Aluminum Wiring.

[verbalks]

I am working on a room for someone and I was considering replacing a light switch and a few receptacles. The home has Aluminum wiring. Can standard receptacles and light switches be used with aluminum wiring? Do you have to buy special switches and receptacles. Thank you for any help.

 

[Gentle Ben]

2 choices

there's 2 acceptable solutions.
if the devices are rated for aluminum its simply a direct reconnection ,or, in some cases , (as in some of the decora line) when they aren't aluminum rated, you have to add a pigtail of copper to the existing aluminum with aluminum/copper rated marrets
the latter way is perfectly acceptable in Ontario electrical code if the devices aren't aluminum rated.
I believe in both cases the compound sould be used as well.

 

[papasmerf]

There is a special wire nut used to connect copper and aluminum. If memory serves they are purple and made by IDEAL

 

[Moraff]

I am working on a room for someone and I was considering replacing a light switch and a few receptacles. The home has Aluminum wiring. Can standard receptacles and light switches be used with aluminum wiring? Do you have to buy special switches and receptacles. Thank you for any help.

You can use any device that is stamped CO/ALR. The inexpensive switch/outlets (the ones you can buy by the box at HD and the like) are rated for copper only. If those are the ones being used right now then they need to be changed immediately as there is a not-insignificant fire risk!

So if you wish to use the copper only ones, then you will have to run a short piece of copper wire from the device to the copper wire and connect them with a special marrette/wirenut as mentioned above. You also need the anti-oxidant paste for all copper/aluminum joints. This is a cheaper but more time-consuming solution than using the CO/ALR devices.

If you do use the CO/ALR devices always use the screw-terminals, don't use the back-wiring holes.

Once a year you should be checking all aluminum wire terminal connections to ensure that they are still tight. (Aluminum wire expands/contracts much more than copper for a given temperature change which can loosen connections over time).

Ideally you should replace all the aluminum wire with copper but unfortunately that's not always feasible.