It’s imperative to observe standards and regulations while planning power supply requirements. Continuous supply of energy is an essential prerequisite for modern building projects. Cutting to the ease, busbars are cost-effective and easily configurable, making them almost perfect for construction.
A busbar is a rigid piece of copper or aluminum, bolted or housed inside switchgear, panel boards, and busway enclosures for local high-current power distribution.
Electrical cables are an assembly of one or more wires running side by side or bundled to carry electric current.
Here are some tested advantages of busbar trunking system that resolved long-standing issues with cables:
- Simple network configuration
- Easy retrofitting
- Low Space requirement
- High short circuit strength
- Low fire load
Top reasons why you should choose busbar over cables :
1. Compressed & Sleek Design
Busbar compact and sleek design makes it efficient and ensures reliability with tightly compressed conductors inside the structure. Cables require large bend radii that take a lot of space. The steel shell helps in creating a comparatively lower electromagnetic field around a busbar as compared to a cable. High loads (4000 ampere to 5000 ampere) can easily be created near the cables which is free from electromagnetic interference.
2. Scalable & Elegant
The busbar trunking system can be repurposed without a huge capital expenditure to fit into any space. Cabling, once installed, can be incredibly expensive and disruptive to move, change, reconfigure and expand.
3. Optimal distribution
Busbars have better resistance, which becomes evident in case of short circuit testing. Within the case of a busbar, there is a minimum distance between the conductors which reduces the resistance induction. Busbars have a thin tire that helps in optimal distribution of density of current, and reduces resistance. Due to this, the voltage loss is lower than cables.
4. Cost-Effective
It’s a misconception that busbars are costly. In reality, the easy and decreased installation time of the busbar ensures that it is competitively priced. In fact, over the lifetime, a busbar costs much less than cables as the system is efficient and virtually maintenance free. Busbar trunking systems can bring energy economically into any building and the power distribution system can be precisely planned that ensures accurate costs are given at an early stage in the project depending on the total load rating and the type and number of loads.
5. Prolonged-Proofing
BBT is a very flexible system, which can be adapted for safe distribution of line via junction boxes. These boxes can be relocated with ease in the future if required. A busbar system ensures future proofing of power distribution systems and allows the busbar to be easily modified to fit the requirements as no client knows what the future holds.
6. Safe and Secure
Busbar’s integral part includes certified standard cells such as junction boxes and plugs which eliminates human error. Since busbars are fitted with steel casing, they are far less likely to wearout, and are less likely to be damaged by rodents. This makes them safer than cables.
Conclusion
A busbar trunking system has many advantages over cables like installation time, lifetime cost and also the configurability of the system. The traditional cables will soon be a history and busbars will gain importance soon. Busbar is definitely a space saving solution worth the investment!
At C&S Electric we manufacture different kinds of busbars, including Compact Air Insulated Bus Trunking System, Sandwich Bus Trunking System and Lighting Trunking System under Metabar Series. Isolated Phase Busduct, Segregated Phase Busduct and Non Segregated Phase Busduct under Isobar Series of power Busduct. Our busbars meet all international standards & are used all across the world including USA, Europe, Russia, Brazil, Malaysia, Middle East and Australia. You can check all the variants of the busbar trunking system here.
Frequently Asked Questions
A cable is traditional power distribution with several power cables carrying low/medium voltage over long distances using a cable trunking system, while a busbar trunking system consists of prefabricated (AL/CU) rigid and flat conductor bus bars designed to distribute power and high currents over a short distance with less voltage drop and higher safety standards. The busbar trunking system is a much better investment in the long run with the best durability and less maintenance.
People often prefer busbar trunking systems over cables because they have better heat dissipation & cooling techniques, minimize voltage drops with better resistance to short circuits & enhance power transmission efficiency, Busbars are easier to install and incur less space, cost & labor for installation, and offer more flexibility for any future changes with less maintenance and are much better for the long run. Busbar trunking systems are now becoming irreplaceable simply because of the convenience, safety factor, and ease of modification with less complexity and capital investment while relocated to another place.
Some key benefits of busbar trunking systems include enhanced safety, quicker installation, improved heat & Temperature management, design flexibility, and simpler maintenance. The busbar trunking system has a limited growth of reactive power to operate compared to traditional cable systems. The busbar trunking system has a lower electromagnetic field compared to traditional cable systems. Busbars have an enclosed compact design that prevents the damages caused by rodents. Busbar Systems comes with the latest version of IP protection, a corrosion-resistant system, and resistance to fire propagation, penetration, and seismic conditions make it a versatile product for diverse industry applications.
The main goal of busbar trunking is to provide efficient, reliable, and adaptable electrical power distribution for industrial, commercial, and residential buildings. The busbar trunking system doesn’t require extra holes and cutouts on building premises during installation. Busbars have a highly compact structure and can be bent up to 90 degrees. The busbar trunking system offers us power monitoring as a standalone system mounted to electrical panels or incorporated into a busway and branch-circuit application.
Cables are a readymade option, offer a flexible distribution channel through air or ground as well as are cost effective. However, the limitation of cross-section means we will need to use multiple runs to carry higher currents. This poses a challenge with derating calculations as well as termination on Switchgear/TRF. In such cases, Bustrunking is an option which can carry high currents easily with minimum voltage drops. There are concerns with the pricing as well as structural arrangement for routing. But prior planning can almost eliminate them and provide a powerful distribution option.IS 732 also considers the above points and recommends Bustrunking wherever four or more Cable runs are needed. NEC 2023 also seconds it by referring the same guidelines
