Terms of operation of aluminum wiring in an apartment

During repairs, you often have to deal with the replacement or laying of new wiring. To select a material, you should study the characteristics of the options offered on the market and their service life. If your budget is tight, you can opt for aluminum.

Advantages of aluminum wiring

The material is lightweight. This fact allows wiring in large buildings without significant load on the foundation. For the same reason, aluminum cable is considered a priority for laying power lines. In Soviet times, almost all buildings were supplied with this material.

The metal is resistant to corrosion. When open, aluminum instantly enters into a chemical reaction with oxygen. As a result, a film is formed, which in turn protects the wire from further oxidation.

Another plus is the low price. If you compare the wiring with a similar copper product, the former is cheaper.

Operating rules

The apartment has a lot of electrical appliances. Based on this, in the edited PUE, the minimum cross-sectional indicator is 16 sq. mm. This parameter refers to the wiring used to electrify the apartment.

During installation work with aluminum products, one more rule should be observed: to connect the wires, you must use clamping contacts. To prevent the metal from oxidizing, a special lubricant is applied to it. This method of connecting individual elements will maximize the level of transition resistance.

There is another option that is relevant for installation in a junction box. Bare rods are connected together by welding. This is a laborious process and takes longer. Therefore, craftsmen often resort to clamping contacts. However, the qualitative result of applying the second method will be higher.

When partially replacing old wiring, it is often necessary to connect copper conductors with aluminum ones. If you do it directly, the following happens:

• oxidation and weakening of contacts;
• heating of conductors with different resistance;
• melting the insulating braid and exposing the metal;
• short circuit and ignition of materials.

Electricians connect dissimilar wires in safe ways:

1. Bolt, washers and nuts made of steel. It is not recommended to use galvanized parts. The connection turns out to be cumbersome, but in practice the effectiveness of such a contact has been tested. The main thing is that the bare parts of the wires do not have the opportunity to come into contact with each other.
2. Clamp named "Nut". In this case, there is no need to cut the wire. It is enough to clean a small area that will be placed between small metal plates. When using this type of clamp, you should pay attention to the material. They are usually made of stainless steel, which can lead to overheating of the wires. The contacts are placed in a "shell" made of refractory plastic.
3. Terminals into which bare metal is inserted. There is a paste inside the clamp that prevents oxidation. Masters recommend using them only for lighting fixtures.
4. Pads. Their use will require periodic tightening of the screws - approximately every 6-8 months. When choosing this clamp, you should make sure of its quality.

The best option for connecting dissimilar wires is crimping. The essence of this method is that the veins are stripped of oxide, covered with hot tin. Next, the wires are inserted into the GML sleeve, which is pressed.

For tightness, the contacts are treated with an adhesive heat-shrinkable composition. It is important to be careful with aluminum, which is soft and brittle in nature.

When choosing wires, it is worth considering the level of load that they can withstand, depending on the section. For example, 2.5 mm corresponds to 4.4 kW, 10 mm to 11 kW, and 70 to 36.3 kW.

Life time

When installing electrical communications, each consumer wants to take into account the facts of reliability and durability as much as possible. The service life of aluminum wiring can be nominal, warranty and actual.

Nominal

The theoretical indicator is taken into account at the design stage. If you follow all the rules of installation and operation, then the time period will be 25-30 years. At the same time, the temperature should not go beyond -50 to +50 degrees Celsius. At the same time, it is important not to forget about the need for preventive maintenance and constant monitoring of the state of contacts.

Warranty

The indicator, as a rule, differs from the nominal term downward. It can be as little as 5 years. At the same time, there are strict conditions for a free replacement that must be met:

• storage of products;
• transportation;
• the installer has a license;
• terms of Use.

The last point implies a load that should not exceed that specified by the manufacturer.

When you select the transaction for the customer, the actual key figure must be relevant. With the right choice of cross-section and automatic machines, proper maintenance, the service life of aluminum wiring can reach 100 years. However, it all depends on the quality of the alloy, laying and use of the net.

Disadvantages of aluminum wires

The limited service life of wires is due to the characteristic behavior of aluminum under its operating conditions. When the temperature changes, the metal deforms. The more times it expands and regains its shape, the higher the risk of a break in the cable core.

The fragility of aluminum excludes the possibility of bending the wire when laying it. It also leads to heating and fracture.

Bare contacts are oxidized almost instantly. The resulting film will greatly reduce the level of current conductance, resulting in a reduction in the cross-section of the wire and a reduction in the allowable load carrying capacity. This will be followed by overheating and destruction, which contribute to the appearance of a fire.

How to extend the life of your wiring

In order for the aluminum wiring to serve as long as possible, it is necessary to follow the rules for the design of contact connections and use protective equipment. It is also important to monitor the general condition of the wires.

Failure to comply and violation of the operating requirements will lead to the rapid failure of any wiring. Periodic monitoring of contacts will prevent damage and extend the service life of the communication.