Electrical Service Upgrades in Rancho Bernardo, Poway, Escondido
In the 1970’s many homes were installed with aluminum wiring because copper was too expensive to use. The unfortunate side effect of this is that now many home owners require electrical service upgrades as aluminum wiring has been identified as unsafe. The use of aluminum wiring has been implicated in many home fires and is no longer used in residential electrical wiring. Anyone who currently owns a home that has aluminum wiring should have it inspected and consider an electrical service upgrade if a problem is identified by an electrician.
Should I be worried if my home has aluminum wiring?
If you live in an older home located in Rancho Bernardo, Poway or Escondido and know for a fact that your home is wired with aluminum wiring, than you may be wondering if you should be concerned. Here is some good news not all aluminum wiring is a fire hazard. In fact, if your aluminum wiring has been installed correctly it can be relatively safe. However, it is still a good idea to have your home’s electrical system inspected by an electrician (like Fahr Electric Inc.) to make sure that there are not any lurking dangers behind your walls.
The Problem With Aluminum Wiring and Why You May Need An Electrical Service Upgrade in San Diego
The most commonly identified problem with aluminum wiring is an issue that is referred to as “cold creep”. Basically when an electrical aluminum wire warms up it expands in size. When it cools down it contracts back. When this happens the aluminum wiring loses a bit of its tightness and becomes slack. As a secondary issue, the aluminum oxidizes and corrodes when it is contact with other metals. This causes the resistance to the cold creep process to decrease. Over time aluminum wires may start operating very hot when electricity is running through them. This can potentially lead to a serious fire.
These issues are most common in San Diego homes that were constructed in the 1970’s. If you know that your home has aluminum wiring it is a good idea to have it look at by a qualified electrical technician like the ones employed at Fahr Electric Inc. They will be able to provide you with a technical assessment to determine whether or not a full electrical service upgrade is needed. If it is, this would require a complete rewiring of your home with modern day electrical wires.