Cu0103 - WP - Materials Busways - v1 - Bis
Cu0103 - WP - Materials Busways - v1 - Bis
Cu0103 - WP - Materials Busways - v1 - Bis
August 2012
Issue: 01_bis
Document History
Disclaimer
While this publication has been prepared with care, European Copper Institute and other contributors provide
no warranty with regards to the content and shall not be liable for any direct, incidental or consequential
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Round up 5
Busbars, busducts, and busways using copper conductors have several advantages compared to their
counterparts fabricated from other materials.
The main advantages of copper arise from its high electric conductivity (low electric resistance). These
characteristics make it possible to create busways with the same current carrying capacity but that are smaller
and/or more energy efficient.
In addition, the use of copper results in highly durable connections that can resist strong mechanical forces.
Cost of the conductor should not be the only consideration when evaluating the cost of a busway. The cost of
the mechanical support systems, the energy losses over the lifetime of the installation, and the scrap value of
the material at its end-of-life must all be taken into consideration in order to gain an accurate picture. When
this is done, it becomes clear that the initial price of copper has only a minor influence on the total life cycle
cost of the busway.
1) A copper busway has a higher energy efficiency than an aluminium counterpart of the same width.
This brings with it the obvious financial and environmental benefits, such as reduced energy costs and
reduced CO2 emissions. Higher conductivity also reduces the voltage drop on the busway, which has a
positive influence on the reliability of electrical appliances in the network. Furthermore, higher energy
efficiency means less loss through heat dissipation, allowing busways to be installed closer to one
another.
2) When the energy efficiency of a copper busway is identical to that of its aluminium counterpart, the
copper busway will have a smaller cross section. This compactness adds several advantages:
i. Less space required for support mechanisms and for the structures housing the
busway. These structures will also be less expensive.
ii. No additional labour and handling effort is required to install a copper busway
because of its higher weight, as this is compensated by its smaller size and the
smaller size of its supporting structures.
It is also possible to achieve both the energy efficiency and compactness advantages to a lesser degree.
The busway will have to be wider in order not to compromise on voltage drop, heat dissipation, and energy
efficiency.
As a result, the differencein absolute valuebetween the minimum width for aluminium busways and that
of their copper counterparts becomes even larger.
Copper busways are not only easy to install, they also last for a long time. Connections to a copper busway can
withstand temperature cycles caused by load variations without significant degradation. Forces are evenly
distributed at the joint of a copper cable to a copper busway. This results in low energy losses, low temperature
variances, and a durable connection. This contrasts with aluminium and most of its alloys. Aluminium
connections deteriorate over a number of load cycles due to loss of contact force.
Half-hard copper has a tensile strength of 260 up to 300 N/mm 2. The value for annealed copper is slightly
lower, ranging between 200 and 250 N/mm 2. The tensile strength of aluminium only ranges between 50 and
100 N/mm2.
Consequently, the copper version will withstand higher short circuit currents when the same mechanical
support systems are used for a copper busway as for its aluminium counterpart.
Likewise, if an aluminium busway has to withstand similar short circuit currents as its copper counterpart, it
requires more and stronger mechanical support systems, driving up the total cost of the installation.
Energy losses: The cost of energy losses depends upon the load on the busway and the electricity
tariff for a given rated current and busway material conductivity. The high conductivity of copper will
result in low energy losses. Note that a more precise calculation of these losses requires using the load
and electricity tariff at each moment in time, rather than averages. As high loads tend to happen
during moments of peak tariff, such a calculation will reveal a higher annual cost of energy losses.
The cost of support materials, surrounding structures, and busway connections: The wider the
busway, the more expensive these systems will be.
Scrap value: One of the most intriguing aspects of copper is that it is a 100% recyclable material with a
high scrap value at the end of life of the busway. The market prices of all electrical grade copper scrap
are close to the prices of new copper.
A copper busway will be smaller and/or more efficient than its aluminium counterpart. The reduced width
makes the copper busway easier to install and reduces the size and cost of supporting structures. Higher
energy efficiency brings obvious financial and environmental advantages. These advantages become even more
pronounced when non-linear loads are expected, requiring an upgrade of the busway width. A calculation of
the life cycle cost should also take into account the scrap value of the material at the system end-of-life. Market
prices for electrical grade copper scrap are usually high and close to the value of new copper.
The use of copper as a busway material has additional advantages. Connections of copper cables to copper
busways are durable, withstanding load and temperature cycles. A copper conductor can also withstand
aggressive industrial environments without excessive corrosion. And last but not least, the tensile strength of
copper is high, making it able to withstand the high mechanical forces caused by short circuit currents.