ACE 313: ENGINEERING UTILITIES 1

AUGUST 2022

BUILDING ELECTRICAL MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

By: Don Roy R. Tampus
Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Chapter 18
-18.5

• Concealed Knob-and-Tube Wire

• Conductor Power Loss
• Conductor Ampacity
• Voltage Drops in Conductors

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Concealed Knob-and-Tube Wire
Concealed Knob-and-Tube Wire

What is Concealed Knob-and-Tube Wire?

Concealed knob-and-tube (K&T) wiring consists of an old style wiring technique using
insulated conductors strung between glass or porcelain knobs and tubes. In this wiring method, the
ungrounded (hot) wire is run along one side of the joist/stud bay and the neutral is run along the
other. To secure it to the wood, the wire is wrapped around ceramic knobs spaced every 18 in or so.
To penetrate a joist/stud and prevent abrasion, the wire is separated from the wood joist/stud by a
ceramic tube.
K&T wiring is installed in walls or ceilings so it is concealed from view when finish materials
such as plaster is applied. Loose or blown-in insulation in framing cavities can encase the knob-and-
tub conductors, causing heat build-up in walls or ceilings with insulation. Therefore, concealed
knob-and-tube wiring is not permitted in framing cavities where insulation presents this problem.

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Concealed Knob-and-Tube Wire

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Conductor Power Loss
Conductor Power Loss

Conductor loss is loss occurring in a conductor due to the flow of current.

Electromagnetic fields from the alternating currents produce voltages across conductors,
causing eddy currents to flow in them, which increases the conductor loss and operating
temperature.
Heat generated by current flow through a conductor results in a loss of power. This lost power is
referred to as power loss or line loss. Power loss (Ploss) in a conductor can be computed with
amperage (I) or voltage (V) and resistance (R) by the following formula:

P2R = V2 / R

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Conductor Power Loss

• Power loss is converted directly to heat. Power loss is equivalent to heat produced. The relationship
between power and heat is 1 W 3.413 Btu/hr. Heat produced (q) for a known power loss (Ploss) can be
computed by the following formula:

q = 3.413 Ploss

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Conductor
ConductorAmpacity
Ampacity

Ampacity is the maximum current that a conductor can carry continuously under the conditions of use
without exceeding its temperature rating. Current is measured in amperes or “amps.” You must use the correct
size wire for the current (load) requirement of the circuit to prevent the wire from overheating.

Electrical current flowing through a circuit produces heat from the resistance of the conductor material
to current flow. In building wiring systems, some heat is permitted as part of design. Excessive heating is
considered undesirable and unsafe because it will prematurely degrade conductor insulation, resulting in the
danger of short circuits and ground faults,.

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Conductor Ampacity

A conductor’s ampacity is the maximum current (in amperes) it can carry continuously without
exceeding the temperature limitations of the insulation and sheathing material. Simply, it is a conductor’s
maximum current-carrying capacity. Ampacity is based on the following:

• Wire thickness (thicker wires have larger cross-sectional areas and can carry more electrical current without
overheating)
• Type of conductor material (at a specific current and conductor size, aluminum produces more heat than
copper)
• Insulation and sheathing type (some insulation materials handle heat better than others)
• Number of conductors bundled in the sheathing or in proximity of one another (more conductors
concentrate heat in an area)
• Temperature and exposure of the conductor (e.g., buried, in free air, in attic, in crawl space, and so forth).

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Voltage
VoltageDrops
DropsininConductors
Conductors

Voltage drop (VD) occurs when the voltage at the end of a run of cable is lower than at the beginning.
Any length or size of wires will have some resistance, and running a current through this dc resistance will
cause the voltage to drop.

Because of power losses, voltage is reduced in a closed circuit that is, voltage across two conductors is
lower at the usage end than at the power supply end of the circuit. Appliances and equipment work
inefficiently on voltages lower than the voltage for which they were designed. In heating devices, the heat
output varies with the square of the voltage applied to the device. A 10% drop in the voltage results in a 19%
decrease in the heat output.

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Voltage Drops in Conductors

Voltage drop is directly proportional to power loss. This is true because current flow (I) through a
conductor will not change. And, with the power equation P EI, because power is lost (wattage available is
less), the voltage (E) must drop. Refer to Kirchhoff’s Current and Voltage Laws introduced in Chapter 17.
This is demonstrated in Figure 18.16, where voltage available to a 20 A load at an outlet 50 ft away (100 ft
two way wire length) from the panelboard is 116.8 V. This voltage is acceptable because it is in the range of
110 V to 130 V. However, for the 250 ft length (five times the length), voltage available at the end usage point
is 103.8 V, an unacceptable voltage.
Consider the power losses in a No. 12 AWG conductor in Example 18.3 (see Figure 18.16): A 100 ft length of
this No. 12 AWG conductor was found to have a power loss of about 65 W when carrying a current of 20 A.
Power available at the outlet is:
2400 W – 65 W = 2335 W

With the power equation (P EI) introduced in Chapter 17 and a current flow of 20 A, voltage available at the
point of usage is:
E = P/I = 2335 W/20 A = 116.8 V

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