Energy and Renewables

Copper is among the best conductors of electricity and heat, so it is hardly surprising that about 70% of total copper use is for these applications.

Electricity and Energy

Weight for weight, outside precious metals, copper is the best conductor of electricity and heat.

Copper is used in high, medium and low voltage power networks, and copper conductivity is considered to be the standard by which other conductors are measured.

The unique combination of strength, ductility and resistance to creep and corrosion establishes this non-ferrous metal as the preferred and safest conductor for wiring in buildings. As an essential component of energy-efficient motors and transformers, it is used in a multiplicity of applications in manufacturing industries, all forms of transport and the domestic environment.

Wire and Cables

Copper’s conductivity is almost twice that of aluminium, which makes copper the material of choice for high energy efficiency applications.

Copper wire has long been the preferred conductor material in the majority of cables used for power and telecommunications. Having high conductivity combined with ductility that makes it easy to draw down to close-tolerance diameters, it can also be readily soldered to make economic, durable connections. It is compatible with all modern insulation materials, but its good oxidation resistance means that it can also be used without any surface protection.

Insulation can be of lacquer or enamel types used for winding wires or of polymers for energy cables. Lacquers permit close spacing of windings to give the best efficiency in the coils of motors, transformers and chokes.

Busbars

Busbars are robust conductors that function as electrical manifolds to distribute power from a single source to several users. Because of its good conductivity, strength, connectivity, ductility and resistance to oxidation, copper is the most obvious material to specify for the manufacture of busbars. High conductivity copper billets are hot extruded into a regular cross section, followed by drawing down to the necessary finished size.

Transformer and Motor Windings

Copper used for the manufacture of transformer windings is in the form of wire for small products and strip for larger equipment. For small products, such as magnet wire, the wire must be strong enough to be wound without breakage, yet flexible enough to give close-packed windings. Strip products must be of good surface quality so that insulating enamels do not break down under voltage. Good ductility is essential for the strip to be formed and packed, and good strength is needed to withstand the high electro-mechanical stresses set up under occasional short-circuit conditions. The properties needed for motor windings are similar to those needed for transformers, but with the additional requirement to withstand mechanical vibration and centrifugal forces at working temperatures.

Electronic Equipment

Copper plays a vital role in a number of small, high-tech applications. Copper or copper-base alloys are used in Printed Circuit Boards, in electronic connectors and lead-frames. In addition, it has long been used in the area of telecommunications, and is now increasingly used in IT, notably for the manufacture of microchips and in semi-conductor applications. Copper heat sinks allow dispersion of heat from high-frequency microprocessor and logic devices.

Other Electrical Engineering Uses

Copper is also used for manufacturing commutators, welding electrodes, contacts, contact springs, high vacuum and other electronic devices.

Renewables

Because copper is a highly efficient conductor of electricity and heat, it is used in renewable energy systems to generate power from solar, hydro, thermal and wind energy across the world. Copper helps reduce CO2 emissions and lowers the amount energy needed to produce electricity. In many renewable energy systems, there is 12-times more copper being used than in traditional systems to ensure efficiency.

Copper is one of the best renewable resources. It is one of the few materials that can be recycled 100 percent over and over again without a loss in performance.

Renewable energy sources provide nearly one-quarter of the world’s power, and copper plays an important role in making it as efficient as possible with minimal impact on the environment.

Solar Heating

Copper’s combination of high heat conductivity, resistance to atmospheric and aqueous corrosion, ease of fabrication, sealability (joining by soldering), mechanical strength and longevity offer strong advantages over any other material in solar heating applications.

Wind Energy

The primary use of copper in wind energy technologies is in the coil windings in the stator and rotor portions of the generator, in the high-voltage power cable conductors, transformer coils and earthing.

Photovoltaics

Copper forms part of the materials presently used for photovoltaic solar cells, in the technology’s cabling, earthing, inverter, transformers and photovoltaic cell ribbons.