Standards for plenum rated cables

[edienberg]

Can someone point me to which standards make up plenum rated cable? I know that plenum rated cable has a special insulation/jacket that has low smoke and low flame characteristics, but are there cables that meet certian standards that meet the intent of plenum rated, but might not be marked as such?

I have some UL-listed communication cable with a Low Smoke Zero Halogen jacket that is fire resistant rated per IEC 60331 and flame rated per IEC 332-2 Cat. A and IEC 331. However the cable does not say "plenum rated" on it, our county inspector wants to ensure that the cable is in fact rated for installation in an above ceiling return air plenum.

Erik

 

[DRWeig]

What exactly does the cable marking say?

Best to you,

Goober Dave

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[btrueblood]

Presumably the OP is under USA jurisdiction. The standards for plenum cable are stricter in the US than elsewhere, last I looked.

see here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plenum_cable

the standard required is NFPA 90A. Testing per the NFPA standard is stricter than for standard UL/IEC flammability testing. You can follow the link in the bottom of the wiki article to access (read only) the standard for free or to purchase a copy.

 

[btrueblood]

Sorry, hit submit too soon. The NFPA standard states that exposed wiring in plenum spaces must meet flammability testing per NFPA 262, but in the explanatory notes (Annex A) it also states that wires meeting UL 2424 can be considered to meet that requirement.