How to Install Copper Wire in Your Home

 

Like a lot of people, I’ve experienced home projects involving a lot of wiring. Well, okay, my husband was the one adamant about getting copper wire for the project, telling me all about how it’s the most conductive material for the job. We found that for some appliances and lights we needed to use copper throughout the home to keep them safer from fire and short circuits. It’s actually really easy to do. You don’t need to be an expert on home improvement to install copper wire pretty much anywhere you need it. You might need different kinds depending on the job, like plated or solid bare copper wire. Copper is pretty much the best material to use for electrical wire installation because of its ability to avoid water corrosion along with its conductivity. Here are some basic steps to help you out when organizing your installation.

Step 1: Start with Grounding

Putting copper wire in the ground right outside of your house is really where you should begin. These prevent spare charges from going to your electrical box, and connect all fo the wiring to the different rooms in the home through the main electrical box. The ground wire will be like stakes that are placed in the soil in your backyard. They should be short so that the wire connected to the top has a more direct connection into the house. Each end of ground copper wire should connect to a different room.

Step 2: Connect Wire to the Main Electrical Box

You’ll find the electrical box where the meter is read. In my neighborhood, a stranger typically walks in our backyard awkwardly to check ours, clipboard in-hand. Make sure the power is off, which is absolutely the most important action to take here, and connect copper wire to the fuses on each switch. Run the wire through the house up into the ceilings, and if you’ve got a house with two or more floors, you’ll want to slip it through the upstairs flooring as well. To help you do this, just follow the wiring already in the walls. Eventually, you’ll reach the lights and other appliances, along with the electrical outlets. This part should be pretty straight forward once you get going. My husband only had a little trouble tracing the wire when there were a lot of different outlets and appliances in one room.

Step 3: Make the Final Connections

Once you have all of your copper wire, whether it’s stranded or solid bare copper wire, you can connect it to your outlets. Remove the switches and outlets with a screwdriver and rewire them, removing all of the wiring already attached to them and attaching the copper in its place. Do the same thing with all of your ceiling lights, removing them and rewiring. Once this is done you can turn the electricity on, check to see if the lights are working properly, and if you have more to work on, turn the power off and go for it. The electrical current should be linked to the ground wire through the house.

Now depending on where you live, these steps can change. Make sure you find a good patch of soil for ground wire, and you may want to purchase a lot of copper so you don’t worry about running out. One of the most frustrating moments my husband experienced was when he found that he didn’t have enough wire to connect the ground wire toward the side of the house to the fuse box. Then we found that there are plenty of places where you can find it in bulk. We didn’t need much more then, but for future projects, like if we install new light fixtures, it can definitely be helpful to have a plentiful amount of wire.

There are a lot of different kinds, too. You can get solid bare copper wire if you want a strong stable wire, or you can get it stranded if you’re looking for more flexibility. It makes perfect sense that this stuff has been used since the telegraph in the 1820s. I had no idea so many appliances (and even modern computers) use it. The best part is that it’s not going to take a huge wad of cash to buy a lot of it, so if you’ve got a lot of wiring to do, keep in mind it won’t cost you half the house itself.

Resources for Copper Wire

If you want to know more about the different kinds of copper wire and the uses for them, here are a few places to look.

Install Copper Wire for Your Home: Costs and Estimates

You can learn more about the specific costs and reasons for using copper in installation projects.

Find plenty of different kinds of wire in bulk, like braided, stranded and solid bare copper wire, for all types of applications.

How to Remove Corrosion from Copper Wiring

Should your copper wiring somehow wind up corroding, which is rare, this guide tells you how to get it off.

The Different Types of Copper Wire and Their Uses

 

There are a lot of purposes for copper wire, and all of these different purposes can require a unique kind of insulated wire. Copper has been the main conductor of electricity in a lot of wiring ever since the birth of the telegraph in the 1820s. Because of the many uses for it, different wiring types have been constructed for each use over the years, many of which I’m sure I’ve used more than I remember. For example, there is a fairly large difference between wires used for automotives, telecommunications and appliances. There are a lot of types that serve different purposes such as copper wire cables and braided wire, just to show you how we’ve messed with this technology through the centuries.

General Uses

Used for buildings and homes, there is almost nothing copper can’t conduct. In fact, copper is so prevalent in homes and businesses that buildings can simply be labeled “all-copper” to signify that every wire running through the structures is comprised of copper. From circuit breakers to heavier appliances, copper is a major material used in just about every area of the home. That’s how reliant we are on this stuff. Forget about if the Internet disappeared; if copper did now, we would still be in a lot of trouble.

Speaking of the Internet, copper wire can also be found in computer system mainframes. Because of its versatility, its ability to be solid, stranded, or even braided makes it useful for just about any application imaginable. Each use can benefit from a uniquely produced wire type.

Automotive and Marine Wire

Normally used for vehicles or marine applications (though not limited to them of course), this kind of wire uses tinned copper which resists water corrosion, and bare copper conductor for automotives. There is a variety of general purpose wire styles, including:

• GPT – Used for circuit wiring
• TWP – Smaller in diameter than GPT, this wire is used for applications requiring thinner wire
• HDT – Great for more protection than GPT
• SXL – Optimal for areas where more heat resistance is required, with a maximum temperature of 125 degrees Celsius
• GXL – Solid for thinner wire requirements and higher heat resistance
• TXL – In addition to high heat resistance and a thin diameter, this copper wire is also more lightweight.

There are also wires for trailer and conductor cables, along with SGT, SGX and STX wire types in batteries.

Household Integration

You know the back of your T.V.? The F connector coaxial cable connected to it may seem to be disguised to look nothing like copper, but if you look in the center of the plugging end you can see the copper wire poking out.

Copper is also used in a ton of other electronics, like telephones and computers. Structured wiring is the use of modern day copper wiring to connect computers to each other so they can have a high speed connection. Structured wiring is used for connecting computers to other devices as well such as printers and fax machines. Ethernet cables use it, and I guarantee most of your appliances anywhere in the home use it, from your washing machine to your microwave.

Most copper wire cables are either solid or stranded. Stranded is more flexible but both are really conductive. Braided wire is used not so much for electrical purposes, but to coat and support other wires. When braided, copper is really flexible, and at the same time tough. You can even coat your hoses with it to keep them from bending and tearing.

Copper Wire is Still Necessary in the Digital Age

Since we have developed such a dependency on it, copper wire is likely to stick around for a while. The uses for it are so extensive that the world would need to restart just about every electrical system before copper can safely disappear. So many different types have been developed for individual uses, from braided wire to solid bare copper wire, making it integrated to the point where we just can’t let go. Its strength reveals why it has been around for so long, and why automobiles use it due to its ability to withstand more extreme temperatures, fire and other elements.

At the same time, it’s one of the most inexpensive and plentiful materials to come across, making it a lot better of an investment than other more costly and yet less useful materials. I’ve been able to find copper wire cables in bulk, in spools no less, for some larger wiring projects I’ve worked on at home. It’s definitely not an expensive option and its usefulness makes it perfect for anything requiring a lot of conductivity