The Best Buy in Building Wire As long as we have had generators and motors and electric lights, we have had copper wire. Copper has always been the standard material for electrical wiring systems, in all types of buildings including our nation's sixty million wired homes. It is the only wiring approved by all electrical codes, nationwide. Because, as hard as man has searched for a substitute, he has not been able to find one that can do the job as reliably or as economically as copper. More than any other non-precious metal, it is the best conductor of electricity, packing more power into a given diameter of wire than any substitute material.
Copper is also easier to bend, yet tougher.
With copper, connections are easy and sure. And, because it has a high melting point, it can take surprisingly heavy overloads or current surges without damage or danger. Perhaps the best eyes through which to look at the advantages of copper wiring are those of the electrical contractor, because he is, in a very real sense, responsible to both the builder and the consumer, and he knows that his reputation and the success of his business rest squarely on his workmanship and choice of materials. In turn, loose connections tend to heat up, and will sometimes arc dangerously. All-copper systems present no problem of incompatibility Copper is, naturally, compatible with itself.