500 ft. Genesis WG-11025805

Genesis 22-gauge, 2-conductor stranded cable is good for many alarm system applications. At 22 AWG, stranded wire is flexible and easy to work with. As a smaller gauge wire, it has a lower capacity to transmit current over distance. So, be sure to check the wiring specs for your project.

What is 2-conductor wire? It is an outer sheath, which in this case is green, with two (2) separate, individually coated wires, or conductors, running inside of it. You can have shielded or unshielded cabling. Shielded cabling has a metal shield, usually braided, that runs between the outer sheath and the two (2) inner conductors. This helps to prevent electrical interference to or from this wire run. This particular product is unshielded, so it lacks this extra layer of protection.

The plastic coating on the two (2) inner conductors helps to differentiate which conductor is which on long wire runs. One of these wires is coated in red, while the other is coated in black. This is perfect for running power to low-voltage equipment as the red conductor can be used to symbolize positive (+) and the black conductor can be used to symbolize the negative (-) connection. Having color-coded wire helps to prevent an accidental polarity reversal, which can cause damage to sensitive electronics.

This type of wire is excellent for providing connections between an alarm system and un-powered sensors. This includes door contacts, heat detectors, and some environmental sensors. Powered devices, such as motion detectors and glass break detectors require 4-conductors. It is best to use 4-conductor cabling for these devices, although you can double up 2-conductor cabling. However, doing this can cause confusion as you would then have multiple wire conductors with the same color coating. This product is also excellent for other low-voltage applications such as audio wiring. It is rated for indoor use but does offer special UV protection from sunlight.

The term "stranded" means that instead of a solid copper wire, there are numerous, tiny copper strands that together make up each 22 AWG conductor. Stranded wire is easier to work with than solid copper. It has a greater ability to bend without breaking and is less likely to "kink" when pulling wire. This particular box contains a 500' (152m) length of 22/2 AWG wire.