductors. But even here the diversity is quite large. For example, there are cables:

single-core;
stranded;
consisting of one monolithic wire;
from many wires;
with conventional polymer insulation;
armored;
with the addition of a cotton layer or rubber to the insulation.

Accordingly, they all have different markings and names. Based on the quality of the insulation, what material it is made of, electrical wires can be laid in an open or closed way. By the way, if it is wires that are used in open (external) wiring, then they must be laid in protective boxes or pipes. But the cable can be laid without any protection.

Popular Models

Let's move on to the analysis of the wires themselves, which electricians most often use in home electrical wiring. In principle, there are not so many such wires. We offer three positions: NYM, VVGng and PUNP.

NYM

it electrical wire manufactured according to German technology. Unfortunately, not all Russian enterprises use the German standard, so you can find markings on the market: NUM, NUM or even NUM. All these wires are manufactured according to specifications, and each plant has its own specifications. But we must pay tribute to the fact that these products also have good technical characteristics, however, they are lower than those of NYM. Therefore, the calculation of the cross section of wires of these brands must be carried out with a multiplying factor of 1.1 or 1.2

The NYM wire itself is a high-quality product, but among all the wires used in the electrical wiring of a house, it is the most expensive. Therefore, not all consumers have the opportunity to carry out its installation. I would like to add that the cable design has several layers of protective insulation with internal filling, consisting of chalk-filled rubber. It is this layer that additionally performs the functions of protection when cutting the cable. After all, there is always a chance of damage to the insulation of the cores. This cannot be done with an intermediate layer. And another plus is the high flexibility of the product, which also reduces the complexity of the installation process.

VVG

This is an unarmoured cable with PVC insulation and sheath. That is, each core is insulated with PVC compound, and the overall protective sheath is made of this polymer. There is no internal filling of the space between the cores in this wire. It should be noted that VVG cable can be used in any room: dry and wet. Its only drawback is that it does not stretch.

As a subtype of this wire, there is a cable on the market with the addition of two letters in the marking. It's "ng". These letters indicate that this cable belongs to the category of non-combustible materials. That is, even in the laying in a beam, it does not spread combustion. If a VVG cable is installed in a bundle, then when any other wire burns, this one will also start burning. Therefore, when it comes to electrical wiring in a private house, especially in a wooden one, it is better to choose the VVGng model.

By the way, the wiring of this brand has a small variety. This is a form of laying veins. It can be flat, round, square and even triangular. Experts recommend installing a flat version in houses, it is just convenient to work with it, plus there is no need to make deep strobes.

PUNP

This is the cheapest wire for electrical wiring used in private houses and apartments. And it is an installation flat type. In execution PUNP can be two-core or three-core. At the same time, a single-wire wire is installed in each core. And this is its distinguishing feature.

You can use it, like the previous positions, both in power networks and for lighting. But many experts do not give their preference to this cable, it's all about insulation, or rather, its low quality. During wiring, heat is generated in it, which negatively affects the insulating layer of the PUNP cable, so over time they lose their qualities.

Additional items

Of course, these three brands are not the only ones. There is a fairly wide range of models that can be used for electrical wiring at home, both indoors and outdoors. What do manufacturers offer for these purposes?

PRN, which can be mounted both indoors and outdoors.
PRI is used in dry and damp rooms.
PRHE is recommended to be laid only in pipes or ducts.
PRD is used for laying lighting networks.
PPV - two-core flat wire.
PV1 is a single-core wire, very flexible. By the way, in this group of wires there is a huge variety of colors. The color is selected according to the wiring diagram for ease of connection. There is even a yellow-green for grounding.

For street lighting it is recommended to install armored cable VBbShv. He does great with negative impact soil and water, therefore it fits into trenches. The number of cores can be different: 4, 5 and 6. But for overhead lines best to use wire self-supporting SIP. This is, firstly, aluminum wire, inside which a steel wire is threaded. Hence, in principle, and greater strength. Secondly, the insulation is a light-stabilized weather-resistant polyethylene, this polymer does not degrade in the open air.

Conclusion on the topic

Probably, we can finish the analysis of the question on this, which wire to use in the house and on the street, which ones are needed specifically for private housing construction? The main requirement of cable products is strength, reliability and long term operation, because most often hidden wiring is used in houses and apartments, which means that it is practically mounted for centuries. All of the above wires for electrical wiring meet these requirements. So there is no reason to doubt their reliability.