Electrical Bus Tubes and Secondary Bus Systems

Our custom fabricated electric bus systems are sized based on specfic application-based requirements while considering variables such as: current, voltage elevation, voltage drop, ambient air temperature and maximum allowable bus temperature.

In general, the commonly accepted rule of thumb for initial sizing of high conductivity copper bus is: 3,000 amps per square inch for water cooled applications and 900 amps per square inch for air cooled applications. This is a typical starting point for the proper engineering design of the eletrcial bus system for the specific application.

Electrical Bus Tubes
As electrical bus tubes are very effective for AC systems, they have also found use in high current DC applications where the connector simplifies the water cooling circuit.

For high current DC and AC systems, the best conductor form is a Bus Tube. A properly-sized annulus cross section minimizes the skin effect and AC resistance.

Air Cooled Bus Tubes
Watteredge manufactures a full line of Air Cooled Bus Tubes for use in any application where strength and lower AC resistance are a concern. The use of a properly designed, properly sized, air cooled bus systems will effectively decrease electrical resistance.

Water Cooled Bus Tubes
Wattredge manufactures a full line of Water Cooled Bus Tubes for use in any application where size, weight and cost are a concern. Water cooled bus allows the designer to use less copper and reduce the overall size of the bus system as compared to air cooled bus. The tradeoff is increased voltage drop of the system.