Does Your Home Have Aluminum Wiring? 

It is estimated that 2 million homes in the United States, were built with aluminum wire between 1965 and 1973. This wiring can cause dangerous overheating or even fire due to failing wire connections.
 
Warning signs may be: Warm-to-the-touch faceplates on outlets or switches, flickering lights, circuits that don't work or the smell of burning plastics.  These signs can indicate a fire hazard within 15- and 20-ampere aluminum wiring circuits. A failure in the circuits can lead to electrical arcing and a serious fire, which can spread within the walls of a home before being detected.

The U.S. Consumer Protection Commission approves only two methods of repairing aluminum house wiring:
1.  Total replacement of the house wiring with copper.
2.  Pigtailing with the TYCO COPALUM crimping method, which effectively cold-welds the copper-aluminum pigtail connection.  "CPSC believes that twist-on connectors, receptacles and switches and other devices that connect directly to aluminum wires are an inadequate system".

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced May 2003 that Tyco Electronics Corp. is going to continue to offer the COPALUM connector repair system until at least the year 2005 for homes with aluminum wiring. The COPALUM crimp connector is the only system recognized by CPSC that provides a complete and permanent repair and reduces the fire hazard in aluminum wire circuits. The COPALUM connector repair materials and power crimping tools are only available to electricians who receive training from the manufacturer to ensure that repairs are properly made.

CPSC believes that "twist-on" connectors, receptacles and switches and other devices that connect directly to aluminum wires, are an inadequate solution. The COPALUM crimp connector system provides a safe, permanent fix.

The Fire Prevention and Investigation Division of the Denver Fire Department along with the Electrical Inspections Section of the Community Planning and Development Agency put out t
his informative information regarding aluminum electrical wiring.

For more information from the US Product Safety Commission on aluminum wiring you may go to http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml03/03120.html