Sound differences between Copper and Aluminum Bus Bar Electrical Panels

mikeg:

There is a tremendous amount of electrical noise generated by the electrical panel. I think the best beginning step to improve the situation is to reduce noise generated by the tens of suboptimal connections in the panel. I used the Total Contact product on the approximately 80 connections within my panel and have had a major improvement in sound. There is a discussion about Total Contact on the members review forum.

Please call me if you would like to discuss the topic further.
David Pritchard
575-644-1462

David, Check the TC thread.  I made the last post.  

What’s interesting is, when my contractor went to source subpanels here in Austin for a "from scratch" install, the supply houses claimed they had Square D with copper buss bars, and upon examination, all were aluminum. When I was in NY metro, it wasn’t a special order and readily available at local suppliers.
I think I wound up w/ Cutler Hammer w/ copper bar.
I never compared aluminum v. copper, just followed what i understood to be good practices. (I know, the way of sheep). But, the electrical subsystem I had the contractors install in the past year is great; ironically, even the ’dirty’ power here (without the big iso transformer that got installed in the backyard) was pretty quiet, even though I’m essentially "in town" in a residential neighborhood. I think there are a lot of variables, starting with the quality of the power coming in from the pole, and then following good practices--I am a big fan of @jea48 ’s input on this board, b/c he isn’t proposing ultra expensive audiophile solutions, just basic above code quality and practice.

You could also  mechanically ground the entire breaker box..to either the concrete wall or support frames or both..Tom

"The neutral bar as well as the ground bar in the Square D QO panel and Homeline panel are made from an aluminum alloy, not plated copper".

My search on the internet shows the Square D QO panel as having a copper bus bar.