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Should I Replace Aluminum Wiring?
Aluminum wiring was standard in the 1960s and 70s, but time changes what safe means.
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Why Aluminum Wiring Becomes a Fire Hazard
Aluminum wiring is still found in a large number of older homes across the US, including many Denver properties built during the construction boom of the 1960s and 70s. At the time, it was standard practice, fully code-compliant and widely used by licensed electricians everywhere. That changed once it became clear that aluminum wiring loses its structural integrity over time in ways that copper does not.
As aluminum wiring ages and cycles through heat and cooling, it expands and contracts at a higher rate than the connectors and devices it's attached to. That movement loosens connections. Loose connections create resistance. Resistance creates heat, and heat, in wiring hidden inside walls, is what causes house fires. The risk isn't theoretical. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has documented that homes with aluminum wiring are significantly more likely to have fire-hazard conditions than homes wired with copper.
Our recommendation is straightforward: if your home has aluminum wiring, replace it. This isn't about selling a service. It's the same advice any licensed electrician will give you when they open a panel and find aluminum branch circuit wiring. If you're not sure what your home has, an inspection will tell you. All Electric serves the entire greater Denver area and can assess your system, walk you through what we find, and give you a clear picture of what replacement involves.
How Aluminum Wiring Fails Over Time
The failure isn't sudden. It's a slow process that makes aluminum wiring more dangerous the older it gets.
Copper wiring holds its shape and maintains tight contact at connection points for decades. Aluminum behaves differently. It's a softer metal, and it expands and contracts more aggressively with temperature changes. Every time a circuit runs current, the wiring heats slightly. When it cools, it contracts. Over years and decades, that cycle works aluminum strands loose from the terminals, outlets, and switches they're secured to.
Loose connections are where fires start. The loose point creates electrical resistance, resistance produces heat, and that heat builds inside a wall cavity where nobody can see it. By the time a breaker trips or a device stops working, the thermal damage may already be present. Circuit breakers and electrical outlets connected to aging aluminum wiring deserve particular attention during any home inspection.
What to Look For
Signs Your Home May Have Aluminum Wiring
You don't need to open the walls, several visible clues point toward aluminum branch circuit wiring.
Build Date
If your home was built or substantially rewired between 1965 and 1973, aluminum branch circuit wiring is likely present. That era accounts for the majority of aluminum-wired homes still in use today.
Panel Markings
Open your breaker panel and look at the visible wiring. Aluminum wiring is silver-gray rather than the orange-copper color of copper wire. Some panels are labeled "AL" at the terminal blocks.
Warm Outlets or Switches
Outlets, switches, or cover plates that feel warm to the touch, even when nothing is plugged in, can indicate a loose or overheating aluminum connection behind the wall.
Flickering Lights
Lights that flicker or dim without an obvious cause, particularly in rooms throughout the house rather than a single fixture, can point to degraded connections along aluminum branch circuits.
Burning Smell
Any smell of burning plastic or a faint electrical odor near outlets or switch plates should be treated as urgent. Do not ignore it. This is a condition that warrants an immediate inspection, not a scheduled visit.
Insurance Difficulty
Some homeowners' insurance carriers will not write a policy, or will not renew one, on a home with known aluminum wiring. If your carrier has flagged this, take it seriously.
Your Options
Replacement vs. Remediation
Full replacement is the most reliable path, but there are code-accepted alternatives worth knowing about.
Full rewiring, replacing all aluminum branch circuit wiring with copper, is the most thorough solution and eliminates the underlying hazard entirely. For most Denver homeowners, this is the right answer, particularly in homes where the wiring is already several decades old.
Where full rewiring isn't immediately feasible, the National Electrical Code recognizes an alternative called COPALUM crimping. This method uses a special crimp connector to join a short copper pigtail to each aluminum wire at every connection point, outlet, switch, light fixture, and junction box. When performed correctly with the proper tool and connectors, COPALUM pigtailing is considered a permanent repair by the CPSC. It does not replace the aluminum wiring; it makes every connection point safer.
A third option, using CO/ALR-rated devices, is sometimes cited, but replacing devices alone without addressing the wiring at every connection point is not a complete solution and should not be treated as one.
Whatever path makes sense for your home, any remediation work should be permitted and inspected. Electrical code violations are a serious concern in aluminum-wired homes, and permitted work protects both the safety of the home and its insurability and resale value.
Our Process
What the Replacement Process Looks Like
Here is the straightforward sequence for full rewiring of a home with aluminum branch circuits.
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Step 1: Inspection and Assessment
A licensed electrician opens the panel, checks visible wiring throughout the home, and identifies the scope of aluminum wiring present. This is the step that determines what you're actually dealing with before any work begins.
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Step 2: Permit and Planning
A rewiring project in Denver requires a permit. All Electric pulls permits and coordinates inspections. The work is done to code and documented, which matters for insurance and future sale of the home.
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Step 3: Rewiring and Inspection
Copper branch circuits replace aluminum runs throughout the home. All connection points, outlets, switches, fixtures, and the panel, are updated. A city inspection confirms the work meets current code before the job closes.
Why homeowners trust us
All Electric Serves the Greater Denver Area
Licensed, insured, and straightforward about what we find.
If your home was built in the 1960s or 70s and you haven't had the wiring inspected, it's worth a call. All Electric handles aluminum wiring assessment and replacement across Denver and the surrounding metro. The same licensed team that has 468 Google reviews and a 4.9 rating. We explain what we find in plain language and give you a clear scope before any work starts. See our team or browse recent project photos to get a sense of how we work.
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CO License #ME.0600978
Licensed electrical contractor, qualified by Master Electrician
Verify with the state -
Fully insured
Every job, every crew member
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Permitted work only
Aluminum wiring replacement requires a permit, we pull it
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1-year labor warranty
On all work performed
Daniel VargasOwner · Family-owned · Denver Local 4.9 · 468 Google reviews
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