4 Advantages of Using Ground Copper Wire

by DoItYourself Staff

Copper has been used for many things, from pipes and cooking utensils to ground copper wire. If you are working on electrical outlets, switches or wiring an entire building, you have to be grounded in order to avoid electrocution. There are other metals that can be used as grounding wires, but there are some significant advantages to using ground copper wire. This article will share a few of those advantages.

Ground Copper Wire is Non-Corrosive

Under most circumstances copper would corrode quite rapidly. This is happens because copper does not get along well with other alloys of differing electropotential. If you wrap ground copper wire around an iron pipe the ground copper wire will begin to erode. Another example of this corrosion is the Statue of Liberty. Many do not know this, but the Statue of Liberty is actually made out of copper in the thickness of two pennies. The copper was placed over steel and iron girders. It is this bond that causes the copper to turn green. Inside the home the ground copper wire is attached to metal that will not cause it to corrode. In larger construction projects the ground copper wire is usually shielded in plastic, but some homes will have a bare wire attached to the metal box.

Easy to Handle

The standard size for ground copper wire is #10 gauge. You can, however, find copper wire used for grounding in smaller sizes, but those wires are normally found in homes. You can easily wrap these wires around pipes, through holes, and even tie them into knots. The standard ground copper wire is also easy to move around where you need it to go. Due to the plastic casing around the wire, it makes it slightly harder to be as flexible as bare wire.

Highly Conductive Material

Copper is highly conductive in both electrical current and heat. You cannot, however, use ground copper wire in place of solid copper wire. Even though copper can conduct electricity, the way that the copper wire is weaved together and the thickness of it changes the conductivity of the copper wire. Solid copper wire is thicker and the weave is slightly different, which allows the copper wire to handle more current. Solid copper wire is used to pass current through the home, while ground copper wire is used to terminate surges of electricity. This is what makes copper the only suitable choice as a grounding wire. Other metals will conduct electricity, but not to the degree that copper does. When a surge of electricity occurs the copper wire will attract the current and direct it away from you. You may still get a jolt, but not enough to seriously harm you. Grounding wires made from other metals may not redirect enough current away from you quick enough.