Electrical conduits are metal, plastic, or fiber pipes designed to protect electrical cables and wires. They’re used in just about every residential and commercial establishment, especially for wiring that is either exposed or fitted outdoors. Since they are essentially a safety feature. You should select the material, size, and fittings based. The environment of the installation and the type of wiring it’ll be housing.

Types of Electrical Conduits

Regarding options, there are almost as many types of conduits. There are wires and cables, and they can be broadly classified into metallic and nonmetallic variants.

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Here are some of the most common types under these categories:

Metallic Conduits

Rigid Metal Conduit (RMC)

RMCs or rigids are one of the most commonly used conduits in commercial establishments. They usually have the toughest and thickest walls made from coated stainless steel or aluminum. So they offer excellent protection against impacts, punctures, and cuts.

Additionally, they are available with different coatings to prevent corrosion. We can be used indoors and outdoors in most conditions, even as equipment grounding conductors. However, they are heavy, difficult to bend, and more expensive. You will need to use compression fittings or a rethreaded if you cut them.

Electrical Metallic Tubing (EMT)

These are the most commonly used conduits, even though they’re not technically conduits (they’re classified as tubings). EMTs are usually called thin walls since. They have a much thinner wall than RMCs. This is why they should not be used in places where they’re likely to encounter stress.

These are also available in galvanized steel or with a rust-resistant coating. We can be used in most indoor and outdoor applications, as ground conductors, embedded in concrete, and for direct burial too. They are much lighter and bend easily, and fittings for EMTs are both readily available and inexpensive.

Flexible Metallic Conduit (FMC)

Commonly known as Greenfield’or flex conduits. FMCs are made from spirally wound metal strips that interlock. They’re most often used for the last few feet of wiring. Whereas conventional conduit systems are difficult to maneuver and terminate.

Another great advantage of FMCs is their ability to absorb vibrations and allow movement. So they’re often used to house wiring for pumps, motors, and manufacturing equipment. The downside is that they don’t offer much protection against impacts and corrosion. We cannot be used outdoors, buried, or embedded.

Liquidtight Flexible Metallic Conduit (LFMC)

Also called liquid-tight and seal-tight, they are manufactured the same way FMCs are, except LFMCs have an overall non-metallic outer covering that is waterproof and resistant to cracking from sunlight exposure. The additional protection from the covering overcomes most of the limitations of FMCs.

They can be used outdoors and in wet conditions, provided water is not allowed to enter from joints and end connectors. While they can be also installed with direct burial, they are still vulnerable to physical damage and should not be exposed to stresses, or encased in concrete.

Aluminum Conduits & Electrical Conduits

These are a type of rigid conduit and are also common in commercial and industrial applications. Since aluminum resists corrosion extremely well, aluminum conduits are preferred in locations where they would be exposed to large amounts of water or corrosive substances. They are, however, particularly vulnerable to concrete, since the metal reacts to it, but can be treated with specific coatings if they need to be embedded in concrete.

Non-Metallic Conduits

Rigid Metal Conduit (RMC)

RMCs or ‘rigids’ are one of the most commonly used conduits in commercial establishments. They usually have the toughest and thickest walls made from coated stainless steel or aluminum, so they offer excellent protection against impacts, punctures, and cuts.

Additionally, they are available with different coatings to prevent corrosion and can be used indoors and outdoors in most conditions, even as equipment grounding conductors. However, they are heavy, difficult to bend, and more expensive and you will need to use compression fittings or a rethreaded if you cut them.

Electrical Conduits Metallic Tubing (EMT)

These are the most commonly used conduits, even though they’re not technically conduits (they’re classified as tubings). EMTs are usually called ‘thin walls’ since they have a much thinner wall than RMCs, so they should not be used in places where they’re likely to encounter stress.

These are also available in galvanized steel or with a rust-resistant coating and can be used in most indoor and outdoor applications, as ground conductors, embedded in concrete, and for direct burial too. They are much lighter and bend easily, and fittings for EMTs are both readily available and inexpensive.

Flexible Metallic Conduit (FMC)

Commonly known as Greenfield or flex conduits, FMCs are made from spirally wound metal strips that interlock. They’re most often used for the last few feet of wiring, where conventional conduit systems are difficult to maneuver and terminate.

Another great advantage of FMCs is their ability to absorb vibrations and allow movement, so they’re often used to house wiring for pumps, motors, and manufacturing equipment. The downside is that they don’t offer much protection against impacts and corrosion, and cannot be used outdoors, buried, or embedded.