Plenum-Rated Cable - Revision history

Mcone: /* Cost of Plenum */

2009-12-11T13:57:01Z

‎Cost of Plenum

Mcone: /* Plenum Rated Materials= */

2009-12-11T13:56:36Z

‎Plenum Rated Materials=

Mcone at 13:56, 11 December 2009

2009-12-11T13:56:25Z

Mcone at 13:55, 11 December 2009

2009-12-11T13:55:46Z

New page

===Plenum Defined===


Plenum means "air bag". A Plenum area, is the air
return for an air conditioning system. In most buildings, the area above a drop
ceiling or under a raised floor is used as the air return (source of air) for
the air conditioning. Those drop ceiling and raised floors are also where wire
is often installed. If wire and cable is installed in a drop ceiling or raised
floor, it is out of sight. If that cable were burning, it would give off toxic
fumes. These would be fed to the rest of the building by the air conditioner as
a result people could be injured even though they are a long way from the fire.
<pre>

</pre>

===Need for Plenum===

Plenum cables are tested in a special way (UL 910 Steiner
Tunnel Test) to make sure the cable will not allow the fire to continue burning
and spread. this doesn't mean the wires will work: all wires will eventually
melt under heat. It is just that they won't be the fuel for the fire.
<pre>

</pre>

===Plenum Rated Materials====


There are many materials which can meet plenum
specifications. The most common is TeflonTM by DuPont, which comes in many
forms: FEP, TFE, PTFE, all of which are used in cables. There are other
materials, such as SolefTM and HalarTM which can meet plenum specifications.
There are also PVC versions, such as FlamarrestTM from Belden which can meet plenum
specifications in certain constructions. There is also a lot of work on
combined materials such as a data cable where one or two pairs out of four are
one material and the others are another material. These combinations have
successfully passed Plenum tests and significantly reduce dependence on
high-cost plenum-rated materials.
<pre>

</pre>

===Cost of Plenum===

Materials required to pass plenum testing makes plenum-rated
cables much more expensive than non-plenum-rated designs. However, with the
advent of alternate compounds and mixed compounds, the cost of plenum cables
has dropped dramatically. At one time, plenum cables were 3 to 5 times the cost
of non-plenum. With newer materials and techniques, they are 2 to 3 times the
cost.


Source: <a HREF="http://www.belden.com/faq/faqpplnm.htm"> Belden, Inc.</a>

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:57, 11 December 2009
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−	Source: ~~<a HREF="~~http://www.belden.com/faq/faqpplnm.htm"> Belden, Inc.~~</a><br></b>~~	+	Source: [http://www.belden.com/faq/faqpplnm.htm Belden, Inc.]

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 melt under heat. It is just that they won't be the fuel for the fire.
-===Plenum Rated Materials====
+===Plenum Rated Materials===
 There are many materials which can meet plenum
 specifications. The most common is TeflonTM by DuPont, which comes in many
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 successfully passed Plenum tests and significantly reduce dependence on
 high-cost plenum-rated materials.
 ===Cost of Plenum===

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ===Plenum Defined===
 Plenum means &quot;air bag&quot;. A Plenum area, is the air
 return for an air conditioning system. In most buildings, the area above a drop
@@ Line 11: / Line 8: @@
 fumes. These would be fed to the rest of the building by the air conditioner as
 a result people could be injured even though they are a long way from the fire.
 ===Need for Plenum===
 Plenum cables are tested in a special way (UL 910 Steiner
 Tunnel Test) to make sure the cable will not allow the fire to continue burning
 and spread. this doesn't mean the wires will work: all wires will eventually
 melt under heat. It is just that they won't be the fuel for the fire.
 ===Plenum Rated Materials====
 There are many materials which can meet plenum
 specifications. The most common is TeflonTM by DuPont, which comes in many
@@ Line 38: / Line 26: @@
 successfully passed Plenum tests and significantly reduce dependence on
 high-cost plenum-rated materials.
-</pre>
-<p>
 ===Cost of Plenum===
 Materials required to pass plenum testing makes plenum-rated
 cables much more expensive than non-plenum-rated designs. However, with the
@@ Line 52: / Line 37: @@
-<p>
+Source: <a HREF="http://www.belden.com/faq/faqpplnm.htm"> Belden, Inc.</a><br></b>
-    Source: <a HREF="http://www.belden.com/faq/faqpplnm.htm"> Belden, Inc.</a><br></b>