Cables installed in building locations for environmental air that are not in plenums may be what type?

Cables installed in building locations for environmental air that are not in plenums may be classified as CL2 or CL3. These cable types are designed specifically for use in general building applications where they do not need to meet the stricter requirements of cables used in plenum spaces, which require greater fire resistance due to the higher risk of fire spread in those areas.

CL2 cables are suitable for residential and commercial applications and can carry power for low-voltage systems, while CL3 cables provide additional bandwidth and support a higher data rate over the same infrastructure. This classification makes them ideal for various installations, such as connecting low-voltage devices like alarms, networking equipment, and other communication systems in non-plenum spaces.

Essentially, the choice of CL2 or CL3 cables ensures compliance with National Electrical Code (NEC) regulations while maintaining safety standards for installations that don’t involve the more hazardous environments found in air-handling spaces, like air ducts or plenums.