Home Improvement Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [low-voltage]

Electrical systems with voltages significantly lower than mains wiring. Examples include ethernet, telephone, cable tv, and alarm systems.

Low-voltage electrical systems are those with voltages significantly lower than standard mains wiring. In the US at least, these systems don't generally require inspections.

United States

  • Mains wiring: 120V
  • Telephone wiring: 48V DC (~90V AC when ringing)
  • Ethernet: 5V
  • Alarm systems: typically 12V
193 questions
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2 answers

Can you identify this receptacle?

I was walking through a house during the middle of construction and came across what appears to be a recpticle attached to a pvc pipe that seems to pass a low voltage wire. Also connected to the receptacle was a 14 gauge wire.
bigmike7801
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What is a proper way to support/suspend cat6 cable in a drop ceiling?

I am trying to run some cat6 cable in the drop ceiling of my basement. I want to run 3x CAT6-CMP cables that from what i understand should not rest on ceiling tiles. From what i have read, the support needs to be attached to something other than…
skimon
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12
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4 answers

Mysterious cord running from wall. Safe?

My wife and I are preparing to sell our home and are discovering some weird things. Our home was built in 1958, so it is older. We found this in a corner that had some furniture in front of it. We are wondering What kind of wiring is this? Is it…
Josh Slate
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2 answers

What should I leave in the walls to allow me to fish future wires?

I'm working with a builder, and I did all of my own low-voltage wiring to open low voltage single gang plates. I have some runs that I want to be able to fish future wires through. Some of my runs are long, and others are short (a plate low and…
Baronz
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3 answers

Protecting out-of-wall wiring to transformer

I'm installing a 24V DC low voltage under-cabinet lighting system in my new kitchen. I had electricians run some 18AWG runs before the drywall went up from under every top kitchen cabinet, all terminating in one central location (under the kitchen…
peter
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3 answers

Can I mix AV and Power cables in the same raceway?

I've read that you cannot mix power cables and low-voltage cables (in my case: HDMI, CAT6, USB) in the same raceway (that plastic conduit that stick to the outside of the wall) But in every home I've been to, people have 1 raceway from their…
Slav
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7
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2 answers

Can I re-task a large conduit to hold a small conduit and low voltage cables?

To revisit our occasional questions on sneaking a low voltage cable into an AC mains conduit... Suppose you have a fairly large electrical conduit, say, 1-1/2". You also have some sort of continuous flexible electrical conduit, like smurf tube,…
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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Does it violate NEC to run an AC adapter's low-voltage output cable through a wall?

I want to mount an IP camera in a room. The power outlet and Ethernet ports are near the floor and I want to mount the camera near the ceiling. I was thinking of cutting through the wall at the top and bottom and adding a recessed low voltage cable…
vkapadia
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6
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2 answers

Does conduit terminated in backless gang boxes defeat the purpose of fireblocking?

My understanding for an ENT conduit (other than for future flexibility) was that it was fire-rated, to reduce the spread of fire/air-flow between floors. If the conduit went through fire-blocks or floors, holes would have to be sealed with…
Slav
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6
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3 answers

How do I properly bring in coax from the pole to the interior of my house?

As it is now, the coax comes off the pole and is anchored under the eave with a coax grounding block. From there, the local cable company stapled the coax down the siding, then horizontally around a corner for 30 or 40ft, and finally just drilled a…
John O
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5
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1 answer

Wiring home network patch panel (568A vs 568B)

I've bought a data patch panel in order to cleanup my home network wiring (which was a mess). Before wiring the patch panel I didn't read about the two wiring options: 568A and 568B. I've wired the patch panel as indicated (panel is 568A). I've…
Marc
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5
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1 answer

Is there an advantage to using EMT over Plastic Flexible Conduit for Low Voltage runs?

I am planning a structured wiring project. As AV wiring is always changing, I think it would be pertinent to run the low voltage wire in conduit. While discussing the idea with a friend (and hardware store salesmen), he told me that in his personal…
Elliott
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5
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2 answers

Can 18/2 CL2 barostat cable be used for speakers?

We're wiring our kitchen for a stereo speaker system. There was only enough 18 gauge speaker wire for one speaker, so the electricians used 18/2 barostat wire for the other. The speaker cable seems to have a thicker wrapping than the barostat…
Joe Shaw
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5
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1 answer

What is the correct way to wire a Relay In Box (or similar relay) that has low-voltage signal wires bundled with 120V wires?

It is my understanding that low-voltage wires can share a double-gang box with 120V wires, as long as they are isolated from each other by a permanent divider. I was looking at getting this relay to operate an inline duct booster fan using the 24V…
User41943
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5
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2 answers

Landscape lighting wire rough in for future, what wire, how deep? Other things to consider?

I am currently working on my landscaping and I have a concrete pour planned for the front paths. I'd like to rough in landscape wire for future lighting. What kind of wire should I use, how deep should I burry it? The lot is ~50' wide and the house…
Fresh Codemonger
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