Difference Between Power Cables & Control Cables

 

An electrical cable is a coiled or side-by-side assembly of one or more wires used to carry electric current. A cable assembly can be made up of one or more electrical cables and their matching connections, which isn't always suitable for connecting two devices but can be a partial product. A cable assembly, also known as a cable tree or cable harness, is a device that connects multiple terminals.

 

There are many types of electrical cables available. People often think that power cables and control cables are the same things. This blog is going to tell you the difference between power cables and control cables. 

 

Electric power is transmitted through power cables from substations to required destinations. Power cables, which are made up of two or more conductors and are covered by an outer covering known as insulation, can be deployed either overhead or underground, depending on the demands. A power cable is primarily a current-carrying conductor encased in an insulation system, as well as protective coatings and other optional features. The conductors are stranded on the inside, and the cable is flexible enough to be wrapped or bent as needed. 

 

Control cables can be used to monitor and regulate the communications of automated processes. Control cables are typically encountered with UL ratings. Foil, braid, or a combination of the two is commonly used to insulate control wires. When picking a control cable, flexibility is important. It's crucial to know whether the control cable needs to be flexible or will be continuously flexed. Cables that will be continuously flexed in process automation may require different constructions than cables that only need to be flexible to be routed appropriately in a product and still work. 

 

The following are some of the distinctions between power and control cables:

 

·       The control cable's insulated core is often black and white, whereas the power cable's low voltage is typically color separation.

 

·       The power cable is primarily used for transmitting, distributing, transmitting, altering, and transferring electrical energy from the power distribution point of the power system to the power connection lines of various electrical equipment appliances. The power cable is used to transmit and distribute big functional electric energy in the mainline of the power system, and the transmission of strong electric energy in the power supply line has a high current. 

 

·       A one-time load wire is an electrical power cable. With the rise in power, the current-carrying capacity improves. With the rise in current, the wire's application cross-section must likewise grow. As a result, power cables are typically larger, up to 500 square meters in size. There are generally fewer manufacturers who can do it, regardless of how huge the cross-section is. The control cable is a secondary command wire that controls the contactor and other equipment's current-carrying operation. The wire section is very small, and the load current is very little. As a result, the control cable's section is usually modest, with a maximum area of no more than 10 square meters.

 

The power cable has a modest number of cores, including a single core, two cores, three cores, four cores, and five cores. The maximum is usually 5 cores, depending on the needs of the power grid. Control cables send control signals with a significant number of cores, ranging from two to 61 or more. To achieve appropriate electromagnetic compatibility effects, control cables use a variety of core wire topologies and shielding methods.

 

The wire sheath of a power cable must have appropriate compressive and tensile strength, as well as temperature and corrosion resistance. The amount of control cable required is minimal. When making industrial power cables and control cables with the same specifications, the insulation and sheath thickness of the electrical power cable is thicker than the control cables.

Control cables can be used in a variety of applications, including use in the power distribution industry, electrical systems with a variety of functions, methods for monitoring, controlling, regulating, and measuring technical devices and components, automated systems, and multiple inputs and outputs systems that have been installed. Whereas, the applications of control cables include: transformer-to-switchgear interconnection, individual load and switchgear connections, the link between the generator and the transformer, connecting the utility distribution network, and submarine cables for data transmission. If you want to purchase good quality industrial cables, conductors, copper cables and more check out Cabcon India at www.cabconindia.com!