Since copper is very expensive, Aluminum was preferred as a cheaper substitute for it. This happened in North America as residential wiring gained popularity in late 1960s. Aluminium wire has many shortcomings, but with the aid of modern technology those problems have been fixed. New ways to ensure safety when using aluminium wire for electrical purposes are popular nowadays. Aluminium is one of the most plentifully found materials on the earth's crust and it can be used not only for electrical wiring but also in myriad different uses. It has a lot of application in Electrical, Mechanical and Welding works.
Aluminium has a greater resistance than copper, which necessitates larger conductors than those required for copper. For example, instead of 14 AWG (American wire gauge) for copper, aluminium wiring needs 12 AWG on 15 amp circuit. You can get many of Aluminium Wire Suppliers round the world and India's position is the eighth on the list of aluminium producer countries of the world. All the aluminium wire suppliers know the combination of various properties that make aluminium one of the best materials for engineering and construction works.
Initially, using Aluminium for wiring was a safety measure; however these days safety is not as much a concern as the aluminium building wire is 8000 Series alloy that has the approval of NEC. Though this wire has been approved for sizes greater than 12 AWG, the Aluminium Wire Suppliers provide wires smaller than 8 (for SEU cable) and 6 AWG wires for a single conductor. Previously aluminium was brought into houses to be used in switch as well as the receptacle. This created a safety concern and this caused connector manufacturers and cable manufacturers to remove this wire and bring 8000 series alloy, which is even now used and more widely at that.
Aluminium conductors these days are used widely for power supply as well as for large feeder circuits, because they are less expensive than doing the same with copper wiring.
These days some alloys of aluminium are equally safe as copper and can be directly replaced with copper for electrical wiring. Copper Clad Aluminum short-formed as CCA is composite wire which comprises of aluminium core clad with ETP copper. Although this material consists of 90% aluminium, it has electrical properties that are equivalent to copper. Many Aluminium Wire Suppliers produce broad line, round, flat, square and also rectangular aluminium wire that are copper clad. This type of electrical wiring is extensively used in many applications and has some advantages of being light weight when compared to aluminium.