Aluminum Cable |
If you have not changed an
electrical outlet or opened the board to your electrical dispensation framework
you cannot identify what type of electrical wiring is in your home. It is not
regular information to know the kind of electrical wiring in your home, but you
should know if you have electrical wiring that may represent a danger. Aluminum cable in
homes has been known to cause security concerns, so we have to know if there is
an issue and what should be possible to resolve it.
Not all aluminum electrical cabling
is a worry. The electrical cabling that powers our homes originates from a BC Hydro
matrix, to the hydro poles, and from the hydro poles to your home. These large
wires are standard aluminum cable. This cable has been installed by experts in
the right application. It has routine upkeep by BC Hydro for security reasons.
Why can aluminum cable be unsafe?
The issue with the strong center
aluminum wiring is that there is branch circuit wiring going from the
electrical board to the plugs, switches and installations in the house.
Aluminum is a best electrical
conductor. It is solid, lightweight, and much less expensive than copper. This
being said, aluminum also has its drawback and fails were copper does not.
Aluminum can oxidize when presented to air; bringing about overheating and
disappointment at the outlets, switches, and fixtures. Aluminum also has a
higher rate of extension which makes it extend and recoil in this manner
results in arcing, dissolving, and even fires. On the off chance that the aluminum cable was not installed
accurately and was scratched, over fixed, or harmed amid the installation it
can be the reason of safety risks. As a result of the security concerns with
aluminum wiring – it is currently banned from being installed inside homes for
the branch circuits setting off to the switches, outlets, and fixtures.
How to Check for Aluminum cabling?
Unless you are an authorized electrician
or you have the complete training it is not secure to open up electrical boards
or touch electrical wiring. Electrical wiring may be obvious in the event that
you have an unfinished basement, storage room, crawlspace, or an unfinished
room where you can see the wiring itself. Aluminum wiring will be checked with
the word aluminum or it may have the abbreviations ALUM, AL, ALUM.
What to look in home for safety?
There are various indications
that aluminum cables
could be a safety concern in your home. Here is a list of what to look for:
- A flash/smoke harm around outlets and modules.
- The smell of burning elastic or plastic when utilizing a machine like a vacuum cleaner or space warmer.
- Burnt or stained electrical switches and plates.
Here are tips to overcome from this problem
- Remove all the aluminum cables and supplanting it with new copper cables.
- A remediating procedure mostly used is to "braid" copper wiring with aluminum at all outlets.