Can I Use Aluminum Conductors For Service Entrance

Aluminum Electrical Service Cables, Electric Panel Components & Wiring
Fire Safety Hazards

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Aluminum electrical service entry cables (SECs): This commodity summarizes possible safety and functional concerns with the use of aluminum wiring for service entry cables or electric panel components in buildings, and provides a link to the aluminum wiring information website.

This is a chapter of our discussion of the inspection of electrical services at buildings in order to make up one's mind service capacity in volts and amps.

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ALUMINUM SECs & WIRING - Aluminum Service Cables and Wiring in buildings for Electrical Service Delivery

In both branch excursion and entrance cable wires, the permitted wire gauges for copper are normally one size smaller than for aluminum used at the same ampacity rating. This is considering copper is a better conductor than aluminum. Aluminum wire must be larger to safely deport the same electric current as copper.

Burn down and Condom Problems with Aluminum Electrical Wiring

Aluminum SECs multiple (C) InspectAPedia There are important fire safety bug apropos the presence of aluminum co-operative excursion wiring in buildings - not discussed in this commodity. Solid aluminum branch conductors are no longer used in new wiring.

Aluminum service archway cables and aluminum single-purpose high-amperage circuits [Notation: Such as for auxiliary sub-panels, central ac or electrical ranges.> are commonly installed in many communities.

Photo (left) contributed past an anonymous reader, shows multiple aluminum SECs and main disconnects at an apartment edifice banking concern of electric meters.

Many new electric service panels use plated aluminum parts. According to some experts risks remain fifty-fifty with these permitted applications in both the US [run into "Reducing the Burn down Hazard in Aluminum-Wired Homes," Jesse Aronstein, Ph.D., Wright Malta Corporation, Ballston Spa, NY, 1982] and Canada [see "Overheating Failures of Aluminum-Wired Special Service Connectors," Jesse Aronstein and Wilfred East. Campbell, IEEE Transactions on Components, Hybrids, and Manufacturing Technology, Vol. 4 CHMT-vi, No.1, March 1983.]

The risks of poor connections and burn hazards for aluminum SEC wiring are reduced by proper abrasion of the connected wires, proper tightening of the connector, and utilize of a special anti-corrosion flux compound.

As recently as June 2006 nosotros received a report of a major house fire which the owner asserts began at an overheating electrical service entry cablevision connector.

Our Stance is that because the number of these connections is less than on a branch circuit wire, and possibly for other technical reasons involving the performance of multi-stranded aluminum wire, the risk of a burn down is probably statistically less than with solid conductor branch circuits. Information technology would announced that the hazard is not as low every bit with copper service entry cables.

Key References on Aluminum Electrical Wiring

ALUMINUM WIRING HAZARDS & REPAIRS for a thorough word of aluminum co-operative circuit wiring concerns in the U.S. and in Canada too.

[There is disagreement amongst professionals nearly the Canadian risk and failure rate. Ontario Hydro and some Canadian inspection professionals do not acknowledge a significant take chances from aluminum wiring in Canada. However the Scarboro development in Ontario demonstrated that failures and fires have occurred in that country. --DF]

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