The purpose of this paper is to review the present status of electrical wiring that is applicable to lower-cost housing and to forecast some changes for the future. The material for this paper was obtained from current literature, interviews with people who are involved in housing construction, and personal observations. The 1968 report of the Urban Study Committee of the American Society for Engineering Education (1) made several astute statements regarding housing that can be applied to the electrical portion of construction.

First, home-building technology has not advanced commensurate with housing needs. A good example of this is the aluminum wire which will be discussed in detail later in the paper. It was introduced right after World War II but it still has many unknown qualities that limit its full use today. Other innovations that need more development are the substitutes for the metal in all types of electrical materials.