Stranded copper wire, used extensively in the electrical applications is composed of numerous small wires bundled together to form a larger conductor.
The advantages of such a construction are several, for example:
- It is more flexible than solid wire of similar cross-sectional area
- Electrically, better conductor than a single solid wire because they have a larger surface area
- Offers higher resistance to metal fatigue.
- Reduces power loss
An electrical contractor is often faced with a task of choosing the right type of wire for a project based on functionality and cost.
He has to choose from among the many branded solid and stranded copper wire makes in the wire market.
While both types conduct electricity effectively, each has its own specific applications. Solid wires are suitable for outdoors and rugged duty applications where corrosion is to be withstood.
But stranded wire has wider uses, such as in electronic devices and circuit boards, and vehicular applications, which require the wire to be bent into complex shapes.
It is not a prudent policy to select a type of copper wire based on cost alone.
A solid copper wire may be initially cheaper, but on the long haul stranded copper wire wins hand down in applications where the wire is subjected to repetitive motion or where frequent alterations are made.
Some people ask why solid copper wire is used in home electric wiring instead of the stranded design.
The answer to this question is rather simple.
Inside walls, wires are installed in straight lines with no flexing needed. Moreover when you screw a solid wire into a switch it secures properly. In contrast, if you use stranded copper wire, individual strands can come loose as you fold wires back into the electrical box.
Of course this does not mean that the stranded design has no drawbacks.
- It has larger diameter for the same current carrying capability compared to solid wires
- More expensive to manufacture than solid wire
- More susceptible to failure due to corrosion because of high surface area.
- Not as good as solid wires where the application is for jumpers in solderless breadboards. Here unlike the stranded design, solid wires holds its shape to enable you to route wires through a path.
But by and large, stranded copper wire being flexible has greater functionality; for moving the cables between knobs, switches and circuit boards, or wherever physical flexing is needed.
In any case, both types of wiring are in good demand due to resurgence in the Indian industrial scenario.
Development in industrial sectors across most segments, specifically exponential growth in the electronics and telecommunication sector has given good fillip to the copper wire and cable industry.
The global copper wire industry is expected to grow by an average 7 percent, driven largely by the large copper wire markets namely China, France, Russia, and the United States. India too is not lagging far behind.
Rajasthan Electric Industries, under the brand name “BRITEX” manufactures a wide array of products to include copper wire, stranded copper wire, PVC wire, and Silver Plated Copper Wire, to name a few.