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 2,100 sq.ft. and a multifamily unit of about 1,000 sq.ft.
An average single-family home uses 439 pounds of copper.
In an average single-family home, you will find about:
195 pounds - building wire
151 pounds - plumbing tube, fittings, valves
24 pounds - plumbers' brass goods
47 pounds - built-in appliances
12 pounds - builders hardware
10 pounds - other wire and tube
An average multifamily unit uses 278 pounds of copper:
125 pounds - building wire
82 pounds - plumbing tube, fittings, valves
20 pounds - plumbers' brass goods
38 pounds - built-in appliances
6 pounds - builders hardware
7 pounds - other wire and tube
General levels of copper use in major appliances:
52 pounds - unitary air conditioner
48 pounds - unitary heat pump
5.0 pounds - dishwasher
4.8 pounds - refrigerator/freezer
4.4 pounds - clothes washer
2.7 pounds - dehumidifier
2.3 pounds - disposer
2.0 pounds - clothes dryer
1.3 pounds - range
Some 10,000 copper range hoods and 20,000 weather vanes are produced annually, using about 7 pounds of copper each.
Copper Fact 3The average house has 12 locksets: 2½ are keyed, the rest are passage sets. The average multifamily unit has 6 locksets: 1½ keyed, the remainder are passage sets.
Copper Fact 4There are probably about a billion doorknobs in the U.S., their copper contents weigh in at about 500-600 million pounds.
Copper Fact 5There is an average of 50-55 electrical outlets per home and some 15-20 switches. That translates to between 2½ and 3 pounds of copper alloy for these uses per house.