VV PVC Insulated PVC Sheathed Power Cable
VV-0.6-1kV
Both layers in PVC: the economical 0.6/1 kV build for circuits whose load is known, stable and well inside a 70 °C conductor limit.
PVC Insulated Power Cable
PVC insulation has not disappeared from low-voltage distribution; it has retreated to the applications where its limits do not bind. It is a thermoplastic, so above roughly 70 °C c
PVC insulation has not disappeared from low-voltage distribution; it has retreated to the applications where its limits do not bind. It is a thermoplastic, so above roughly 70 °C continuous conductor temperature it softens under compression, and that ceiling is written into IEC 60502-1: 70 °C continuous, 160 °C for up to 5 s under short circuit, against 90 °C and 250 °C for XLPE. The consequence is real and quantifiable, roughly 20 % less usable current from an identical copper section.
We sell it anyway, deliberately, and we say plainly where it belongs. PVC costs less per metre, it is intrinsically flame-retardant without added fillers, it strips cleanly for termination, and it tolerates repeated handling better than cross-linked compounds during fit-out work. Those properties win on lightly loaded building distribution, temporary supplies, and projects where the load profile is fixed and understood. Voltcore will always show the XLPE alternative side by side so the comparison is made on ampacity and life rather than on unit price alone.
4 constructions in PVC Insulated Power Cable
VV22 PVC Insulated Steel Tape Armoured Cable
VV22-0.6-1kV
Armoured burial protection at PVC cost — the right answer when the route needs armour but the load does not need 90 °C insulation.
VLV Aluminium Conductor PVC Power Cable
VLV-0.6-1kV
The lowest cost per metre in the range: aluminium conductor and PVC insulation, for fixed-duty circuits where both savings stack.
300/500 V PVC Flexible Round Building Mains Cable
RVV-300-500V
Fine-stranded Class 5 copper in a flexible round PVC sheath: the 300/500 V lead for building mains connections, movable plant and appliance supply.
VV or YJV: put the numbers next to each other before ordering
The comparison has three axes: thermal rating, longevity under overload, and cost. At equal cross-section, VV loses the first two and wins the third. Take 4-core 95 mm²: roughly 215 A in air at 30 °C for PVC against about 260 A for XLPE, from the same 95 mm² of copper. If your feeder will never exceed the PVC figure, you have paid nothing for nothing by buying XLPE.
The deciding question is whether the loading is known and stable. A lighting distribution board in a finished office, a fixed pump set at known duty, a residential riser sized for a defined occupancy: all are PVC-suitable. A feeder into a plant that will add production lines, or one where the utility rates industrial growth, deserves the 20 % headroom XLPE gives.
- PVC: 70 °C continuous, 160 °C short circuit, lower cost per metre
- XLPE: 90 °C continuous, 250 °C short circuit, roughly 20 % more current
- Both are available to IEC 60502-1 with identical dimensions
- Ask for both quotations when the future load is uncertain
Where PVC is genuinely the better engineering choice
Cost is not the only argument. PVC insulation is naturally self-extinguishing and many compounds meet IEC 60332-1 without additional flame-retardant filler, which keeps the material consistent batch to batch. It also has lower dielectric loss at 1 kV than some would expect, though well above XLPE, and it accepts bending and re-bending on site more forgivingly than cross-linked materials.
PVC-insulated building mains and flexible round cable also succeed where termination speed governs. Electricians strip PVC faster and with less risk of nicking the conductor, and it is compatible with the general-purpose glands, lugs and trunking already on site. For refurbishment projects matching existing PVC installations, mixing in XLPE can create different bending and termination practices within one board.
Specifying armoured PVC cable without inheriting the thermal limit
VV22 keeps the PVC insulation of VV and adds steel tape armour, so crush performance and burial suitability match YJV22 while the conductor temperature limit stays at 70 °C. That makes it a poor choice for a heavily loaded buried feeder, where the soil restricts cooling further and the insulation has already lost 20 % of the thermal headroom.
Where the route is buried and loaded, XLPE construction is usually the right answer regardless of budget. Where the route is buried but lightly loaded — site lighting, irrigation pumps, perimeter supplies — VV22 performs well. Voltcore runs both constructions on the same armouring line, so a single order can mix VV22 and YJV22 sizes with no change to the procurement process.
- VV22: fine for lightly loaded buried circuits and small distribution
- YJV22: correct choice where burial load and current are both significant
- Confirm derating factors for soil thermal resistivity above 2.5 K m per W
Request pricing across PVC Insulated Power Cable
Include cross-section, core count, voltage grade, route length and installation method — those five determine price more than anything else on the page.
- Engineer-reviewed before pricing
- Reference drawings issued with the quotation
- Free sample up to free sample up to 5 m