Thermoplastic-sheathed cable
type of electrical cable for building wiring
A thermoplastic-sheathed cable (TPS) consists of a toughened outer sheath of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) thermoplastic, covering one or more individual annealed copper conductors, themselves insulated with PVC. This type of wiring is commonly used for residential and light commercial construction in many countries. The flat version of the cable, with two insulated conductors and an uninsulated earth conductor (all within the outer sheath), is referred to as twin and earth. In mainland Europe, a round equivalent is more common.
Description
Each of the current carrying conductors in the "core" is insulated by an individual thermoplastic sheath, coloured to indicate the purpose of the conductor concerned. The protective earth conductor may also be covered with green/yellow (or green only) insulation, although, in some countries, this conductor may be left as bare copper. With cables where the current-carrying conductors are of a large cross sectional area (CSA), the protective earth conductor may be smaller, with a lower continuous current carrying capacity. The conductors used may be solid in cross section or multi-stranded.
The type of thermoplastic, the dimensions of the conductors and the colour of their individual insulation (if any) are specified by the regulatory bodies in the various countries concerned.
Thermoplastic-sheathed cable is more vulnerable to rodent damage and accidental mechanical damage than wiring within electrical conduit or armoured cable.
Australia and New Zealand
In Australia and New Zealand, the colour of the external sheath is usually white for flat TPS or orange for circular TPS but several other colours are available.
“Thermoplastic-sheathed cable” enters the record as type of electrical cable for building wiring. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Thermoplastic-sheathed, cable and type can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7783227. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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