Is it LSHF, LSOH, LSF or LFH? How about OHLS, LSZH, FRNC or RP? Confused? At FS Cables we’re here to help.

With the increasing demand for ‘safe’ buildings, more attention is being paid to the types of cables being installed, and the potential risks in the event of fire. It is now recognised that smoke and poisonous fumes are often a far greater risk to life and property than the fire itself. 

The main problem facing specifiers is the confusion over terminology and standards. Is LSHF better than LSOH? Is LSF the same as LSZH or RP? These terms are all widely used within the cable industry.

PVC: problems and perils

When standard PVC burns it gives off a number of poisonous gases in particular hydrogen chloride (HCl), which, when combined with moisture forms hydrochloric acid.

The damage caused by burning PVC is two-fold; firstly, dense smoke will obscure exit routes with fumes choking people. The second and less recognised problem is that the acid gas produced in the fire permeates electronic equipment, settling on and corroding printed circuit boards and over a period of time can cause random, unpredictable failure.

This won’t just affect computers, it will also damage security/access control equipment, building management systems, lifts and just about anything else with a circuit board. The fire may have been extinguished within minutes with no great risk to life but the damage to equipment may be colossal.

Reducing the risk – the options

There has been a shift in recent years to using newly developed compounds that emit less of the harmful gases, particularly halogens, but still perform well in other respects.

The cheapest alternatives are modified PVC’s - these are termed RP (Reduced Propagation) or in some cases LSF (Low Smoke and Fume). The difficulty for the cable buyer is that there are no specific standards for LSF cables. Ordinary PVC emits approximately 28% HCl, whilst modified PVC could give off a massive 22% HCl and still be sold as LSF.

If you want to be absolutely certain of what you are installing you should insist on a cable that uses insulation and sheathing materials that do not emit any Halogens and have reduced smoke emission properties. These are termed LSHF (Low Smoke Halogen Free), LS0H, LSZH (Low Smoke Zero Halogen) or sometimes OHLS (Zero Halogen Low Smoke).

These products must emit no more than 0.5% HCl.

Also, don’t accept standard PVC cables over-sheathed with an LSHF jacket or cables with PVC insulation. When the jacket burns through, the PVC inner sheath or insulation will give off poisonous gases in just the same way as if the LSHF jacket wasn’t there!

Another common misunderstanding is that LSF or LSHF cable is also flame retardant.  This is not necessarily true. The cables may spread the fire even though minimal fumes are being emitted. In mainland Europe, polyurethane is popular as it emits very low levels of smoke and fumes. Unfortunately in its standard form it burns ferociously and can drip burning material onto anything below with the potential to rapidly spread the fire. There has been a recent move towards flame retardant varieties known as FRNC (Flame Retardant Non-Corrosive).

Counting the costs

As with most developing products, the durability of new safer compounds is improving all the time with cost penalties reducing as the market grows. LSHF, LSOH compounds are approximately 2 - 3 times more expensive than PVC and many are considerably slower to extrude, with resulting production costs being substantially greater. Combine this with the much smaller demand for LSHF, OHLS cable and you can begin to appreciate why they cost more.

However as the market grows the prices will fall. Standard products such as conduit wiring 6491 and booklet-armoured cables are now more readily available in Low Smoke Halogen Free versions than PVC in some areas.

Why confusion occurs

To add to the confusion, some power cables, in particular BS6724, are LSZH, Low Smoke Zero Halogen. However, some manufacturers class and even print them as LSF. This also extends to some BS5308 cables.

Great caution is needed when buying or specifying data cables particularly American or European. Belden style data cables are now widely used in buildings for security, access control and building management systems.

Specifying – the guidelines

First and foremost be sure to get written confirmation that the cable is halogen free, which means both insulation and sheath. Don’t accept terms like LSF as they can be meaningless. Also confirm the availability of the product and take into account the manufacturing times and minimum production quantities should it be a non-stock item.

Contractors are increasingly being asked to complete jobs within a month, when the production time to make the cable may be 6 – 8 weeks or longer!

Appropriately specified, most of the popular types are stocked in Low Smoke Halogen Free, LSZH alternatives, manufactured to extremely high standards but with none of the risks associated with standard PVC cables. A specialist distributor should be able to provide the product with the appropriate certificate of conformity.

The ultimate LSHF non-combustible cable with a tough but highly flexible jacket with good ageing characteristics and resistance to water, oil and solvents is still to be developed.

However with careful selection the most important factors can normally be catered for.

At FSC our LSHF cables are Low Smoke Halogen Free throughout. Of the very few LSF cables we sell, these should be viewed as only slightly better than PVC in the event of fire.