copper vs. aluminum

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MGest

Member
Location
NYC
Hi Everyone,

I have an option to pull either 2/O CU or 300kcmil AL. Can anyone tell me in their experience, if the amount one saves on using aluminum is greater than the labor saved by pulling a smaller wire size on the copper?

Thanks a lot
 

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
As for the installing either of the conductor types IMO it's a toss up. The real savings will be in the cost of the conductors but part of that may be eaten up if you need a larger raceway.
 

rcarroll

Senior Member
Hi Everyone,

I have an option to pull either 2/O CU or 300kcmil AL. Can anyone tell me in their experience, if the amount one saves on using aluminum is greater than the labor saved by pulling a smaller wire size on the copper?

Thanks a lot
Why 300 aluminum? 4/0 Al. is close to the ampacity of 2/0 cu.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Important factor - how long of a run?

Only 10 foot run, might still be less materials cost for aluminum but still be close enough you look at more at other advantages and not just cost.
 

GoldDigger

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Staff member
Location
Placerville, CA, USA
Occupation
Retired PV System Designer
It also depends on how the wire is going to be terminated. It is possible that some devices you plan to use are either not rated for Al or will not accept the wire size needed when using Al. Not a terribly likely situation, and can be accommodated using a pigtail, but still worth looking out for.
 

JFletcher

Senior Member
Location
Williamsburg, VA
Good points by everybody here. Some of the exceptions where copper would be better is running to equipment that has lugs that can only accept copper conductors, having to go up to the next size raceway where the raceway is already installed or would be a giant pitb to upsize, where wire ampacities cross on the tables, and so on.

Exceptions notwithstanding, generally you will come out way ahead with aluminum. Specifically, there are a few cases where copper is the only way to go, job spec being the number one reason.

branch circuit wiring is almost exclusively run in copper, however that is why I mentioned in my first post regarding the wire sizes. You are almost never going to see number 12 in aluminum, 350 MCM is a different matter.
 

MGest

Member
Location
NYC
Thank you everyone for your input!! JFletcher - a lot of sound advice and valid points! Regarding the terminations- yes we based the service on using AL lugs, so no issue there. And yes, very often an owner will specifically ask for copper. You guys are great, thanks for the help!
 
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