Here in New Jersey on a single family residence the 30' of wire does not
have to be in conduit, but it must be protected by a circuit breaker or
fused switch located just below the meter. On larger services for
commercial or industrial buildings it would have to be in conduit encased by
2" of concrete all around.

If aluminum is installed correctly you shouldn't have any problems for a
long time, but copper is still a better choice.

There is no reason to use conduit unless you anticipate the cable becoming
subject to abuse.


John Grabowski
http://www.mrelectrician.tv



"Jeffrey J. Kosowsky" wrote in message
...
We are about to upgrade our panel from 100A to 200A.
The run from the electric company drop to the panel is about 15 ft
vertical drop followed by 30 feet horizontal run within the house.

- Other than the fact that copper costs much more than aluminum, what
are the pros/cons of copper vs. aluminum?

- Is copper worth the added cost?

- Also, the supply will run through the unfinished utility portion of
the basement at joist level. Is it worth it to encase the cable in
metal (or pvc) conduit?