Conductor Material Selection

Conductors need to be made of materials that have a very low electrical resistivity. Metals and alloys are generally the lowest resistivity materials.

• Silver is the best conductor of electricity, but its high cost makes it unsuitable for use in power cable. Gold is even more costly.
• Copper is also an excellent conductor, but its cost is much lower than precious metals.
• Aluminium has a higher resistivity than copper, meaning an aluminium cable must be 30% larger than the equivalent cable made with a copper conductor. It has a much lower cost however and very low weight. This makes it suitable for conductors used in aerial applications and other applications where the installation allows a larger conductor to be used.

Conductor Design

• Conductors are generally made with multiple strands (wires) of a low resistivity metal (usually copper or aluminium).
• The more wires a conductor has, the more flexible it will be.
• Usually, the most efficient conductor shape is circular, however conductors for some multi-core cables can be supplied as sector shaped.