Resident vs. Commercial Electrical Wiring—What's the Difference? | Teems Electric
Electrical wiring is electrical wiring—right? Not necessarily. When it comes to a residential or commercial property, the electrical wiring needs can be extremely different.
Our team at Teems Electric wants to offer you a better idea of how commercial and residential electrical wiring needs differ from one another so that you can understand the services you need.
What Is Residential Electrical Wiring?
When electrical wiring is installed within a residence, the wiring is almost always completely covered within sheath insulation. Why? Because the sheath insulation assists in protecting residents from electrical shock when using the electricity inside their home.
Residential electrical wiring consists of three wires:
- Positive
- Negative
- Neutral
Although most electrical wiring is a single phase circuit of 120 volts, there are times when a two-phase circuit of 240 volts is needed. In most cases, 240 volts are needed for the more demanding household appliances like:
- Air conditioning units
- Refrigerators
- Washers
- Dryers
While residential electrical wiring is usually hidden from the view of others within walls and attic crawl spaces, commercial electrical wiring is usually more easily accessible, such as through conduits or even via ceiling rafters. But this isn’t the only difference between the two.
What Is Commercial Electrical Wiring?
As mentioned prior, residential electrical wiring is usually one phase (sometimes two-phase) in design. However, with commercial electrical wiring, a three-phase circuit is usually used with access to two different volt strengths.
While two of the three-phase circuits runs 120 volts each, the third runs 208 volts. The setup of the three-phase circuit provides better efficiency, which is especially necessary within commercial properties due to the demands on the electrical system.
In addition to a three-phase circuit, commercial electrical wiring also has a higher level of insulation, which is also known as TTHT. TTHT, which is a thermoplastic, high-heat resistant, nylon coating, is used to better protect electrical wiring from liquids and/or corrosive gases.
Whether you are in of commercial and/or residential electrical needs, our team at Teems Electric is here to help! Call us today to schedule an appointment.