Wire/Cable(Southwire Specs)	Construction and Uses	Direct Burial?	Burial in Conduit?	Aerial Installation?	Branch Circuits and Feeders?(Indoor)	Branch Circuits and Feeders?(Outdoor)
NM-B (SPEC 10028)	Consists of two, three, or four insulated phase conductors plus a bare grounding conductor, all under an overall jacket Primarily used as branch circuit wiring for outlets, switches, and other general purpose and dedicated circuits in indoor residential locations For indoor dry locations only	NO	NO	NO	Yes	NO
UF-B (SPEC 10036)	Consists of two or three insulated phase conductors with or without a bare grounding conductor, all encased in an overall jacket Generally used for feeder and branch circuits for outside post lamps, pumps, swimming pools/hot tubs, workshops, and other loads and apparatuses Can be used in place of NM-B2	YES	YES	NO3	YES	YES4
SER (SPEC 10041,SPEC 10052)	Consists of two, three, or four insulated conductors plus a bare neutral/grounding conductor5, all under a binder tape and an overall jacket Insulated conductors identified with colored stripes Cable is round Primarily used to convey power from the service drop to the meter base and from the meter base to the distribution panelboard Can be used anywhere SE cables are permitted	NO	NO	NO3	YES6	YES7
SEU (SPEC 10040,SPEC 10043,SPEC 10050)	Consists of two insulated conductors plus a concentric neutral/grounding conductor5, all under a binder tape and an overall jacket Cable is flat/oval Primarily used to convey power from the service drop to the meter base and from the meter base to the distribution panelboard Can be used anywhere SE cables are permitted	NO	NO	NO3	YES6	YES7
MHF (SPEC 10054)	Consists of four RHH/RHW-2/USE-2 conductors twisted together Neutral conductor has white striping Grounding conductor is colored green Intended for the connection of mobile homes to a supply of electricity where permanent wiring is required, as specified in the NEC1 Can also be used anywhere RHH/RHW-2/ USE-2 conductors are permitted (see below)	YES	YES	NO	YES8	YES8
THHN/THWN(-2) (SPEC 10000, SPEC 10003, SPEC 10012)	Primarily used in conduit and cable trays for service, feeder, and branch circuits in commercial and industrial applications Can also be used in residential applications	NO	YES	NO	YES8	YES8
XHHW-2 (SPEC 10005, SPEC 10006, SPEC 10015)	Primarily used in conduit and cable trays for service, feeder, and branch circuits in commercial and industrial applications Can also be used in residential applications	NO	YES	NO	YES8	YES8
RHH/RHW-2/USE-2 (SPEC 10010, SPEC 10020)	Primarily used as underground service entrance conductors Can also be used for feeder and branch circuits	YES	YES	NO	YES8	YES8
URD (URD Specs)	Consists of two, three, or four insulated conductors twisted together Neutral conductor has three yellow stripes Typically used by the utility company, not homeowners Meant to connect a pad-mounted transformer to a meter box May lack the ratings necessary for applications subject to NEC1jurisdiction	YES	YES	NO	NO9	YES10
Service Drop (Service Drop Specs)	Consists of one, two, or three insulated conductors twisted together with a bare neutral Meant to connect a pole-mounted transformer to a meter box NOT UL-rated and cannot be used in applications subject to NEC1 jurisdiction	NO	NO	YES11	NO	NO