What Alarm Cable is Best?

10 Jul 2015

There are many different types of alarm cable, and many different materials used to make them. But which is best suited to your needs?

The financial, practical, and emotional damage cause by a break-in at domestic or business premises can be significant. We hope it will never happen to us, but most people prefer to fit a decent intruder alarm system to their home or offices. Surveys show the vast majority of would-be intruders are put off by an apparently operational and well-maintained alarm system, but which cable should you use to connect it?

What alarm cable to use is usually the last thing most people consider when installing any system. However, it is vital that the best quality alarm cable is used to maintain system integrity. The best cable has Webro written all over it, and we make enough cable each year to go around the world, twice. We have a range of alarm cable options, to suit all needs and price points; Copper Alarm Cable Copper cable has traditionally been the choice for alarm cable, although the increase in the price of copper has led to alternatives such as Cabnex (see below) being used as they have less actual copper content. Webro alarm cables are available from 4-30 cores as standard, but additional options are available on request. The amount of cores required will depend upon the length of the cable run, and the amount of items such as external sounders and keypads on the system. It is worth noting, that coaxial alarm cable can be affected by outside sources of interference, (the same as with coaxial cable used for any other purpose). Screened Alarm Cable Screened Alarm Cable is typically where RF interface or spurious signals may lead to false alarms or erosion of data. An earth drain wire is present along the entire length of the cable providing shield continuity and a convenient point at the control panel for earthing. Cabnex (Copper-Clad) Alarm Cable Webro Cabnex uses flexible tinned and copper-clad aluminium wire with PVC insulation and sheathing. LSF (Low Smoke & Fume) and LSNH (Low Smoke No Halogen) options are also available. The lower copper content makes this cable a cheaper option, but opinions are mixed as to whether the relative drop in price is worth the loss of performance. Fibre-Optic Alarm Cable Fibre can sometimes be a better bet for alarm cabling, although many still do not share this opinion, citing it as a far too expensive option. Copper-based cabling can be ineffective over long distances (compared to fibre), so fibre is better suited to longer alarm cable runs. Fibre has significantly improved bandwidth, allowing far more devices (such as CCTV cameras) to be added in to the system. Using fibre also means that the system can be relatively ‘future-proofed’ allowing for greater expansion at a later date. Fibre is also relatively immune to outside interference, so a new fibre alarm system can be installed much closer to existing cabling than a copper-based one could. Our standard range of unscreened, screened and underground coaxial alarm cables are all manufactured with copper conductors and comply with BS 4737 Section 3.30 (Specification for PVC insulated cables for interconnecting wiring). Additionally, low smoke and fume (LSF),low smoke zero halogen (LSZH) and underground (UG) variants are all available. We also stock a range of fibre-optic cableoptions suitable for alarm and CCTV use. No matter what alarm cable you choose, you can be sure that the best cables have ‘Webro’ written all over them.