BS 5467 covers thermosetting-insulated armoured cables intended for fixed installations — industrial wiring, main distribution, auxiliary control and similar circuits where there is a real risk of mechanical damage and some form of protection is required. It defines the dimensions, not just the materials: conductor class, insulation thickness, bedding, armour wire diameter, sheath thickness and the test regime all sit inside the standard.
The practical consequence is that a cable "to BS 5467" has a measurable sheath thickness and a measurable armour wire size. Two suppliers quoting "BS 5467" at widely different prices are usually not quoting the same amount of copper or the same wall of armour. That is where the comparison should start — not at the price per metre.
Structure and ratings above are the values the standard defines. Dimensional tables — overall diameter, net weight, drum length — are issued per size at quotation, because that is where a quote is won or lost.
Letters before the size are a construction recipe, not a brand. Once you can read them you can tell from a single line on a BOQ whether you have been offered the cable you asked for.
| Element | Means | What to check |
|---|---|---|
N | Copper conductor | Aluminium constructions carry a different prefix — a common source of "cheaper" comparisons that are not comparable. |
2X | XLPE insulation, 90 °C class | Confirms thermosetting, not PVC. PVC-insulated equivalents are a 70 °C product. |
R | Round steel wire armour (SWA) | Steel tape (STA) is a different letter and a different cable — cheaper, and not a like-for-like swap. |
Y | PVC outer sheath | Black is standard. UV-stabilised sheath is worth specifying for Gulf outdoor runs. |
H | Halogen-free outer sheath (LSZH) | This is what turns an N2XRY into an N2XRH — the BS 6724 construction. |
So N2XRY = copper / XLPE / steel wire armour / PVC — the BS 5467 construction. N2XRH = the same stack with a halogen-free sheath — the BS 6724 construction. See BS 6724 →
Six layers, each with a job. When a cable fails an inspection or a site test, the cause is almost always one specific layer being thinner or cheaper than the standard called for.
| Layer | Material | Function |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Conductor | Annealed copper, Class 2 stranded / BS EN 60228 | Current carrying. Class 2 stranded is the fixed-installation norm; Class 1 solid available at small sizes. |
| 2 · Insulation | XLPE | Dielectric separation and thermal rating. Sets the 90 °C continuous limit. |
| 3 · Filler | Non-hygroscopic compound | Fills the interstices so the core bundle stays round and the armour wraps evenly. |
| 4 · Bedding | PVC | Sits between cores and armour. Its job is to stop the armour wires abrading the insulation. |
| 5 · Armour | Galvanised steel wire, concentric layer | Resists crushing, impact, tensile pull during installation, and rodent attack. This is the layer that permits direct burial. |
| 6 · Outer sheath | PVC, black | Seals against moisture, soil corrosion and UV. The last barrier before the armour corrodes. |
Typical Gulf practice runs the earth as a separate green/yellow core rather than as the armour. If the drawing shows 4 C + E, the enquiry is a 5-core cable — say it explicitly, because it changes both the price and the drum size.
Most requests for BS 5467 cable arrive as "need LV armoured cable, best price". That cannot be priced accurately by anyone. Add these five lines and the answer you get back is comparable line for line against any other supplier.
4 C × 300 mm² ← cores and size
XLPE / SWA / PVC ← insulation / armour / sheath
600/1000 V ← voltage class
Class 2 stranded copper ← conductor class
to BS 5467 ← the standard, by number
A quotation that satisfies the standard and a quotation that satisfies the site are not always the same document. Three places this bites:
01 · SIZE VS DRAWING
A 4 × 300 mm² is at the top of the range we hold in our core programme. Larger sections are quotable but the lead time is a different conversation — ask early rather than late.
02 · REDUCED NEUTRAL
A 4 C × 300 + 1 × 150 is not a 5-core cable and not priced like one. Useful on balanced three-phase loads; wrong where single-phase loads are unbalanced.
03 · DRUM LENGTH
Manufacturing runs come in drum lengths. A request for an odd total can leave you with a short length and a joint. Ask what the achievable drum lengths are before you commit the quantities.
Close, but not the same claim. N2XRY is a harmonised European designation from HD 603.1 / VDE 0276-604; BS 5467 is a British Standard with its own dimensions and test regime. In practice the constructions are equivalent and the same line can satisfy both. But if your specification cites BS 5467 by number, ask for a type test to BS 5467 specifically. An equivalence argument is not a test report.
No. BS 5467 specifies PVC bedding and a PVC outer sheath. The halogen-free armoured equivalent is BS 6724 — identical construction sequence, different sheath compounds. If your specification says both "armoured" and "LSZH", the standard you want is BS 6724. See BS 6724 →
Multi-core cable: galvanised steel wire armour (SWA). Single-core cable on AC: aluminium wire armour (AWA). This is physics, not preference — a magnetic steel armour wrapped around a single conductor induces circulating currents and heat. If someone offers you a single-core cable with steel armour for an AC circuit, that is worth a second question.
Yes, and that is the reason the armour exists. Direct burial is intended in well-drained soil without additional protection. In practice what determines survival is not the cable type but the route: soil chemistry, depth of cover, and whether the ground is likely to be opened up again after installation.
Yes, and it is worth asking. Published catalogue ratings assume temperate conditions and one installation method. At 45–50 °C ambient, or where cables are grouped or run in ducts, the derating factor moves the number materially. Give us the installation method and the ambient temperature, and the figures you receive will reflect your site rather than a catalogue.
It depends on the size — a 4 × 300 mm² SWA and a 4 × 25 mm² do not have the same economics, and manufacturing runs are built around drum lengths. Send the line and the quantity you are working to, and you will get a straight answer on whether it is buildable rather than a generic MOQ figure.
Same armour, halogen-free sheath. The standard for public buildings and enclosed escape routes.
IEC 60502-1Where a project cites IEC instead of BS, this is the document. Includes what changes on the drawing.
BS 6387A test standard, not a cable standard — and the C / W / Z categories are not a quality ranking.
Send the line as it stands — 4 C × 300 mm², XLPE/SWA/PVC, 600/1000 V, to BS 5467. You will get a straight answer on feasibility, and a quotation you can compare line for line.