Can you use speaker wire for electrical

The wire gauge will allow for a certain amount of electrical load to be carried across it based on the wattage of the electrical device. We touched early on in this article about line voltage and low voltage. Line voltage is the standard voltage volts that is found in outlets and junction boxes, while low voltage has a transformer that lowers the voltage to 12 or 24 volts.

Thus, you can use speaker wire in low voltage applications around your house to provide power to devices and appliances such as thermostats, hard-wired smart-home devices, doorbells, garage door openers, home security sensors, and landscape lighting. Always remember to take into consideration that the outlets in your house, if you live in the States, will be volts, and in Europe, it is either or volts.

If you plan on using speaker wire to connect to a plug and then the wall socket directly, you will need to calculate the gauge of wire you will need in relation to the watts of the device; otherwise, the wire will overheat, can melt, and in some cases may even start a fire. We discovered that speaker wire back in the day was actually lamp wire that people took and used for speakers. In fact, nowadays, there is still no difference between speaker wire and electrical wire.

This gave us some indication that speaker wire is able to carry current but to what degree? We considered speaker wire trying to handle a 12v current and found out that essentially it could handle a 12v current, but we also needed to consider a speaker wires gauge the thickness of the wire.

The thickness of the wire gauge would allow the wire to carry a specific amount of amperage, and different thicknesses meant various amperage handling capabilities.

Hence, pretty much any speaker wire can handle 12v power. The only factor to consider is that the wattage it will produce will change, and you will have to match that wattage with the electrical device you wish to use, with that speaker wire. Decades ago when audio technology was in its formative stages, recording at home was nothing more than a distant dream.

Musicians would need access to high-end analog equipment, which made recording Their sound quality and convenient design are undeniable, but there are Skip to content You may have noticed that speaker wire looks eerily similar to electrical wire. Can I use speaker wire for 12v power? Is speaker wire different from electrical wire? How much power through speaker wire?

Wire Gauge Amperage 16 gauge 13 amps 14 gauge 15 amps 12 gauge 20 amps 10 gauge 30 amps 8 gauge 40 amps 6 gauge 50 amps Above is the amount that a typical electrical wire can handle, and as we know, speaker wire is, in fact, identical to electrical wire.

Check out this useful YouTube video on this subject. However, if you are going to open a wall or floor, be aware that you might contact another wiring without knowing it and create a fire or electrical safety issue.

In that case, or if you have any fear or concern about safety, it is best to speak to an electrical professional. At Frye Electric, we can make things happen for you quickly. We have been your trusted and qualified Indianapolis electrical contractor for over 35 years, and we continue to provide that same excellent service every day. Besides, NM cables come with color-coded insulation for indicating the wire gauge.

The three wires are then insulated by another outer plastic tubing. Underground feeder UF cable is a type of nonmetallic cable ideal for use in wiring through wet locations. This wire comprises of three interior wires, including an insulated hot wire, insulated neutral, and bare earth wire.

The three wires are then insulated by an outer plastic covering just like with NM cables. These two types of electrical wire are used for high-voltage wiring through conduit. They comprise of at least two insulated wires. The wires are enclosed in an outer plastic sheathing. Each insulation is color-coded. Besides, these cables are protected by a plastic or metallic tubing.

In this type of electrical wire, T represents thermoplastic, H represents heat-resistant, HH represents high heat resistance, W represents wet locations, and N represents nylon-coating. This is a type of electrical wire used in wiring low-voltage circuits, especially those below 50 vols. They are insulated and mainly come as a twisted pair. One of the wires is a hot shielded cable and the other is a neutral shielded cable.

Coaxial cable is another type of electrical wire that comprises of a shielded solid wire surrounded by a bare braided wire. The two wires are then shielded by an exterior cable. This type of cable is typically used for connecting satellite dishes and aerials to decoders or TV sets. Coaxial cables carry extremely low voltage and hardly cause any shock.

These are a type of electrical wire used for internet and landline telephone connections. A typical internet cable comprises of eight wires and each of the wire is shielded and color-coded. All the eight wires are then shielded by an outer plastic covering. Speaker wire is a type of wire used for connecting speakers to a sound source such as an amplifier or receiver.