ECN Forum Forums Code Related Discussion NEC & other Code issues 120 vac and 24vdc in same conduit

If I recall, there is the notion of "protecting from physical abrasion or damage" or something like that, I'm wondering at what point normal landscaping / groundskeeping activities, moving water hoses around in the gardens, etc, could become a potential "cause" for the need to protect these wires in some fashion? Especially the ones zip-tied to suction line insulation that at some point degrades and leaves the wires hanging loose...

But if the low voltages on the conductors are by design (as bounded by the NEC requirements and UL type listings) not capable to ignite or cause physical electric shock, perhaps under the NEC there just isn't any concern for "loss of AC" by damage to the wire?

I'm going to have to retract what I said about Class 2 cables being used outdoors.

I dug out my UL White Book and under the heading "Power-Limited Circuit Cable (QPTZ)" , the basic listing only covers use "within" buildings. Since that means inside, cables outside would need to be marked "wet location" and to me, that would apply even if the cable is installed in a raceway (see def. of wet location).

That said, there are probably millions of installations of CL2 cable exposed to the weather (my air conditioner is one of them) and of the ones I've seen, I've never seen damaged jackets or bare conductors.

I agree that because of the low voltage and energy involved that there is little chance of shock or fire.

Learning about NEC requirments for low voltage instrument and BAS wiring as been a very interesting exercise.