Mineral insulated copper cables are used in a variety of applications due to their high fire resistance, superior electrical properties, and durability. Some of the main uses include:
- Fire safety systems: Fire alarm systems, emergency lighting systems, and other safety systems that need to continue operating during a fire often utilize MI cables due to their ability to ensure that crucial communication remains intact in extreme temperatures. Cable with a red outer coating is usually used for fire alarms.
- High-Temperature Environments: MI cables also find extensive use in high-temperature environments where conventional cables may fail, including furnaces, ovens, kilns, ceramic firing, iron and steel metallurgy, and even nuclear reactors where temperature resilience and nuclear radiation resistance are paramount. Furthermore, in construction and building services, MI cables are used for power supply circuits and heating systems.
- Critical power supply: In places where power supply is critical, such as hospitals, data centers, and airports, MI cable is often used due to its durability and reliability.
- High-rise buildings and public venues: MI cables are often used in high-rise buildings, theaters, schools, parking lots, and other public venues that require reliable emergency systems. In residential buildings, MI cable sometimes cab be used as service entrance cable.
- Transportation Systems: MICC cables are used in transportation systems, such as tunnels, airports, and underground railways. In a famous example, during a fire in the Channel Tunnel connecting Britain and France in 1996, installed mineral-insulated cables still provided emergency lighting for evacuating passengers even after the reinforced concrete and welded steel rails had been burned.
- Chemically active or wet environments: The waterproof and corrosion resistance nature of MI cables also makes them suitable for applications where moisture or chemically corrosive is a concern, such as in underground systems, outdoor lighting installations, shipbuilding, and chemical processing plants.
