Can I use this under vinyl siding on a house in New England? Siding should keep wire dry. Temperatures could vary from tops of 100 F to 0 F.

Question

Can I use this under vinyl siding on a house in New England? Siding should keep wire dry.  Temperatures could vary from tops of 100  F to  0 F.

Accepted Answer

Technically, yes you should be able to use this cable for an outdoor run, and it will probably work fine, at least for a while depending on conditions.  In reality though, you should opt for outdoor rated cable which is designed to weather the elements, but at a higher price-point.

The hitches you might run into over time include:

The PVC jacket of the cable is susceptible to the elements, in particular, to the UV energy of sunlight - though your plan of placing the cable under the vinyl should largely negate that.  However, I don't know the UV properties of vinyl, so my assumption could also be wrong, but I think I am probably correct.

Beyond that, when you do run it, the cable should be supported at multiple points along the run so the whole length isn't just hanging slack, causing stress at the ends of the cable.  The cable should also be left loose enough between each support point so it has enough slack to account for expansion and contraction that will happen over time due to the temperature swings it will have to deal with.  If the cable is supported nicely, but still slack enough so it won't be stressed during temp changes, the cable should be fine.

The only other thing to keep in mind is that any outdoor cable increases the possibility for lightning strikes - even if it is placed under the vinyl siding.  It isn't something I have seen happen often, but it goes without saying that I have seen a couple instances, so keep that in mind.  Odds are it will never happen to you, but there is always that chance in case you might want to take precautions.

That's pretty much it, I hope this answer was informative and helpful.  Good luck with your networking project. :)

Questions & Answers