Electrical wire requirements

[reefburnaby]

Delp,

For UV protection, I believe the wires that have darker insulation colour (say black) will stand up better than white - even if they are made from the same material (its a physics thing). There are cables that can withstand more UV than others and they are usually categorized for external or outside use. I believe hookup wire from from Radio Shack isn't design for outside use.

If you want good protection from UV, good protection from the elements and fair good temperature resistants, Cabtire is a good choice. Another method of protecting the wire is to use electrical conduit (one form of it is in Gray PVC in the electrical section). These conduits are usually used to protect wires from the elements and from external damage (like a crazy forklift driver). You can use the white PVC as a conduit, but it isn't quite up to code. Another cable that is good is TECK cable (but it is a little extreme).

Hope that helps.

- Victor.