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agni mohanty Cables vs. Bus Ducts

Active Contributor 12/15/2009 11:47 PM

Join Date: Dec 2009

Posts: 10 Can you plz suggest me what is the advantage of using cable instead of busduct & the vice-versa

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#4 "Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts" by electricalexpert65 on 12/18/2009 8:47 AM (score 6)

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#1 "Re: bus duct" by Anonymous Poster on 12/16/2009 3:40 AM (score 1)

#2 "Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts" by kvsubramanyam on 12/16/2009 10:48 PM (score 1)

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Anonymous Re: bus duct

Poster 12/16/2009 3:40 AM

Busducts are mostly prefered between transformer LT to SWGR (located nearer) which handles the heavy current and also
to reduce the posibility of fault. For the same case you can also use cable but the number of runs will be more and feasibility
of termination is also difficult.

Regards

P.Deenadayalan

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kvsubramanyam Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts

Guru 12/16/2009 10:48 PM

Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Hyderabad, India
Posts: 596
Good Answers: 12
Practicality! Suppose you have 10 motor control panels at one place better you go for bus duct to give mains power to all
panels; so you can avoid a Sub-DB. Now-a-days receptacle bus ducts are available in the market (ready-made). I am
working for a battery company. We have hundreds of battery chargers. So for such application bus duct for every 10
chargers is the best solution.
__________________
Subramanyam

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andreY Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts

Active Contributor 12/17/2009 2:10 AM

Join Date: Nov 2009

Posts: 14 Could you pls tell me what is advantage of busduct from Trafo LV to gearbox? I always use cables and cannot see any
negative points - flexible, easy to install , no troubles from operation/maintenance. with duct - image that transformer is
installed 20 cm left or right from designed position. what will you do with busduct? discussed with Siemens last week this
question - suggestion to order duct when trans and gearbox are already on their places, but it will take you a lot of time.
cable is cheaper besided of all.

for me it is very depend on your own previous experience - no big advantages/disadvantages for both.
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electricalexpert65 Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts
Guru 12/18/2009 8:47 AM

Join Date: Oct 2009 Sr

Posts: 2055 Issue Cable Busbar
Good Answers: 166 no
One circuit per floor. Hence
Number of
1 for a 20-floor building, you Just one circuit can cover all floors.
circuits
need 20 circuits.
Need 1 outgoing for each
circuit. Hence 20 nos. MCCB Need only 1 outgoing for each riser.
Main
2 outgoings. Higher cost and
Switchboard Lower cost and size of main panel.
larger space requirement in
electrical room
Using 4 core cables, and
considering 1 cable per Typical size of 1600A riser is 185mm x 180mm. Leads to big savings on
feeder, you need 20 cables riser shaft size, and hence
3 Shaft Size
on the lowest floor. Large
more usable floor area on every floor.
space required for cables/
cable tray.
The high concentration of The volume of insulating materials used in trunking is reduced to a minimum
insulating materials used in so combustive energy is considerably lower than cables. The insulating
Fire &
4 cables and conductors materials used do not release corrosive or toxic gases in the event of a fire.
safety
involves a very high level of Once the source of the fire is removed, these materials are extinguished in a
combustive energy few seconds so that the effect of the fire is minimised.
1600A – approx 5 kWh/sq.m.
Combustive
5 1600A – approx 60 kWh/sq.m
Energy Combustive energy is typically 80% -90% less than cables.

If load on any floor exceeds

By providing extra tap off slots on each floor at the design stage, owner only
initial plan, owner has to run
Future has to procure a tap off box and plug it in wherever additional load is
6 an additional cable from a
expansion required. As the plug in can be done live, there is no shut down required for
spare feeder on main board
any of the existing clients / circuits. Future Flexibility.
to that floor. .
Fault
Limited by conductor size of Much higher – typically a 1600 A riser has a fault withstand capability of 60
7 withstand
each circuit. to 70 kA. Safer in an electrical fault.
levels
Installation Each riser on a 20-floor building can be installed in approximately 2 to 3
8 Much longer
time days
High impedance if you
Voltage
9 choose cable size based on Much lower impedance. Hence substantially lower voltage drop.
drop
each floor current rating

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capblanc Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts In reply to

Guru 12/18/2009 4:58 PM

Brilliant comparison, the case couldn't be made clearer.

Cheers
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Mallorca, Spain Chas
Posts: 567
Good Answers: 15 __________________
En la casa del herrero, cuchillos de palo!

andreY Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts In reply to

Active Contributor 12/19/2009 12:52 PM

Join Date: Nov 2009

Posts: 14 thank you VM, nice table.

for buildings it is definitely better decision, but I'm working with plants ( sorry didn't write more detailed question) and
overthere I can use busbar into main distribution board (MDB) and Motor Control Centres (MCC) only. Some produsers push
me to use busbars from trafos LV side to MDB but by now I'm still for cables. Ather story with HV - at that side buses are
preferable.

Anonymous Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts In reply to

Poster 12/20/2009 1:16 PM

It is advisable to use Bus Duct From LV of Trf. to MDB since the No. of Cables is very high. Termination would be a problem
and it would be difficult to locate fault. Cables are prone to failure than a well designed bus duct.

giri Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts In reply to

Power-User 12/27/2009 2:03 AM

Brilliant explanation dear electricalexpert!........Again here I have doubt for you....since the cables has high impedance the
fault current should be less in them compared to the bus bars even though the voltage drop is more right???Thank you.....

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Location: Some where on "Know something about everything and everything about something"
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Posts: 226
Good Answers: 2
 electricalexpert65 Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts In reply to
Guru 12/27/2009 4:41 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2009 Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts

Posts: 2055
Good Answers: 166
Agreed! But, here we are discussing industrial feeders where the lengths are not much. As such, fault current limitation by
cables will not be much. And, with small lengths of cables and with not much limiting in fault current, we may have to
shoose switchgear with almost same breaking capacities at the sending end as well as at the receiving end of the cable
feeder. As such cables do not have any advantage in such a scenario. Moreover, comparatively the fire rsik assciated with
cables is much more than with bus bars.

So, given a chance, I would definitely opt for Bus bars rather than cables at lesat for smaller length feeders.

#
Anonymous Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts
02/02/2010 7:02 AM In reply to
Poster

#
Anonymous Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts In reply to
Poster 10/29/2010 7:37 AM

Very excellent job done.

#
Anonymous Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts
Poster 06/21/2010 1:19 PM

You are forgetting the Cons of busducts: damages over time. I have seen damages time and time again to busduct
connections, warps, etc. which costs a lot of time and money to replace. Also, you are limited to (2) take-offs per floor, which
can be inconvenient, when retrofitting an existing building. Each building should be a case-by-case basis to determine
whether busduct or cable/conduit is the better solution. Sometimes you are limited by the wattage per square foot, for a floor,
in which case you wouldn't be using busduct to it's full advantage, so it wouldn't make sense. Overall, my view is that niether
is better or more convenient, although cable/conduit lasts longer without damage. Each project is particular and should be
analyzed separately to determine the best mode of distribution based on power usage per floor, metering or power
requirements, length of runs, voltage drop, etc.

#
dhayanandhan Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts
Guru 08/27/2015 12:31 PM

Dear Mr.agnimohanty,

Pl. open the following and you can learn a lot.about BUS DUCT Vs.CABLING

1. https://www.google.co.in/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=ui_fVcG3De7I8AfypaVY&gws_rd=ssl#q=cable+vs+bus+duct

2. http://www.allinterview.com/showanswers/88748/why-are-using-bus-ducts-why-not-using-cables.html
Join Date: May 2008
Location: CHENNAI, TAMIL 3. bus bar system http://www.electricalengineering-book.com/pdf/chapter-142791.pdf
NADU, INDIA.
Posts: 1854 4. http://www.handh.net/Blog/HH/How-does-a-busway-system-save-me-money-over-wire-and-conduit-
Good Answers: 64
5. https://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090715233643AAcXYg7

6. http://m.kbc.com.co/Q/branch-cable-vs-bus-duct-pros-and-cons

7. https://books.google.co.in/books?id=tFcUBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA267&lpg=PA267&dq=cable+vs+bus+duct&source=bl&o
ts=umvsfjLebO&sig=BodsybCOS6XTN03ZBRqVtECSp6M&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEkQ6AEwCDgeahUKEw
iS4vnv0MnHAhXPcI4KHfdqBOw#v=onepage&q=cable%20vs%20bus%20duct&f=false

DHAYANANDHAN.S

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#4 "Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts" by electricalexpert65 on 12/18/2009 8:47 AM (score 6)

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Check out these comments that don't yet have enough votes to be "official" good answers and, if you agree with them, rate them!

#1 "Re: bus duct" by Anonymous Poster on 12/16/2009 3:40 AM (score 1)

#2 "Re: Cables vs. Bus Ducts" by kvsubramanyam on 12/16/2009 10:48 PM (score 1)

Users who posted comments: Copy to Clipbo

andreY (2); Anonymous Poster (5); capblanc (1); dhayanandhan (1); electricalexpert65 (2); giri (1); kvsubramanyam (1)

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