What happens if tungsten is used in domestic wiring?

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    Tungsten Wiring
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SUMMARY

Using tungsten for domestic wiring is impractical due to its significantly higher resistance compared to copper, which is over three times greater for similar sizes. This necessitates thicker cables, increasing costs and complexity. Additionally, tungsten's rarity and difficulty in bending make it unsuitable for standard wiring applications. While tungsten is ideal for light bulb filaments due to its high melting point of 3400ºC, it does not provide advantages for household electrical systems.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of electrical resistance and its implications in wiring
  • Knowledge of material properties, specifically tungsten and copper
  • Familiarity with electrical components such as fan regulators
  • Basic principles of thermal conductivity and melting points of metals
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the electrical resistance of various materials, focusing on tungsten and copper
  • Explore the properties of tungsten in high-temperature applications
  • Investigate alternative materials for electrical wiring
  • Learn about the design and functionality of fan speed regulators
USEFUL FOR

Electrical engineers, electricians, and anyone involved in residential wiring or material selection for electrical applications will benefit from this discussion.

bentickkk
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Hi ! Small doubts which need to be clarified.

1)What happens if tungsten is used in domestic wiring?

2)Fan has a regulator that is used to control and vary its rotational speed.
Would it be possible to minimize the consumption of electricity by setting
the regulator to the lowest speed?
 
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Is the resistance of tungsten similar to copper ? If it is it would be about the same .
Light bulb filaments are made out of tungsten .
 


The resistance of a wire of tungsten would be more than three times the resistance of a similar size copper wire - so you'd need thicker cables.
Tungsten is much less common than copper and would cost a lot more for house wiring.
Taken together, those are good reasons for not using it!
The reason that lightbulb filaments are made of tungsten is that it has a very high melting point so they can be run at 'white heat' (3400ºC) and still survive. Copper melts at about 1080ºC so you could only have 'red hot' filaments.
 


If you run a fan slower, yes it will use less energy.
 


Also, tungsten does not bend very easily, it tends to break, so you could not go around corners very easily.
 


Tungsten is rarer, and harder to work with, which makes it much more expensive.
 

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