Aluminum Wiring Replacement

Bay Area Aluminum Wiring Replacement

Learn About Aluminum Wiring Replacement
Aluminum Wiring Replacement FAQs

About Aluminum Wiring Replacement

If your home was built in the 1960s and 1970s, there’s a good change your electrical system contains aluminum wires. According to the Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, roughly 2,000,000 homes were either built or renovated with aluminum wiring. During the mid-1970s home builders and renovators began using copper wiring because the aluminum wiring was found to be a fire hazard.

If you think your home has aluminum wiring, call Rortech Electric, your Bay Area electrician, today to find out for sure.

Aluminum Wiring Replacement FAQs

Why is aluminum wiring unsafe?
Should I rewire my whole house?

Why is aluminum wiring unsafe?

According to Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, “Aluminum wiring in a house presents a very serious potential fire hazard. We feel that there are a significant number of homeowners who have aluminum wiring and who haven’t yet taken steps to make their homes safe.”

Aluminum wiring poses a fire hazard wherever it is spliced or makes a connection with an outlet, switch, circuit breaker, or other component of the electrical system. At connection points, aluminum wires shrink and expand with temperature changes. Over time, this movement can cause breaks in the circuit, as well as overheating, sparks, or fire.

Should I rewire my whole house?

Unsafe aluminum wiring can be easily addressed by adding copper connection points to the ends of the aluminum wires. These points can be adding the ends that come in contact with outlets, switches, and circuit breakers. This can be done without having to completely rewire your home.

Although this can seem to be an easy fix, working with aluminum wiring can be dangerous and should only be performed by an electrician who is specifically trained in aluminum to copper retrofits.