Is it possible to change aluminum wiring in an apartment: a ban on use

The production and transmission of electricity to consumers is not easy and has many features. Sooner or later, every homeowner is faced with the issue of replacing electrical wiring. It is important to know the advantages and disadvantages of materials of manufacture, as well as the service life.

Rules, orders and PUE for aluminum and copper wiring

In accordance with the edits adopted in 2019, residential wiring can be made from aluminum and copper cables.

However, it is not aluminum wires of the 60-70s that are suitable for operation, but modern alloys with some iron content. The main thing is to comply with the requirements given in the table.

Prohibition of aluminum wiring in the apartment

In accordance with international standards, old-style aluminum wiring is recognized as potentially fire hazardous, therefore it is prohibited to conduct it. Several facts that confirm this:

• Cases of fire have been repeatedly recorded in the world, the cause of which was aluminum wiring. As a result, more than a dozen people were killed.
• According to statistics, in apartment buildings and country houses with an aluminum electrical network, the frequency of spontaneous combustion is 55 times higher than the number of fires in rooms with electrical wires made of other materials.
• According to chapter 7.1. PUE. P.7.1.34 this type of wiring is allowed for use only in structures that were built before 2001.
• To prevent fire? it is forbidden to connect copper and aluminum wires, for example, by twisting.

Old-style aluminum wiring was banned for good reason. There are more reliable and affordable materials that will prevent spontaneous combustion under increased load.

Properties of aluminum wiring

Aluminum is not the best option for indoor wiring, but the material has several advantages over its counterparts. It is lightweight, which greatly simplifies installation work, provided that a large amount of aluminum cable is required. The cost is lower compared to copper. These two main advantages became decisive when choosing the types of wiring during the construction of structures in the USSR.

Another important feature of the material is corrosion resistance. However, aluminum oxidizes strongly when exposed to air. The result is a film that protects against further damage to the wiring. This film has poor conductivity, which can be attributed to another disadvantage.

In comparison with aluminum wiring, it is better to give preference to copper for the following reasons:

• When oxidized, copper does not lose its conductive properties.
• It has a long service life.
• The material is more resistant to mechanical stress, for example, bending, twisting, etc.

During oxidation, films are formed in both cases, but each has different conductive properties.

Aluminum fluidity

First of all, you need to know about the physical and chemical characteristics of aluminum. The substance belongs to the group of flowing metals, it is several times softer than copper. This is a significant drawback, since homeowners need to regularly check and, if necessary, retighten all screw contact points, for example, in sockets, circuit breakers and terminal blocks. This is very inconvenient if there are 10 or more sockets in the house, which need to be disassembled, tightened and mounted every six months.

Flexibility and fragility

The second feature of aluminum conductors is fragility and fragility. If you bend them several times, they will break off without much effort. It takes a lot of effort to deform copper.

When installing aluminum wiring in your actions, you need to be very careful and accurate, since shifting, unscrewing and twisting the contacts will lead to breaks.

Connecting aluminum to machines

The third feature of the material is the contacts of the switching equipment. For RCDs, switches, voltage relays, contactors, terminal blocks and starters, they are initially made of copper or brass.

If the brass-aluminum = copper-aluminum contacts are directly connected, a galvanic pair is formed, accompanied by strong heating of the junction and the formation of oxides.

Section of veins

Another feature of aluminum wiring is the need to increase the cross-section of the wires of the wiring. If earlier it was enough to use cables with copper conductors 2.5 mm2 in size, now there is a need to lay at least 4 mm2.

Is it possible to change old aluminum wires in an apartment

The steel-aluminum wire must be replaced. One of the most compelling reasons is the maximum load it can handle. Even fully functional and efficient wiring installed several decades ago will not be able to withstand the stresses of today. This is due to the large number of household appliances installed at home. And it is strictly forbidden to additionally equip electrical wiring with a large cross-section, since this can cause overheating and due to fire.

It is recommended to give preference to copper cables, because they are more fire-resistant and reliable, withstand heavy loads.

Despite the requirements of the PUE for the operation of copper wiring in apartment buildings and private houses, on October 16, 2017, the Ministry of Energy issued order No. 968 authorizing the use of aluminum wires again. However, we are not talking about the material that was used in the 60s of the last century, but about more advanced cables, which consist of conductors of an aluminum-iron alloy.

Specialists of the Russian company RUSAL developed alloys, which were assigned the numbers 8030 and 8176. On March 20, 2019, amendments were made to the set of rules that allow them to be legally used in their households.

Requirements for removing old wiring

The first step is to de-energize the burst switch. This will eliminate the possibility of electric shock. The next stage is the dismantling of old wiring and equipment.

It is best to start dismantling from junction boxes. The covers, according to the layout, are located on the walls under the ceiling. From the very beginning, the lead-in wire is found, carefully insulated and cut off. After that, you can start removing the remaining wires.

If the cable ducts are not in good condition, it is not possible to pull new wiring through them. In such cases, electricians are advised to leave the old communications intact, and lay new ones on the surface of the walls.

Basic requirements for operation

The use of aluminum wiring is allowed subject to the basic requirements:

• The cross-sectional size must be at least 16 sq. mm.
• To connect several parts, clamping contacts must be used. At the same time, a special store lubricant is additionally used, which prevents oxidation of the contacts and maintains a minimum indicator of transient resistance.
• In junction boxes, special welding is used to connect parts of electrical wires. The disadvantage is that this method is rarely used due to its high cost and time consuming.

If the masters were called for soldering, you need to personally monitor the quality of the work performed so that everything is carried out in accordance with the technical requirements.

Maximum permissible load on aluminum wiring of different cross-sectional sizes.

The service life of aluminum wires, subject to all operating rules, reaches several decades, but if you neglect the technical recommendations, the problems will begin in six months to a year.

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