4 Differences Between a UF Electric Wire and Romex Cable

If you are looking at shielded cable options for your electrical wiring, you will usually have a choice between Romex cable and UF electric wire cable for your project. Although there are some similarities in the 2 types of electrical wiring, there are some significant differences as well. Therefore, this article will describe some of those differences and why you should know about them.

Shielding Protection

The most significant difference between Romex cable and UF electric wire is the type of shielding that is used. Although Romex cable is covered with a rubber or hard plastic protective covering on the outside of the wiring. The strands of wire themselves are usually protected with little more than a paper wrapper. On the other hand, UF cable is not only protected on the outside of the wiring, each individual wire is also enclosed in a protective sheath. This is in addition to the regular insulation that is installed on the thin gauge electrical wire. Therefore, UF electrical wiring offers much better shielding protection than does the Romex type.

Indoor and Outdoor Usage

Almost all municipalities and local building inspectors restrict the use of Romex wire cable to interior projects. That means that the Romex cable cannot be used to wire outdoor outlets, fixtures or other items that are used on the exterior of the home. On the other hand, UF electrical wire is approved for use in most areas as outdoor fixture and electrical wire.

UF cable can even be buried underground without a need for electrical conduit or any other type of protective covering. This is because of the thick rubber sheathing that is used as well as individuals sheathing for each electrical wire. Of course, UF cable can also be used inside the home. With that in mind, if you have a simple DIY project inside the home, Romex cable is fine. If you need to wire something on the outside of your home, you need to choose the UF cable wire.

Need for Conduit

As mentioned above, UF electrical wire does not require the use of conduit or any other type of protective covering. In most cases, this also applies to interior wiring projects as well. Romex cable may be required to be protected by conduit in some situations.

While Romex wiring may be used without conduit in many areas, there are some parts of the country where the local building inspector will require that you place a Romex wiring inside a piece of conduit. So, if you want to avoid conduit altogether you should choose UF electrical cable. In fact, if you consider the cost of conduit as well as Romex cable, purchasing UF wire makes a better choice when trying to save money.

Cost Difference

Generally speaking, there is about a 15 to 20% price difference between the cost of Romex cable and more expensive UF electrical wire. However, if you consider that UF cable has better shielding, doesn't require conduit, and is much more readily accepted by local building inspectors, the small price difference should be considered negligible.