Electrical wiring for your home

When wiring a house there are many options to choose from, but it is always better to use high-grade cables because compromising on quality of electrical wiring may lead to irreversible losses, God Forbid. You may also find cheaper cables with aluminium cores in the market, but experts always recommend copper wires which are more conductive and less risky.

When buying a home or building a new one, ensure that you have copper wiring in place. And why do they actually recommend copper wires? Let’s have a look at some of its benefits.

Better conductivity – Electrical conductivity refers to the ability of a material to transport electrical charge and copper has a better ability to transfer electrical charge as compared to many other metals, which makes it a good conductor and a preferred option for electrical wiring.

Flexibility – When wiring a house, you need the electrical cords to be flexible enough to allow you to bend them easily, and around several things. Copper is not brittle in its structure, and it is highly unlikely that it would break or crack upon bending.

Melting Point – If you really are conscious about fire safety, copper is the right material to use in electrical wiring, as it takes a lot to melt a copper wire. It is also likely that the copper wire will not burn or melt easily if it gets overloaded.

Wires used in homes

Generally, single-core cables with core sizes ranging between 1mm² to 16mm², and wrapped in Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), are used in homes.

One mm² cables are usually used to power fans, tube-lights, and other small electrical appliances. Four mm² to 6mm² thick cables are used to electrify air conditioners and other similar appliances that require high voltage to run. 10mm² – 16mm² thick wires are used in mains from transformers.

Prices

The following table states average, estimated prices of electricity cables by core size.

Disclaimer: The prices of electrical wires may differ from one manufacturer to another.