Can Cables & Wires Run Close To Radiators? (Explained)

Setting up a home comes with a whole lot of challenges. This is especially true if you live in a smaller or an older home that isn’t set up for modern technology. One common problem these older homes have is where to run the cables and wires that are meant to power all of your electronics.

Older homes have radiators that are separate from the wall and are meant to heat up your home. This can become complicated when you run wires and cables close to a radiator.

This is because many people worry about damage caused to their wires when it is too close to hear. But, how accurate is this fear?

Here’s If Can You Run Cables & Wires Close To a Radiator:

It is perfectly safe to run cables and wired close to a radiator. The biggest concern with running a wire so close to a radiator is that you will melt or damage the wires. However, your radiator should not get hot enough to the touch where it would melt or damage your wires and cables.

Can Electrical Wires Run Behind Radiators?

An electrical wire is the main cable that runs through your home that works as a conductor in order to allow for power to flow through the home.

In order to keep you and your home safe, you have to make sure that you are carefully placing them where they won’t get damaged.

When it comes to placing an electrical wire, can you run them behind a radiator? It is very unlikely that you will cause any damage to your electrical wires if you choose to run them behind a radiator.

However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use a certain amount of precaution and protection when doing so.

You should always protect your wires when running them so close to a heat source.

While your radiator won’t get hot enough to burn the wire instantly, over time the steam and heat from the radiators can start to wear them down.

You can use special installation in order to protect your electrical wires from heat damage. Even better, there is a specially designed heat sleeve that is meant to hold your electrical wires and work to reflect any heat.

This will help to keep high temperatures away from your wires in order to keep them working and damage-free.

Is It Safe To Run Ethernet Cables Along a Hot Radiator?

These days an ethernet cable is almost as important as the electrical wiring in your home. This is because an ethernet cable is meant to run the internet in your home.

But, when it comes to safely place your ethernet cables, can you run them close to a hot radiator?

The biggest concern with running an ethernet cable along a hot radiator is that it would disrupt the data which would make the network of your home run slower with frequent pauses in service.

But, is this true? Unfortunately, even a few degrees in temperature change to your ethernet cable can absolutely disrupt the data.

You want to make sure that you are placing your ethernet cable where the temperature will be easier to control, like the floor or along the wall.

In these spots, you are less likely to have a temperature spike that would disrupt your network.

However, if you absolutely have to run your ethernet cable near a hot radiator, only do so if you can protect the cable.

Same with an electrical wire you want to make sure your cable is insulated or protected with a heat sleeve.

Read our blog here about is bending HDMI cables okay?

Can Electric Cables Touch Heating Pipes?

All of your home’s wiring will need to feed through a hole in your floor in order to connect to the central electrical unit in your home.

This is because most of the time, a home’s main electrical circuit can be found in the lowest level of the home. Most commonly, the basement.

Along with electrical cables, heating pipes that are meant to run hot water to your home also need to be placed the same way.

Most people don’t want a bunch of holes in their floors and prefer to run both the electrical cables and the heating pipes through the same hole in order to keep things simple.

But, can you run both an electrical cable and a heating pipe through the same hole which would also mean that they would be touching?

It is not recommended that you run both your electrical cables next to heating pipes. This is because, while heating pipes are insulated, they can get very hot to the touch.

Over time, you may find that your electric cables will start to wear down and show signs of damage from being exposed to hot pipes for too long.

Can Radiator Heat Melt Cables and Wires?

The heat from a radiator is not hot enough to instantly melt wires and cables. However, this doesn’t mean that eventually, you won’t see any melting damage over time.

The most important thing to keep in mind is how long you are running your radiator.

We run a radiator in order to heat up the home, but if you leave your heat on high blast for too long, the radiator will eventually start to become too hot to touch. In this case, you can absolutely start to melt cables and wires.

Most commonly, you will see a hot radiator that has been running too long start to melt the outer casing of your electrical wires.

Wires and cables have many layers in order to have a few different levels of protection before you hit the exposed inner wire.

If you see the outer plastic casing of your wire start to melt, it is time to rethink the placing of your electrical wires. So, yes, a hot radiator can melt wires and cables, but only if your radiator is screaming hot from overuse because a radiator that is used typically, won’t get that hot.

Can You Run Speaker Cables Close to Radiators?

While electrical wiring and cables are specially made to avoid heat damage, wires that are connected to electronics, like speakers, are not as protected or insulated.

Speaker cables are much thinner than electrical cables and don’t always have the extra layers of wiring insulation to protect them from heat damage.

Without those extra layers, thin speaker wires can quickly melt or become damaged by the heat. This is why it isn’t recommended that you run your speaker cables too close to your radiator.

However, if you absolutely cannot avoid running your speaker wires near your radiator, we would suggest making those cables are close to the ground as possible.

This is because heat rises. Even the heat from a radiator will push upwards and won’t necessarily touch the ground.

While it still isn’t ideal to place your speaker wires close to a radiator, keeping them low to the floor will help to reduce the risk of melting or burning out.

What Happens If a Wire Gets Too Hot?

To understand the dangers that can happen by exposing your wires and cables to too much, you have to know what potentially could happen. The first thing that can happen if a wire gets too hot is that the external casing of the wire will start to melt away. The main purpose of this casing is to protect the inner wire from high heat.

Once the outer casing melts away, you are left with an open and exposed inner wire. If the inner wire gets too hot, it can start an electrical fire. This is because the electricity that is running through the cable or the wire has no safe pathway because it is exposed. Without a casing to contain the electricity, the high heat will cause some serious damage.

However, it isn’t only damage to the wire that you can expect. Damage to a wire can almost cause a domino effect to your home.

A wire that has melted can cause problems to the outlet as well as the central electrical unit in your home. This includes the breaker panel and light switches.

Final Thoughts

Working with electrical wires and cables should come with a certain level of precaution. You need to not only be aware of what you are placing your wires near but also need to make sure that they are properly insulated in order to avoid damage.

However, in the case of running electrical wires near a radiator, while chances are your wires will be perfectly safe, it is always better to be safe than sorry. So, be vigilant and make sure to check your wiring often for any damage or overexposed heat. Good luck.

Read our blog here about are printer power cords universal?

Reference Links:

• Copper: Is Your Electrical Wiring Too Hot?
• Digital Spy: Is It Safe To Run Ethernet Cable Behind A Radiator?