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Made in the USA - ARRA, Buy American, and getting the right copper wire

Are you looking for information on Kris Tech's status as an American manufacturer? If so, you can visit our website.

Passed last February, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was full of provisions to preserve and create jobs, invest in infrastructure, as well as energy efficiency and science, offer assistance to the unemployed, and stabilize the State and local economies.

Suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and contractors all have to consider what this means if they're working on any ARRA-funded project.  As a copper wire manufacturer, we certainly have to think about this, and have gotten plenty of questions from our customers about "made in america."

There's a lot of information out there on the subject, and sometimes it can be difficult to sort through.

The portion of the ARRA that we're interested in is the Buy American Provision Section 1605.   To start off, it is a combination of two already-existing pieces of legislation: the Buy America Act of 1933 and the Buy American law of 1964.

Buy American Act of 1933

• Applies only to "US government procurements and construction projects" - or when the federal government directly buys products or itself builds public buildings or works that are followed-through on behalf of a public authority, as covered by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).
• Requires that any manufactured good used in these projects must be assembled in the US with US and foreign material and have more than 51% of their content produced in the US.

Buy America law of 1964

• Applies mostly to Federal Transit Authority (FTA) grants given to states and localities.
• Address the use of manufactured goods and construction materials components (parts and supplies incorporated directly into the final manufactured product or construction material).
• Requires that 100% of the components mest be made in the US for it to qualify. This is much more stringent than the Buy America Act.
  

Section 1605 of the ARRA - the Buy American Provision - brings aspects of both of these past laws together. It states the no funds given under this Act can be used for a public building or public works project (anything federally funded, as well as all state or locally-funded projects) unless "all iron, steel, and manufactured goods used...are produced in the US."

FAR Subpart 25.6, which implements Section 1605 above, says that "there is no requirement with regard to the origin of components or subcomponents in other manufactured construction material, as long as the manufacture of the construction material occurs in the United States."

What does all this mean?  Where are the lines drawn?

Foley & Lardner Law Firm gives a good rundown of certain parts we're concerned about:

"Subpart 25.6 curiously avoids defining precisely what is required for manufactured construction material to be considered "produced" or "manufactured" in the United States. But given Subpart 25.6's definition of "manufacturing," by implication construction material will be considered "produced/manufactured" in the United States when it results from processing into a specific form and shape or combining of raw material into a property different from the individual raw materials, and that processing/combining occurs in the United States.....Even more important, Subpart 25.6 specifically provides that there is no component or subcomponent origin requirement for domestic "manufacturing" status. Thus, for purposes of the ARRA, construction material will acquire domestic origin status when manufactured in the United States without regard to the origin of its components."

Keep in mind, there are stricter guidelines for some projects under the FTA and FHA, as they've decided to comply with the existing Buy America law for all ARRA grants, which makes it easier for them to qualify projects. Therefore, they go by the "100% domestic" requirements.

What all of this means to us is that we'll need to work closely with our suppliers and our customers to make sure the requirements are met appropriately on any ARRA-funded project.

The government keeps information on the ARRA up-to-date if you're interested.  Or you can read the entire text of the Act.

 

Photo credit: WFAE

Solar Panel Wire: Photovoltaic Wire (PV Wire) vs USE-2 Wire

The Underwriters Laboratories (UL) recently put out a brief overview of the solar panel market and the copper wire requirements needed to serve that industry.

We took some time to brush up on the current standards for our own PV wire products, and the distinction between PV wire and USE-2 wire in photovoltaic modules.  We thought you might be interested.

In summary, UL says "PV wire has superior sunlight resistance and low-temperature flexibility in addition to a thicker insulation or jacket and a proven level of flame resistance." 

Overall, only wires or cables highlighted in the National Electric Code (NEC) can be installed in modules that will be sold in the US.

Requirements for North American PV module interconnecting wires

• Single-conductor Type USE-2 cable and photovoltaic (PV) wire are both ok to use in exposed outdoor installations.
• Because these installations are usually found in more extreme environmental conditions, the insulation for these conductors must be sunlight resistant and rated for wet conditions, and must be able to handle temperatures of 90°C or higher.

The main differences between PV wire and USE-2 wire

• USAGE
• PV wire is solely used for interconnecting PV modules, and was developed to be able to handle 90°C in wet conditions and 150°C in dry conditions.
  
• USE-2 wire is usually used for connecting terminals of service equipment, and is mostly found underground, and is therefore only rated to handle 90°C in wet or dry conditions.
• Both can be UL rated at 600V.  However, PV wire can also be rated 1000V or 2000V if needed.
• Both wires can be used in grounded PV arrays, but only PV wire can be used in ungrounded ones.
• CONSTRUCTION
• PV wires have thicker insulation for added protection.
• USE-2 is often used in places that don't require a high level of movement out of the wire, and can therefore be made out of either stranded or solid conductors.  However, since PV wire is used only in solar panels, it needs to be flexible, so is only made from stranded wires.
• The smallest size available for USE-2 wire is 14 AWG, however PV can get as small as 18 AWG.
• TESTING
• PV wires must go through a flame test, USE-2 does not (since it isn't usually installed in places where flames would be found). On the other hand, USE-2 must got through various abuse tests that PV wires aren't subject to.
• PV wire must go through more strict sunlight resistant tests.

You can find out more about the solar market on the first page of the report, "Designing UL Compliant Photovoltaic Wire" (.pdf format).

To learn more about our solar products, visit our USE-2 page and our Photovoltaic wire page.

 Photo Credit: Wayne National Forest

 

Wire & Cable Abbreviations: Making sense of the letters

If you work anything like we do around here, you've probably gotten into the habit of using all the wire acronyms in the book, but probably haven't spent a ton of time reflecting on what they mean in a while.

Well, we opened up our old manuals again to refresh our memories, and thought we'd remind everyone else while we were at it.

Type            Description

T                 Thermoplastic insulation
H                 75­°C
HH               90°C
N                 Nylon jacket
W                Moisture resistant
R                 Rubber insulation
U                 Underground use
USE             Underground Service Entrance
UF               Undergaround Feeder
SE               Service Entrance
-2               90°C and wet
X                Cross-linked polyethylene

 

Let's test it out:

RHW: Rubber insulated, moisture resistant, good up to 75°C

USE-2: Underground Service Entrance wire that can stand wet environments up to 90°C

XHHW:  Cross-linked polyethylene insulation, moisture resistant and good up to 90°C

 

Photo credit: Tom Magliery

Types of Material Used for Wire Insulation

The insulating materials commonly used to cover copper wire (and other) electrical conductors fall into two broad classes: Thermoplastic and Thermoset.

What's the difference?

If we take a look at our Fundamentals of Rome Wire and Cable Manual (yes, it's from a long time ago but yes, it's still entirely applicable), we have the following descriptions:

Thermoplastic:This material is one that will soften and even melt when exposed to a sufficiently high temperature.  In other words, when the material is originally componded, it becomes relatively hard yet pliable, much like most plastics we encounter in our daily lives.  However, if it is exposed to high temperature at some future time, it softens and melts. The major reason for selecting a thermoplastic material is because it is the most economical type of insulation.

Some of the commonly used thermoplastic insulations used nowadays:

• PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)
• PE (Polyethylene)
  
• HMWPE
• LLDPE
  
• ECTFE
• PVDF
• Nylon
  

Thermoset: This material, on the other hand, does not soften when exposed to high temperatures.  Once it is compounded and cured, it becomes "rubbery" and retains its properties even when exposed to high temperatures....Thermoset insulations are usually used where the wire or cable will be exposed to high temperatures.

Some thermoset insulations often used are:

• XLPE
• XHHW-2
• RHW-2
• RHH

 

Photo credit: John

Tracer or Locating Wire vs THHN for Direct Burial Cables

We found this article on an old experiment we did in 1993, but the information still applies.

 [This is more or less the original text from 1993!]

Tracer Wire - also know as Locating Wire - is without question underrated and underused. Used mainly by Gas, Water, Fiber Optic, and Sanitation companies, its main use is for locating buried plastic pipes and fiber optics.

Unfortunately, a lot of contractors will mistakenly use THHN for this function, although you'll see it's a poor choice for many reasons.

Many times, plastic pipes or fiber optics are buried underground to connect to houses and buildings.  They're used because of their strong flexibility under adverse conditions such as excess heat or cold, rainstorms, etc.

When one of these is used underground, you've got to have a wire that's durable, flexible, and has strong insulation next to the plastic pipe or fiber optics in case you ever need to locate them (hence the name Locating Wire).  For instance, if there was a gas leak, the gas company needs to dig up the pipe in order to find the exact location of the problem.

Here's where THHN is problematic. THHN doesn't have the insulation necessary to hold up over time. Typical underground installations are expected to last up to 30 years. Nylon, the main covering of THHN, is very susceptible to water and moisture, causing additional breakdowns in the wiring under adverse conditions.

This takes a toll on THHN, which starts to wear down and erode, becoming more-or-less useless over the course of several years (fewer years than you'd like). In all likelihood, THHN will often need to be replaced once or even twice over the course of a building project's life span.

The solution?  Tracer Wire.

With 30 to 45 mils of Polyethylene, Tracer Wire has all the flexibility of THHN, but with far better insulation and protection against underground conditions. Therefore, when the going gets tough on underground installation, Tracer Wire will still be there in the end.

Polyethylene offers a very strong insulation, often double or even triple that of THHN, so it can withstand even the toughest of underground conditions. Just as important, companies will save thousands of dollars and hundreds of valuable labor hours because they won't have to dig up and replace Tracer/Locating Wire the way they will with THHN.

The only real case for using THHN for direct burial (even thought it isn't rated for it) is that it's inexpensive.  But when you consider future costs to repair and replace it, long-terml costs often end up skyrocketing.

In addition, Tracer Wire/Locating Wire is much more affordable than a lot of people think. Even with all the added benefits, Tracer Wire costs only a touch more than THHN, with a huge upside in terms of increased insulation, heat-resistance, and durability.

Tracer Wire saves Fiber Optic, Gas, Water, or Sanitation companies thousands of dollars in the replacement of wire, and also valuable time and energy in the form of labor hours and wasted material. With Tracer Wire's increased durability over 30+ years in an underground setting, it is by far the better choice long-term for any underground wiring project you might undertake.