Which type of cabling has lower fire ratings and is often used within walls?

Riser-rated cable is specifically designed for vertical spaces between floors in a building, often referred to as riser shafts. This type of cabling is constructed with materials that have a lower fire rating compared to plenum-rated cable, which is designed for spaces with air circulation, such as above ceilings where there is a risk of spreading flames and smoke.

Riser-rated cable is engineered to limit the flame's spread vertically, hence its use in walls where it might be exposed to more contained conditions. These cables are used in applications that do not require the high fire resistance of plenum-rated cables, providing a balance between performance and safety for installations within wall cavities or vertical pathways.

Other types of cabling, such as plenum-rated cables, are specifically built to handle conditions that are associated with greater fire risks due to the presence of air circulation systems, while copper and low voltage cables can serve a variety of purposes but may not distinctly refer to fire-rated classifications. Riser-rated cables fill an important niche where some fire resistance is necessary, but the extreme ratings of plenum cables are not required.