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Professionals provide answers to your questions.
Conduit or Cable Tray? Reliability Become an expert!
Sep 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Dan Carazo, Carazo Communications Redefined
Share This Article Safety T4 Emissions Regulations
Tips for selecting the right means of cable conveyance Programs Aniruddha Natekar
for your application (0) Wiring Patient
Care Areas Q. We have had emission
In any electrical installation, the structure type used to
regulation changes in the
support, fasten, direct, and protect the installed wire and cable runs is critical. That's
decade. Why is Tier 4 gathering so much attention?
why choosing the appropriate pathway is so important. This article provides some useful More from this issue Read the answer.
guidelines and considerations when determining whether to use conduit or cable tray Subscribe to Digital Edition
systems — with an emphasis on comparing steel conduit with steel cable tray (click here Ask a Question
to see Table). But before diving into the pros and cons of these two options, let's take a
look at how business affects the application of both. what's wrong here?
Market trends. In 2004, U.S. companies shipped more than $2.2 billion of electrical What's Wrong
conduit and fittings, which include all the many types of raceways, wireways, and cable Here?
trays. The combined value of U.S. shipments of all metallic and non-metallic conduits Jul 8, 2010 12:21 PM
totaled more than $1.7 billion.
What's Wrong
For most wiring installations, conduit Here?
remains the first choice. One reason for Jun 24, 2010 1:18 PM
this reality is the fact that conduit's
What's Wrong
broad range of design types includes
Here?
rigid metal conduit (RMC), electrical Jun 10, 2010 12:39 PM Arlington CED1 Arlington MC Cable
metallic tubing (EMT), intermediate Entrance Hoods Connectors
metal conduit (IMC), rigid PVC, flexible View all What's Wrong Here? The Scoop Series CED One size fits several cable
PVC, flexible MC (metal clad in Entrance Plates and sizes when you use
aluminum or steel), liquid-tight, and Hoods are reversible, Arlington’s low cost, zinc
zinc-coated corrosion-resistant steel product of the week non-metallic, single and diecast MC Cable
(Photo 1). two-gang versions... Fittings...
Conduit Fittings
According to a report published by The July 12, 2010
Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based More...
business research company, “Demand
for conduit declined precipitously
between 1999 and 2004 to 1.7 billion
feet…Conduit demand is expected to
grow 1.6% per annum to 1.8 billion feet Sizing Gen-Sets: Facts, Hints, and Good
in 2009…Steel conduit will continue to Judgment
lose ground based on its higher
material cost and installed costs.”

By comparison, the U.S. market for The complexities of today’s commercial or industrial
Photo 1. Steel conduit provides unsurpassed facility, with their equipment environment of linear and
cable tray is far smaller with slightly protection from conductor damage, however, View all 2010 Products of the
more than $200 million in annual sales. sales volume dropped by 15% between 1994 nonlinear loads, places a whole new light on sizing
Week
Nevertheless, cable tray sales have engine-generator sets.
and 2004.
continued to grow steadily in recent
years with one cable tray manufacturer citing an increase of 25% in 2005 and another More...
recently reporting a 14% annual growth rate between 1997 and 2004.

One factor that is increasing interest in cable tray is the increased commercial use of
metal-clad (MC) cable. According to one executive at a leading wire and cable
manufacturer, “MC is becoming the product of choice for commercial electrical wiring
Making Dollars and Sense of Power
systems. The driver behind this shift is the ease of installing MC, saving up to 50%
Quality
when compared to a pipe and wire installation.”
Power quality issues cost you valuable time and
Since installed MC is frequently money. In this webinar we will explore how power
supported by a cable tray Shocking Stats quality impacts your facility and bottom line.
system, this trend bodes well for Understanding what it is, where to look and what you
continued increases in cable tray can do about it. View this On Demand Webinar!
use (Photo 2).
Electric Vehicles are Coming
In addition to market dynamics, Automakers have started to launch new
More Industry Statistics
the popularity of one approach electric vehicles (EVs), or plug-in hybrid
over the other is driven by other electric vehicles (PHEVs), in to the U.S.
factors, including performance Recent Comments marketplace. EVs have the potential to
differences, regional influences, revolutionize personal roadway transportation, and the
and cost considerations. Jskaret where in the code book "fuel" for this new breed of vehicles is electricity. View
does it show minimum ceiling fan this On Demand Webinar!
Conductor protection. The height in a house?
most obvious reason for the Code Quandaries, April 2010 · 1
More...
pervasive use and popularity of Photo 2. The use of cable tray continues to grow day ago
conduit is the fact that it is an primarily due to its significantly reduced labor and
enclosed raceway offering materials installation costs. John Bruner Excellent resource
outstanding protection to the for clarifying my code research.
shielded wiring or cable. Because of its outstanding tensile strength, steel conduit Ambulatory Surgical Centers and
provides excellent protection to the electrical conductor, providing a tough barrier in Emergency Power · 1 day ago Learn about
demanding environments. This is an important differentiating factor that's at the very the changes
heart of conduit's long-term popularity. Smtariqueanwar For HV test of in this new
Switchgear....the voltage at which code cycle by attending the premier source of NEC
There are many applications that require substantial physical protection for wire and HV test is done at site is for the information and training: EC&M University's 2011 NEC
cable. For such projects, steel conduit is an ideal choice. Conduit with special coatings 1st time... Code Change Conferences. In two informative and
can also provide additional protection against corrosion. Insulation Resistance Testing: interest-filled days, you’ll learn about major NEC
How and Why? · 1 day ago changes that will impact your work, whether you’re an
Regional differences. As one marketing manager for an industry manufacturer put it, electrician, contractor, engineer, designer, or
“Conduit inherited an installed base of gas pipes that used to be used for transmitting JohnR I admire someone who is
plant/facility maintenance professional.
gas to gas lamps. When the conversion was made to electricity, the wiring was just run Bold enough to try and rewire the
through the old gas pipes.” ground on a LIVE transformer. I More...
am not...

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