Aluminum Wiring Repair & Remediation in Florida

Why Aluminum Wiring Is a Problem

During the mid-1960s, copper prices spiked and builders switched to aluminum for branch circuit wiring (the wiring that runs from your panel to outlets, switches, and fixtures). Aluminum was cheaper and conducted electricity well, but it has physical properties that make it problematic at connections.

The core problem is thermal expansion and contraction. Aluminum expands and contracts more than copper when current flows through it. Over years of heating and cooling cycles, this causes connections to loosen at every device in your home. Loose connections arc, and arcing generates intense heat that can ignite insulation, wood framing, and other combustibles, often inside walls where it goes undetected.

Aluminum also oxidizes more readily than copper. Aluminum oxide is a poor conductor, so oxidized connections have higher resistance, which generates even more heat.

The CPSC estimates that approximately 2 million homes in the United States still have single-strand aluminum branch wiring. Many are in Florida, where the building boom of the 1960s and 1970s coincided exactly with the aluminum wiring era.

Does Your Home Have Aluminum Wiring?

Single-strand aluminum branch wiring was used primarily from 1965 to the mid-1970s. If your home was built during this period, there's a significant chance it has aluminum wiring.

• Wire insulation in your panel or attic is silver-colored (copper is orange/red)
• Wire jacket is labeled 'AL' or 'ALUMINUM'
• Home was built between 1965 and 1975
• Outlets or switches feel warm to the touch
• Lights flicker or dim intermittently
• Burning smell near outlets or switches
• Outlets or switches are discolored or have scorch marks

Important: Aluminum wiring in the service entrance (the large wires coming from the utility to your meter and panel) is normal and not a concern. The problem is single-strand aluminum branch circuit wiring. the smaller wires running to outlets, switches, and fixtures.

CPSC-Accepted Remediation Methods

The CPSC recognizes two methods for aluminum wiring remediation. Both involve adding a short copper "pigtail" at each connection point so that the final connection to every device is copper-to-copper. We offer both methods and will recommend the right one for your home and insurance carrier.

Note: Complete rewiring (replacing all aluminum with copper) is also an option but is significantly more expensive and disruptive. COPALUM and AlumiConn are the practical solutions for most homeowners.

Aluminum Wiring & Florida Homeowners Insurance

Most Florida insurance carriers will not write or renew a policy on a home with unremediated single-strand aluminum branch wiring. It is one of the most common reasons for policy non-renewal in older Florida homes.

After COPALUM or AlumiConn remediation, most carriers will accept the home. We provide a signed letter documenting the completed work, the method used, and the scope of remediation. Your insurance agent can submit this to bind or reinstate your policy.

If you also have a problematic panel brand (Federal Pacific, Zinsco, Challenger, or Pushmatic), we recommend addressing both at the same time. We coordinate the utility disconnect, permits, and inspection for both jobs together, which is more efficient and cost-effective.

What Aluminum Wiring Remediation Involves

1. 1

   Inspection & Assessment

   We confirm aluminum wiring, count circuits and devices, and assess the scope of remediation needed.

2. 2

   Written Quote

   Flat-rate pricing with COPALUM and AlumiConn options. No surprises.

3. 3

   Permit

   We pull the electrical permit with your city or county.

4. 4

   Remediation

   We work through the home systematically, panel, outlets, switches, fixtures, junction boxes, adding copper pigtails at every connection point.

5. 5

   County Inspection

   We schedule it and meet the inspector.

6. 6

   Documentation

   You receive a signed letter for your insurance carrier detailing the method used and scope completed.