The causes of power cable heating and its consequences

When the power cable passes a certain load current, it will definitely heat up. As the load current increases, the temperature of the cable surface will be higher. If it is not processed in time, the consequences can be imagined. For example, PVC cable is considered to have a core temperature of 70 degrees as the upper limit, and the surface temperature is 5 to 10 degrees lower. Therefore, the cable surface temperature is basically safe below 60 degrees. From the viewpoint of power supply maintenance, of course, the lower the temperature, the better.

The causes of power cable heating and its consequences during operation are as follows:

1. The power cable conductor resistance doesn’t meet the requirements, which lead to the power cable to generate heat during operation.

2. The power cable selection type is improper, which causes the conductor cross section smaller. During operation,it will overload. After long time operation, the heat generation and dissipation are unbalanced, which cause heat generation.

3. The insulation material is not good, resulting in the insulation resistance small. So during operation, will cause heat generation.

If the power cable is heated and couldn’t deal it timely, the insulation will be break down after continuous operation. Which may causes short-circuit trip, even cause a fire.