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Glossary & Terms

What is PVC insulation in cables?

Quick answer

PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is the most widely used insulation material in electrical cables. It is a thermoplastic that is tough, flexible, moisture-resistant, chemically stable and an excellent electrical insulator — and it is economical to produce, which is why it dominates house and building wiring.

Plain PVC has been refined into safer compounds for modern wiring. Flame-retardant (FR) grades resist the spread of fire; FR-LS grades add reduced smoke; and HR-FR-LSH grades add heat resistance with low smoke and halogen — compared in FR vs FR-LS vs HR-FR-LSH.

PVC's main limitation is temperature: it softens at higher heat, so for more demanding duty it is outperformed by cross-linked insulation such as XLPE, which is produced by e-beam cross-linking and tolerates higher operating temperatures.

APAR offers PVC-insulated wiring in FR and low-smoke grades — for example Shakti FR-PVC and Anushakti Fire HR-FR-PVC. Compare grades across the house wires and cables range.

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