Offgassing is the percentage of a specified gas released during the combustion of an insulating or jacketing material, a measure relevant to a cable's fire behavior.
Offgassing refers to the proportion of a specified gas given off when an insulating or jacketing material burns. When cable materials are exposed to fire, they can release gases as they decompose, and quantifying how much of a particular gas is produced helps characterize the material's behavior in a fire. This measure is part of evaluating the fire safety of cable compounds.
The gases released during combustion matter because some can be corrosive or hazardous, and limiting their production is a goal of low-smoke and specially formulated cable materials. Understanding the offgassing characteristics of a compound supports the selection of materials whose fire behavior suits the safety requirements of an application.
In commercial and industrial buildings, where cable may be present in occupied and air-handling spaces, the fire performance of materials, including offgassing, is an important consideration. Materials formulated to limit harmful gas release contribute to safer outcomes in a fire.
Because some combustion gases are corrosive or otherwise hazardous, limiting their release is a goal of specially formulated materials, and characterizing offgassing is part of selecting compounds whose fire behavior suits the safety needs of an occupied space.
At Windy City Wire, an awareness of fire-performance characteristics such as offgassing reflects a focus on supplying cable suited to safety requirements. Understanding how materials behave in combustion helps illustrate the considerations behind cable selected for demanding commercial environments.