27/4/2019 A Construction Engineers Guide to Selecting the Right Type of Electrical Raceway: Metallic Conduit Options

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Electrical Raceway: Metallic Conduit Options
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 MEP Engineering

 Mechanical Engineering

 Electrical Engineering

 Plumbing Engineering

 Architectural Engineering

 Construction Engineering

 Value Engineering

 Fire Protection Engineering Electrical conductors are subject to stringent installation requirements, established in the NFPA National
Electrical Code and the NYC Electrical Code, to which construction engineers must abide. There are many
logical reasons for this.

Recent Posts A conductor in the open is vulnerable to physical damage, and at the same time it represents a high risk of
electric shock or fire. Therefore, conductors must have both electrical insulation and physical protection;
 What is Electrical Engineering? unless a conductor is armored or sheathed, physical protection is typically provided by electrical conduit.

 Quality Electrical Engineering The different types of electrical conduit in the market differ in terms of material used and flexibility: conduit
can be either metallic or non-metallic, as well as rigid or flexible. Although each type is intended for different
 How to Choose the Right applications, there is some overlap between approved uses. Therefore, design engineers must often
Electrical Engineering choose between many valid options for a given application. Sizing is very important: undersized conductors
Professionals cannot accomplish their function, but oversized conductors represent a waste of capital.

 How Electrical Engineering Can This article will provide an overview of the main types of metallic electrical conduit and their applications.
Save You Money Keep in mind this is a general guide, not a replacement for NFPA and NYC codes. The technical
requirements explained here are very general – make sure you check the applicable codes before specifying
 Benefits of Electrical conduit in any project. There are five main types of metallic conduit, which are summarized in the following
Engineering table:

 Save On Long-Term Abbreviation Full Name

Maintenance and Utility Costs EMT Electrical Metallic Tubing
Expert Electrical Engineers RMC Rigid Metal Conduit
IMC Intermediate Metal Conduit
 Electrical Engineers with FMC Flexible Metal Conduit
Accuracy, Dedication, LFMC Liquidtight Flexible Metal Conduit
Professionalism

 Put Your Project on Wheels with

Electrical Metallic Tubing (EMT)
Electrical Engineers
EMT is a lightweight but rigid metallic raceway option. If offers less mechanical protection compared with
 Electrical Engineers and How IMC and RMC, but it has the advantage of being easy to bend, which is beneficial when construction
They Can Improve Your engineers must build the electrical raceway around obstacles or corners. The most commonly used EMT
Development Project materials are galvanized steel and aluminium.

 Electrical Engineers for Since EMT is not normally threaded at its ends, fittings use perpendicular screws or threaded compression
Accurate, Fast Designs unions. Set-screw fittings are cheaper, but compression fittings offer a tighter connection.

Electrical codes do not allow EMT in applications where electrical raceway is exposed to significant physical
damage or corrosion, or in occupancies classified as hazardous locations.
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27/4/2019 A Construction Engineers Guide to Selecting the Right Type of Electrical Raceway: Metallic Conduit Options

 Architectural Engineering Rigid Metal Conduit (RMC)

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 Construction Engineering
RMC is the heavy-duty option, with the thickest walls among all metallic conduit options. This type of
 Electrical Engineering conduit is the standard choice for demanding environments, offering both mechanical and chemical
resistance. RMC is normally made from galvanized steel, stainless steel, red brass or aluminium. All types
 Fire Protection Engineering are suitable for corrosive environments, but additional protection may be required in the case of aluminium
RMC.
 HVAC Engineering
RMC offers far greater mechanical resistance than EMT, but this comes with a much higher price tag.
 Mechanical Engineering Working with RMC also involves more technical complexity, requiring specialized equipment for cutting and
threading.
 MEP Engineering
Intermediate Metal Conduit (IMC)
 Plumbing Engineering

 Value Engineering As implied by its name, IMC is the intermediate option, thicker than EMT but thinner than RMC. However,
IMC uses a high-strength steel alloy to offer physical protection comparable to that of RMC, in spite of the
reduced wall thickness. IMC can be used in the same applications where RMC is allowed, and it only has
one limitation: while RMC trade sizes range from ½” to 6”, IMC only goes from ½” to 4”. Therefore, you must
use RMC in heavy-duty applications where the specified conduit size exceeds 4”.

It is important to note that, although IMC is thinner than RMC, the external diameter is the same for both
types of conduit. As a result, IMC has slightly more internal space to handle conductors.

Flexible Metal Conduit (FMC) and Liquidtight Flexible Metal Conduit (LFMC)

In the electrical trade, FMC is normally called “greenfield” or “flex”. The body of FMC uses an interlocked
steel spiral to offer decent mechanical protection but also flexibility. FMC is typically used when raceway
ends require flexibility for connection, or when a connection to vibrating equipment that may cause fatigue
failure in a rigid connection. LFMC is basically FMC with a liquid-tight coating, typically made from a
thermoplastic material.

Additional Recommendations from Construction Engineers

Keep in mind that conduit diameter is determined by conductor diameter, which in turn is determined by the
load on the circuit. Therefore, energy efficiency measures can lead to conductor and conduit savings in new
constructions. The savings from using a smaller conductor and conduit diameter may not be noticeable for a
single branch circuit, but the savings add up in a large project such as a high-rise building.

MEP design software is also a very powerful tool to reduce conductor and conduit costs. When circuit routes
are specified as short as possible, material requirements are reduced, along with the associated man-hours
from associated construction engineers and others.

Electrical Engineering

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