Hi,
Does AFDDs work with LSF cabling...on the latest episode of the wire they stated that they have only been tested to PVC cabling? (see image below)
Hi,
Does AFDDs work with LSF cabling...on the latest episode of the wire they stated that they have only been tested to PVC cabling? (see image below)
Apparently charing of cable insulation improves the response of the AFDD, but when you watch the videos of test rigs there isn’t any insulation at all, they just go the whole hog and use a carbon rod as one of the electrodes, saying copper to copper is less responsive.
So it would appear that LSF and XPLE cable insulation can defeat AFDDs.
However whilst the use of better quality cable than standard twin and earth reduces the risks from arc faults as the insulation is less likely to catch fire and allow it to spread rapidly, it does not remove them.
So we are told to still install AFDD in circuits with better quality cable insulation.
Q19. Does the use of cables with XLPE insulation mitigate the need for AFDDs?
No. Although XLPE insulation doesn’t char when exposed to arcing, numerous items of connected equipment will use polymers that do char and ignite when exposed to an arc fault. Also, if the insulation is damaged exposing live conductors, these can be bridged through contamination resulting in char / carbon deposits and an arc fault.
Apparently charing of cable insulation improves the response of the AFDD, but when you watch the videos of test rigs there isn’t any insulation at all, they just go the whole hog and use a carbon rod as one of the electrodes, saying copper to copper is less responsive.
So it would appear that LSF and XPLE cable insulation can defeat AFDDs.
However whilst the use of better quality cable than standard twin and earth reduces the risks from arc faults as the insulation is less likely to catch fire and allow it to spread rapidly, it does not remove them.
So we are told to still install AFDD in circuits with better quality cable insulation.
Q19. Does the use of cables with XLPE insulation mitigate the need for AFDDs?
No. Although XLPE insulation doesn’t char when exposed to arcing, numerous items of connected equipment will use polymers that do char and ignite when exposed to an arc fault. Also, if the insulation is damaged exposing live conductors, these can be bridged through contamination resulting in char / carbon deposits and an arc fault.
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