Copper In The Home

Building construction accounts for nearly half of all copper use. Residential construction is about two-thirds of the building construction market.

The following figures are based on a single-family home of about 2100 sq.ft. and a multifamily unit of about 1000 sq.ft.

An average single-family home uses 439 pounds of copper.

In an average single-family home, you will find about:
195 lbs – building wire
151 lbs – plumbing tube, fittings, valves
24 lbs – plumbers’ brass goods
47 lbs – built-in appliances
12 lbs – builders’ hardware
10 lbs – other wire and tube

An average multifamily unit uses 278 lbs of copper:
125 lbs – building wire
82 lbs – plumbing tube, fittings, valves
20 lbs – plumbers’ brass goods
38 lbs – built-in appliances
6 lbs – builders’ hardware
7 lbs – other wire and tube

General levels of copper use in major appliances:
52 lbs – unitary air conditioner
48 lbs – unitary heat pump
5 lbs – dishwasher
4.8 lbs – refrigerator/freezer
4.4 lbs – clothes washer
2.7 lbs – dehumidifier
2.3 lbs – disposer
2 lbs – clothes dryer
1.3 lbs – range

The average house has 12 locksets: 2-1/2 are keyed, the rest are passage sets. The average multifamily unit has 6 locksets: 1-1/2 keyed, the remainder are passage sets.

There are probably about a billion doorknobs in the U.S., their copper contents weigh in at about 500-600 million pounds.

There is an average of 50-55 electrical outlets per home and some 15-20 switches. That translates to between 2-1/2 and 3 pounds of copper alloy for these uses per home.

Some 10,000 copper range hoods and 20,000 weather vanes are produced annually, using about 7 pounds of copper each.