- Busbars are a cost effective alternative to cabling. The initial purchase of cable can be less expensive compared to busbar and hence should not be compared purely on purchase price.
- It must be noted that as current ratings increase the advantages of using busbar increase. As current increases the busbar rating can increase in size however cable sizes are limited and multiple cables may have to be used to carry the equivalent of one busbar.
- Busbar replaces multiple cable runs with associated supporting metal
- Busbar require less termination space in switchboards and Busbars have short installation time compared to cables. Cable can be difficult and timely to install requiring in some instance specialist cable pulling teams to pull the cable around a building resulting in high labour costs. Busbars do not need cable trays and have no requirement for multiple cable runs (Installation Cost savings for contractor). Busbar has less fixings per metre run than for cable.
- Busbars have greater mechanical strength than cables
- Due to the Low impedance the busbars have a low heat dissipation. This reduces the cost of energy losses.
- Busbar is manufactured to fit the building resulting in minimum wastage. i.e. busbar can be made with 90 degree bends but cable has to be installed to regulation with strict adherence to bending radius rules and hence will use more material and space. Busbar connections are there for compact and take up less space.
- Busbar elements in the systems are certified and type tested
- Busbar systems are easily Busbar can be easily modified and circuits can be added easily by means of plug-in tap-off boxes.
- Busbars have a facility for multiple Tap-off outlets (Flexibility to accommodate power requirement changes).
- Busbars have type tested short circuit fault
- Voltage drop for busbars is lower than the equivalent cable