The Relationship and Differences Between Busbar, Busduct, and Bus Bridge

Busbar

In the field of electrical engineering, a busbar (also known as a bus bar or omnibar) typically refers to the current collecting bar within high and low voltage cabinets or the power supply mains, used to connect multiple electrical circuits. The system uses the busbar to install various interface cards and transmit various data to the devices connected to these cards.

A bus serves multiple components. The basic working method of a bus usually involves a component sending information onto the bus in a time-shared manner, followed by the bus sending this information simultaneously to all receiving components. The specific recipient is determined by control signals generated from decoding the device address provided by the CPU.

Busduct

A busduct is a tree-type, tap-off capable power supply system for large currents, usually referring to compact busduct or enclosed bus ducts. It is typically composed of a metal shell (steel or aluminum), conductors (copper or aluminum bars), insulating materials, and related accessories. The internal copper bars are placed closely together and, through insulation treatment, can operate safely and stably.

Busducts ( first originated in the United States) and began to be put into practical application in Japan, subsequently proliferating rapidly in developed countries and regions. In recent years, with the large-scale construction of infrastructure, the demand for electricity has increased significantly. Busducts have gradually become a rigid demand and essential product for large current transmission systems in places such as industrial plants, high-rise buildings, commercial complexes, and rail transit.

Bus Bridge

A bus bridge essentially serves the same function as a bus duct; both are carriers for large current operation. It is a bus system composed of metal plates (steel or aluminum) as protective shells, conductive strips, insulating materials, and related accessories. It can be manufactured as a plug-in enclosed bus duct with tap-off boxes or as a feeder enclosed bus duct without tap-off boxes in the middle. There are gaps left between the product's conductive copper bars, relying primarily on air insulation within the channel. Therefore, a bus bridge is also called an air-insulated bus duct.

From the perspective of product selection and the iterative process, busducts (compact bus ducts) are superior to bus bridges (air-insulated busducts) in terms of conductivity, safety, and current-carrying capacity, belonging to an upgraded product type.