Section: Parts 430-431: Flexible Cord Selection | New Zealand Certificate in Electrical Engineering Theory (Level 3) Stream B (2020) | WelTec Moodle

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Parts 430-431: Flexible Cord Selection

  • Parts 430-431: Flexible Cord Selection

    • This video is a demonstration of overloading a 1 mm² twin and earth cable with various currents beyond its rating.

      The author is based in the UK, but the cable is otherwise similar to cables used in New Zealand.

    • The Nexans/Olex Cables 2019 cable catalogue.

      This catalogue may also be downloaded from Nexans's own website.

      NOTE: This catalogue is being used as an example of a cable catalogue, and not as a commercial endorsement of Nexans and Olex. The behaviour of other brands of cables should be similar.

      This catalogue has a range of information from AS/NZS 3008 about cable selection, voltage drop, and short circuit current withstand.

      At low currents (<100 A), the cable rating is generally defined by the protective device rating.

      At higher currents, the protective device can be programmed to accommodate the cable capacity.

      In general, for most low current jobs the "rule of thumb" section C3 in the Wiring Rules may be used.

      I would advise that for any household wiring, that the "bulk thermal insulation, partially surrounded" rating is used. This covers wiring in contact with the surface of thermal insulation, as well as cables between thermal insulation, and a non thermally insulating surface (e.g. cables clipped to wood and in contact with thermal insulation).

      For TPS, the most relevant pages are pages 44-45. The ratings for "surface clipped" (the right set of columns) mostly corresponds to "in air" ratings in section C3. Note that the rating may vary depending on the interpretation of AS/NZS 3008, and the exact construction details of the cable of interest.

    • Sections C3 provide "simplified" selections of protective device ratings for a given cable size in a given range of situations, and calculation of voltage drop.

      As discussed above, all cables installed in domestic housing should be treated as "bulk thermal insulation - partially surrounded".

      The ratings here are more conservative than those in AS/NZS3008, in the sense that the protective device rating is the limiting factor on cable current capacity rather than the cable itself.

      The voltage drop may be slightly over estimated. This is not a problem if the simplified calculation is below any target voltage drop. Bear in mind that in many cases a calculated result that is slightly over the allowed design value is ok if the full conditions of diversity and maximum demand are taken into account.