Differences Between Power Cable & Instrument Cable
Power Cable
- Used for higher voltage transmission
- Typically up to 400 A and 32KVAC
- Used for energy transfer
- Thicker and have a larger conductor size (1.5 mm – 630 mm)
- Do not require shielding, as they do not transfer any signal
- Used for power transmission and distribution, overhead equipment, and other high-power applications
- Power cable mostly come in a single core
- The sheathing is strong and sturdy and is resistant to different external factors, including corrosion and temperatures.
- Power cables deal in high power, a large electromagnetic field is generated around the cables every time.
Instrument Cable
- Smaller amount of voltage and current
- Typically up to 24VDC and 20 mA
- Used for signal transfer
- Thinner cables (0.5 mm – 1.5 mm).
- Require shielding, as they transfer signal
- Used for industrial automation and other signal control applications.
- Instrument cable is mostly a multicore cable
- Control wires do not require the same sheathing and often have regular PVC
- Designed to only carry low power, they do not generate any electromagnetic field and apart from this, they are also protected from noise and other electromagnetic radiation
Waman Sanap is the CEO of iPAC Automation, a leading instrumentation and control automation company. He has 20+ years of experience in the instrumentation engineering field.