subject: Metals best suited for electrical wiring [print this page] Metals best suited for electrical wiring Metals best suited for electrical wiring
Electric wires can be seen with any electric product like computer, refrigerator, etc. Electric wires are nothing but insulated conductors that are used to carry electricity, as electrical conductor contains movable electric charges. There are two metals, which are most commonly used to create electrical wires. Those metals are copper and aluminum. Copper metal is used to create insulated electrical copper wire while the aluminum metal is used to create aluminum wire. Copper is a metal, often used to create bare copper wire, which is further used in motor binding.
The reason for using copper metal for creating bare copper wire or insulated electrical copper wire is its conductivity. Electric charges moves faster in copper metal without heating the wire; therefore, the insulated electrical copper wire is preferred where electric charges need to move faster. However, copper wires are not much used in residential wiring because of its high cost. Therefore, copper wire manufacturer use copper metal in electrical products where the product cost does not matter. Because of the high cost of copper metal, aluminum wire is introduced for residential wiring. Initially, aluminum wire is used along with copper wire but later on sole use of aluminum wire is started. Insulated electrical wire created using aluminum metal is cost effective but they have some drawbacks too.
Mentioned below are the technical issues with aluminum metal:
Because of its high resistivity, it generates more heat than copper wire.
Coefficient of thermal connection of aluminum is very different from material used for connection; therefore, the need of plugs, switches, and splices comes in effect.
Due to these drawbacks of aluminum, standards for wiring electrical devices were modified. However, today aluminum is the most frequently used metal for electrical wiring in home appliances, residential wiring, etc. Aluminum is available easily, as earth has aluminum in bulk. Because of the easy availability of aluminum, it is cheaper than copper. It is a truth that abundant availability of aluminum makes it cheaper but still copper has been using a lot for various electrical purposes. Copper metal has been used to create another type of wires that are used in many electrical devices. Some of those wires are copper tinned wire; copper braided tinsel wire, and bunched tin coated wire. Initially, copper wire were insulated using rubber but because quick exposure to oxygen makes the wires fragile, copper wire manufacturer has stopped insulating copper wire with rubber. Another disadvantage of using copper wire insulated with rubber is it is difficult to remove rubber from the wire. Therefore, copper tinned wire is now used in place of copper wire insulated with rubber. Making selection from multiple electrical wires can be confusing. Therefore, we suggest users across the globe to rely on suggestions of known electricians while they decide to perform some wiring related work at their homes. This way, they can comply with every code, ordinance and regulations for electrical conductors within their country. Remember using safe and secure electrical wiring keeps you away from any possible threat, damage or accident.
