The electrical cable section: What electrical cable should I buy for my lamp?

Decorative textile electrical cable

The electrical cable is one of the most important and common elements when manufacturing a lamp. Electrical cables, regardless of their type, always have a structure consisting of the conductive wires, the individual plastic cover, and the outer plastic cover. In the case of decorative cables, all of this is also covered by a textile layer that can have different finishes and colors.

To understand the characteristics of an electrical cable and its performance, we need to understand what the "section" of that cable means. The section of the electrical cable typically uses this type of nomenclature: "2 x 0.5 mm2", "3 x 0.75 mm2" or "2 x 1.5 mm2". These are just a few examples, but there are many more.

A technical explanation

Let's explain what this expression refers to. To begin with, we have the first number. This number (e.g. "2") indicates the number of cables that make up our electrical cable. In this case, if we look inside the electrical cable, we will see that it consists of 2 inner cables (usually one brown and one blue). In the case of a section 3 x 0.75 mm2, that electrical cable will be formed by three inner cables, usually one brown, one blue, and a third yellow one.

Let's explain what the second term refers to, the square millimeters (mm2). This refers to the thickness of each of those cables. In the example of 2 x 0.75mm2, we understand that it is an electrical cable formed by 2 inner cables, each of which has a section (or area) of 0.75mm2. Another example, an electrical cable of 3 x 1 mm2, in which the interior is composed of three cables, each of which has a section or an area of 1mm2.

The thickness of the cables that make up an electrical cable has a functional purpose. The larger the section of a cable, the more performance it will offer. Some of these are:

1- A larger section will support more current (amperes)
2- A larger section will support more power (watts)

We recommend that you review the photograph attached to this article on our lighting advice blog. In that diagram, you can see the usual performance of electrical cables depending on the cable section.

In the case at hand, to manufacture a lamp, we can use cables of low section, as the use we will give to that cable will be of low performance, especially if we use LED bulbs. For example, if we are going to create a lamp that will use a 15W bulb, a cable with a section of 2 x 0.75 mm2 will be more than enough. Almost all the cables we offer are precisely of this section.

The 3-wire cables (e.g. 3 x 0.75 mm2) are cables used to connect the grounding of the installation.

You can see all our textile and decorative electrical cables here. If you have any doubts about electrical cables, contact us through our usual channels