Four hundred pounds of copper are used in a typical 2,200-square-foot newly constructed house. Today's copper price is $3.75 per pound.
a. If copper prices are expected to increase 8.5% per year (on average), what is the cost of copper going to be in a new 2,400-square-foot house built 10 years from now? Use a cost-capacity factor of 1.0.
b. To minimize building costs, do you think that another less-expensive material (e.g., aluminum) will be substituted for copper in the electrical wiring in new homes?