Copper busbars offer excellent electrical conductivity and can carry high current with a smaller cross-section. They provide stable performance, generate less heat, and are widely used in critical or high-load switchgear. The downside is higher cost and weight. Engineering use: Busbars are common in switchgear, panelboards, substations, busway, battery systems, and industrial power distribution equipment. What controls it: Material, cross-sectional area, temperature rise, enclosure ventilation, spacing, supports, and fault current all affect busbar. This allows you to carry high current in a relatively small profile while staying within the temperature-rise limits imposed by standards such as IEC 61439-1, which sets a maximum temperature rise of 105 K for bare copper busbars in low-voltage assemblies. In practical terms, efficient copper. While many busbars are custom-shaped and sized to fit the unique needs of the application, there are also smaller busbars that are used directly with a PC board, as shown in Figure 2; these also act as board stiffeners. Good selection is never just about ampacity; it also depends on temperature rise, fault duty, joint reliability, corrosion exposure, and the governing standard set. Busbar installations come in an infinite variety of arrangements, ranging from small to large, but they all share a dramatic, no-nonsense appearance. (Image: Red Seal Electric Company) Bus bars do not necessarily have to be large, highly visible, sometimes intimidating components.