What is the purpose of Plenum cabling?

What is the purpose of Plenum cabling?

Plenum rated cable has a special insulation that has low smoke and low flame characteristics. Plenum cable is mandated to be installed in any “air handling” space. For example, most large office buildings use the ceiling to return air to the AC unit.

What is a plenum in electrical?

Plenum spaces are the open spaces above the ceiling or below the floor that are used for air circulation. Technically, any ductwork is considered a plenum space too.

Is plenum cable required in residential?

If there is no sheet metal duct; just the open ceiling or wall space, then you are required by law to use Plenum Rated cable. The lack of wall or ceiling return air grates is usually a sure sign that you require Plenum Rated Cable.

Where is plenum required?

Plenum rated cable has a special insulation that has smoke and low flame characteristics. It is mandated to be installed in any “air handling” space. For instance, most large office buildings use the ceiling to return air to the AC unit.

What is the purpose of CMP cable?

CMP cables are plenum cables; these cables are used if networking must be done in air ducts. They can be used for commercial or residential spaces. They will not combust and cannot actually cause fires.

Is plenum cable required in conduit?

Do you need plenum cable if it’s in conduit? If you’re using plenum-rated conduit, you don’t need to use plenum-rated cable. This is true even if the conduit is in a plenum space. The most common types of plenum conduit are innerduct (often used for fiber runs) and metal.

What is considered plenum?

In building construction Plenum is a separate space provided for air circulation for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning. It is commonly found in the space between the structural ceiling and a drop-down ceiling or under a raised floor.

What is Plenum CMP?

Plenum Cable (CMP) is cable that is laid in the plenum spaces of buildings. The plenum is the space that can facilitate air circulation for heating and air conditioning systems, by providing pathways for either heated/conditioned or return airflows.

What is MC cable electrical?

A Metal Clad Cable, also referred to as MC Cable, is a corrosion-resistant metal cable containing insulated copper or aluminum connectors.

What is plenum and PVC cable?

PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) is what your standard Category 5e and Category 6 cable jacket is constructed of. Plenum cable is made of Teflon or FEP which gives off much less poisonous gas than PVC when it burns.

How do you identify plenum cable?

Look for CMP(means Communications Plenum Cable) ,CL3P(Shielded Multi-Conductor Plenum Security Cable) , or CL2P(Class 2 plenum cable ) marked on the cable. Plenum cable is covered with a fire proof plastic layer of either a low-smoke polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or a fluorinated ethylene polymer (FEP).

What is CMP wire?

CMP cables are plenum cables; these cables are used if networking must be done in air ducts. They can be used for commercial or residential spaces. These are used for regular networking from room to room, as long as the cable does not need to pass through an air duct.

What is Plenum cabling and how does it work?

What is Plenum Cabling? Plenum cabling, designated as CMP by the NFPA’s NEC guidelines, is cabling that uses materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or fluorinated ethylene polymer (FEP) for their jacket’s construction. These materials have a higher degree of fire resistance and emit fewer toxic fumes compared to other plastic polymers.

Does cable need to be plenum rated or non-plenum rated?

This is whether or not the cable to be used will need to be plenum rated or Non-Plenum rated. When we refer to cable as plenum or non-plenum we are not talking about the cable itself. The plenum rating that we are talking about actually refers to the jacket that surrounds the cable.

Why do we use Teflon coated wires in our plenum cables?

We use Teflon (or PTFE) coated wires in our plenum network cables to make sure that the cables are safe and heat-resistant. Plenum cables are the highest standard and can safely be substituted for any other cable type such as riser, CM, CL2 or CL3 cables. Guide to Cable Ratings What is CMP rated Cable?

Can plenum cable be used above ceiling tiles?

Even if a cable is only used temporarily, only plenum cables should be used above ceiling tiles or below dropped floors… it is surprising how permanent “temporary” fixes can be. Plenum cables use treated jackets, usually low-smoke PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or FEP (fluorinated ethylene polymer).