When should you use a plenum-rated cable

Plenum cables are premium ethernet cables and their jacket is superior to every other type of cable. In this article, you’ll learn what makes plenum-rated cables superior to others. All you need to do is to stay with us.

So, without wasting a single moment, let’s get straight to the point.

Plenum cables - Jackets

The only element that makes plenum cables superior to riser-rated cables, outdoor cables, and direct-burial cables is the jacket material. The jacket of the plenum-rated cables – be it Cat6 plenum cable or Cat5e cable – are made up of the finest quality polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The plenum jackets are fire-resistant and UV resistant because these cables are meant for installation in the vulnerable plenum areas of the buildings.

Plenum areas are horizontal areas of the buildings that are designed to accommodate return airflows such as airflows for heating and cooling systems. Therefore, it is established that there’s always the risk of fire eruption in these areas. To minimize the risk of fire eruption, you are only authorized to run plenum cables in these areas. Besides halting fire progression, these cables emit no smoke or hazardous gases during the burning phase. The cherry on the top? You can use plenum-rated cables in riser and outdoor spaces, too. However, the same can’t be reversed due to security reasons.

Plenum cables - Types

These Ethernet cables come in three main types:

• Cat5e plenum cables
• Cat6 plenum cables
• Cat6a plenum cables

Let’s explore the features of each.

Cat5e Plenum Cable

These cables belong to 5th generation ethernet cables that are designed to support applications like standard data transfer, audio, and basic in-home networks. The cable renders data transfer rates of 1 Gbps up to a distance of 50 meters or 164 feet and 100 Mbps up to a distance of 100 meters or 328 feet. With its bandwidth capacity of 350 MHz, this plenum cable keeps signal quality intact and provides optimum-level connectivity when used with the aforesaid applications.

Cat6 Plenum Cable

Cat6 Plenum cables belong to the 6th generation of ethernet cables designed to support applications like 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet, 1000BASE-T (IEEE802.3), 100VG-AnyLAN (IEEE802.12), 550 MHz Broadband Video Voice, T1, ISDN 155/ 622 Mbps ATM PoE (Power over Ethernet). The cable comes with data transfer rates of 10 Gbps up to a distance of 50 meters and 1 Gbps up to a distance of 100 meters. These rates are 10 times more than what is offered by Cat5e cables. The Cat6 Plenum cable provides a bandwidth capacity of 550 Mhz.

Cat6a Plenum Cable

Cat6a cables support data transfer rates of 10 Gbps up to a distance of 100 meters to support PoE+, PoE, and PoE++ (IEEE 802.3af/at/bt) up to 60W and 300V DC. The cable comes with a bandwidth capacity of 750 MHz and is available in pure copper conductors and copper-clad aluminum conductors.

If you want to buy top-notch plenum cables, look no further as we have got your back. Here at Smartech Cables, we offer free shipping on orders above $100. Also, our prices are extremely market competitive and all of our ethernet cables pass through rigorous internal and external testing. To place an order, get in touch with our sales team at [email protected].