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Have you ever helped organize a venue or an outdoor event at your kid's school or a local organization? If so, you should know how chaotic these events are, and that power and lighting have to be re-established several times, even before the event starts. Even if organizing events or helping out with electricity is not your jam, you definitely visited a concert or a play at a theater and were impressed (or unimpressed) with the quality of the stage design. No matter professional or amateur, all of these events call for a special type of cable- a stage lighting cable.

Stage lighting cables are used both indoors and outdoors for portable power applications and stage lighting, including heavy-duty applications. These cables have increased flexibility as their location on the stage is temporary and can be changed multiple times during a single event. Stage lighting cables are also referred to as entertainment cables, but the latter is a broader term that also encompasses speaker cables used for sound and video design. Another term to indicate stage lighting cable is Entertainment Industry Stage Lighting Cable (EISL). 

The most common type of stage lighting cable used in the United States is stage lighting entertainment cable type SC. We will be mostly referring to it when speaking about the characteristics of the stage cables in this blog.

Applications of Stage Lighting Cables 

Stage lighting cables are used in the professional entertainment industry and amateur public events for stage lighting and portable power.

Common places where stage cables are used include:

• Television Production
• Sound Stages
• Indoor and Outdoor Concert Venues
• Theater Stages
• Film Production Sets
• Conference Halls and Assembly Halls
• Outdoor and Indoor Stages located in schools, universities, and other places that organize public events.
• Wedding and Special Events Venues
• Night Clubs

Construction of Stage Lighting Power Cables

Stage lighting cables and the SC cable in particular have a copper conductor and a two-layers insulation/jacket. The SC cable is rated 600 volts and has an impressive temperature range of -50°C to 105°C.

The conductor is soft annealed Class K stranded bare copper per ASTM B 174. You will rarely find aluminum stage lighting cable even among the unauthorized sellers because the demanding conditions of the entertainment industry call for the high conductivity of copper.

The double jacket of the SC jacket is sturdy, flame-retardant, and resistant to oil, ozone, aging, and abrasion. Depending on the manufacturer, the double jacket can have an EPR/CPE, EPDM /CPE, or a CPE/TPE construction. Aside from the minor differences, all of these constructions have similar properties. However, it is best to stay away from the manufacturers that do not offer a double jacket. Such a cable would not have all functionality of a great SC, mainly for heavy-duty applications.

SC Cable vs. Type W: How Do They Compare?

While the lighting entertainment cable type SC is the standard for the entertainment industry, it is not the only option you have. Aside from the SC cable, Type W portable power cable is also suitable for entertainment purposes. So, which one should you choose? The truth is, both of these cables are great for stage lighting and portable power. They have highly conductive soft copper conductors and are very flexible. Moreover, both of these cables possess excellent resistance to oil, air, abrasion, and aging. Moreover, both of them can be submerged in water for a prolonged time.

However, stage lighting entertainment type SC is more of an all-around entertainment industry standard that is perfect for all entertainment applications. In contrast, Type W is an all-around industrial cable for portable power and lighting that is frequently used for entertainment purposes. Aside from the stage lighting, you can use Type W for industrial and mining applications as long as its qualifications allow it.

So, the bottom line is: you can use SC Cable and Type W for stage lighting interchangeably, but you cannot substitute Type W for SC in industrial and mining applications since Type W is more versatile than SC. When choosing Type W or SC for your electrical entertainment project, bear in mind that Type W is a slightly more expensive alternative. No matter what choice you make, Nassau National Cable offers both Type SC and Type W from trusted manufacturers at some of the best prices in the industry.