If copper cable is expensive, why not use aluminum? I was quoted $5000+ to upgrade my house from 100A electric...
I was quoted $5000+ to upgrade my house from 100A electric service to 400A. Part of the motivation for the high cost is the cost of copper. What size copper chain is needed for 400A, and how much does it cost per foot? Would it be a lot cheaper to use aluminum lead?
Yeah, aluminum isn't allowed contained by new or renovated construction. The size of cable needed for 400A will be determined by the service provider. Probably 4/0 size cable. New service way a new panel and foreign wiring. 14/2 is suitable for lighting and standard receptacle use up to 15A, but 20A is required for all kitchen outlets, so use 12/2. If you use 12/2 throughout, be sure to use 20 amp breakers contained by the panel. Since 14/2 is only rate up to 15A, if you use 14/2 with 20 amp breakers, you run the risk of overheating and cause a fire.
Basic difficulties:
Aluminum will oxidize and conducts current in the order of half as in good health as copper (for 40 B&S guage, Al resistance = 0.0564 ohms/cm, Cu resistance = 0.0344 ohms/cm). You also stand a chance of galvonic corrosion at interfaces beside other metals.
Overcoming difficulties:
Connections for aluminum are more critical than copper, and although these installation steps are not difficult, they are indeed different from copper installation and need to be followed per instructions.
When connections are made correctly and evaluate compensations are taken into account, aluminum conductors in fact run at a lower resistance, and therefore a lower warmth, than copper conductors. There are steps that must be taken to ensure proper installation when using aluminum:
First and foremost, a proper stripping tool should be used to avoid damage to the conductor. Also, the installer should be aware that aluminum is prone to the formation of a unbelievably thin oxide echelon which is created within a few second of air exposure. For this explanation, the conductor must be cleaned with a lead brush to remove this oxide layer, and next an antioxidant joint compound such as NOOX or Penetrox must be applied to preserve the oxide layer from subsequently forming.
The connections must be torqued to the manufacturer¡¯s recommendation. Failure to tighten the connections properly could result in an begin circuit or arcing problems; however, terminations must also not be over-torqued and they should not be tightened annually. Doing so will reduce the current-carrying size through deformation and cause a hot termination.
Aluminum-rated, two-hole compression connectors are to be used. Mechanical connections are not a favorable nouns type because of the expansion properties of aluminum. However, some vendors disagree, claiming corral electricians have more trouble near using the wrong dies in crimpers than beside misusing the mechanical connectors. In any case, close attention must be rewarded to the details of lug installation. This design may cause some spatial concerns beside some equipment, e.g. panelboards.
Savings can reach up to 70 percent if aluminum is utilized contained by every possible way. Interstates Engineering conducted commodity price comparison study for a customer and found that the total price of aluminum electrics was 25 to 30 percent smaller number than if the customer had chosen to use just copper. Not only is aluminum significantly smaller number expensive than copper, its market pricing is much more stable.
It should be noted that the price of aluminum is currently rising, but simply steadily increasing in intensely small percentages compared to the flea market for copper, which fluctuates greatly. We are currently experiencing a historic rise in copper pricing.
Answers: Oh come on!!
The question seem to be asking abotu replacing the service ENTRY cable to bump it up from 100 to 400 AMPS.
Got news for you adjectives. THe service entrace cable IS aluminum.
It connects to the circuit breaker box at terminals designed FOR aluminum. Go pinch a look at any recent install and tell me what you see. (It will be AL)
AS for the remainign wires throughout the house.
Most will be copper.
However make a note of that modern outlets can be provided to accept aluminum and copper. Just look fot the AL/CU stamp ont he outlet. Generally the clothes dryer, over and A/C will use al rope but they are attached to outlets specifically designed for AL wire.
Eric