As fire safety requirements continue to rise across rail transit systems, data centers, high-rise buildings, hospitals, and renewable energy projects, Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSZH) cables are becoming the preferred choice for many critical applications. For cable manufacturers, LSZH is more than just a product category—it represents a fundamentally different material technology route compared with traditional PVC compounds.
What Is LSZH Material?
LSZH (Low Smoke Zero Halogen), also known as Low Smoke Halogen Free (LSHF), refers to a class of environmentally friendly flame-retardant materials used for cable insulation and sheathing. In the cable industry, these materials are often categorized as HFFR (Halogen Free Flame Retardant) compounds.
LSZH compounds are typically based on polyolefin resins such as polyethylene (PE) and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA). They are formulated with halogen-free flame retardants, including aluminum hydroxide (ATH) and magnesium hydroxide (MDH), together with antioxidants, lubricants, and processing aids. Unlike PVC compounds, LSZH materials contain no chlorine, bromine, or other halogen elements.
Compared with conventional PVC cable compounds, LSZH materials can maintain good electrical insulation and mechanical properties while significantly reducing smoke generation and corrosive gas emissions during combustion. As a result, they are widely used in cable applications where fire safety is a critical consideration.
What Are the Differences Between LSZH and PVC?
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) remains one of the most widely used cable materials due to its mature processing technology, cost-effectiveness, and balanced overall performance. It is commonly used in building wiring, power cables, and industrial cable applications.
LSZH materials, by contrast, are based on polyolefin systems and achieve flame retardancy through inorganic flame retardants rather than halogen-containing additives. The most significant differences between the two become evident during a fire.
PVC may release large amounts of smoke and chlorine-containing corrosive gases when burned. LSZH materials, on the other hand, produce significantly less smoke and do not emit substantial quantities of halogen acid gases. This helps maintain visibility during evacuation and reduces damage to electrical and electronic equipment.
In addition, LSZH materials are better aligned with the safety and environmental requirements of modern infrastructure projects, including rail transit systems, data centers, airports, hospitals, and public buildings. PVC still offers advantages in terms of cost and processing efficiency, making it suitable for many conventional applications.
From a temperature-resistance perspective, LSZH compounds can be formulated to meet temperature ratings of 70°C, 90°C, 105°C, and even higher, depending on the application requirements. Traditional PVC compounds are typically used in cable products rated at 70°C or 90°C. As a result, LSZH materials are increasingly favored in applications requiring enhanced safety and elevated temperature performance.
Which Standards Must LSZH Materials Meet?
Genuine LSZH materials must comply with recognized industry standards and testing requirements.
For halogen-free performance, IEC 60754-1 and IEC 60754-2 are commonly referenced to evaluate the amount of halogen acid gases released during combustion, as well as the acidity and conductivity of combustion gases. IEC 60754-2 specifies that the pH value of the combustion gases should be no less than 4.3 and the conductivity should not exceed 10 μS/mm.
For low-smoke performance, the IEC 61034 series measures smoke density through light transmittance testing.
In addition, flame-retardant performance is typically evaluated according to IEC 60332 and GB/T 18380 standards, while GB/T 19666 specifies requirements for flame-retardant and fire-resistant cables.
For export markets and international projects, cable materials are also commonly required to comply with environmental regulations such as RoHS and REACH.
Why Are More Projects Choosing LSZH Cables?
The growing adoption of LSZH cables is driven by increasing demands for fire safety, environmental protection, and asset protection.
Key advantages include:
Lower smoke generation during fire events, improving visibility for evacuation and emergency response.
Reduced release of corrosive gases, helping protect communication systems, power infrastructure, data center equipment, and other sensitive electronics.
Compliance with increasingly stringent environmental regulations and project specifications.
Suitability for high-safety applications such as rail transit, data centers, airports, hospitals, photovoltaic systems, electric vehicles, and large public facilities.
At the same time, continuous advancements in material technology have significantly improved the mechanical properties, thermal performance, processing characteristics, and long-term reliability of modern LSZH insulation and sheathing compounds, further expanding their range of applications.
ONE WORLD LSZH Cable Material Solutions
As a professional cable materials manufacturer, ONE WORLD specializes in the research, development, production, and technical support of cable materials. Our product portfolio includes LSZH Sheathing Compounds, LSZH Insulation Compounds, HFFR Compounds, Cross-Linked Polyolefin (XLPO) Compounds, and PVC Cable Compounds.
These materials are widely used in power cables, communication cables, rail transit cables, data center cables, photovoltaic cables, electric vehicle cables, and other specialty cable applications.
By continuously optimizing material performance and processing characteristics, ONE WORLD is committed to providing cable manufacturers with reliable material solutions, as well as technical support covering material selection, sample evaluation, and mass-production implementation.
Conclusion
As safety requirements continue to increase across rail transit, data centers, renewable energy, energy storage systems, and public infrastructure projects, LSZH materials are becoming one of the key development directions within the cable industry.
Compared with traditional PVC compounds, LSZH materials offer significant advantages in terms of low smoke emission, halogen-free performance, environmental compliance, and equipment protection. As a result, they are increasingly becoming the preferred choice for high-safety cable applications.
With evolving industry standards and growing market demand, the adoption of LSZH cable materials is expected to continue expanding. ONE WORLD will remain committed to the development and manufacture of high-performance cable materials, providing reliable material solutions and professional technical support to cable manufacturers worldwide.
Post time: Jun-25-2026