Residential Electrical Wiring Guide

Residential electrical wiring begins at the pole. From there it goes to the meter and then to the breaker (or fuse box) and then to the rest of the house (lighting, receptacles and hardwired appliances such as air conditioners and so on…).The distribution of wires through the entire house is a complex web of leads that power different parts of your house including the garage or garden/ landscape lights for those with homes surrounded by large compounds.

So how is the electric wiring in your home put together? Is it in line with the NEC (National Electric Code) requirements?

The wiring in residential homes is quite simple but very dangerous to work with if you have no idea how things move from point to point. Most residential houses are served by 240/120 Volts in single phase. Circuits are rated by the circuit breaker. The breaker panel capacity on the other hand is determined by the available spaces for individual breakers as well as the amperage.

Larry Dimock has provided a nice detailed overview of what to expect in any residential electrical wiring. He points out that the ideal wire gauge for residential electric wiring is either a 14-gauge which carries a load of up to 15A (amperes) or the slightly larger 12-gauge which can comfortably handle 20A. This is mainly because most devices in a typical home are rated 15A and 20A. Here’s a breakdown of common residential electric wiring components:

Basic House Wiring Issues, Parts, and Code

As a result, the amp rating of a circuit breaker has the following relation to the wire size that has been chosen. A 20-amp breaker is never* allowed to run any circuit whose wires (anywhere on the circuit) are 14-gauge. But a 15-amp breaker’s wires out on the circuit may be 14-gauge, 12-gauge, or even a mixture. Yes, even larger wires than these are possible (10-gauge), but become difficult to install properly and give little benefit. The rating of a circuit itself is that of the breaker. Any general purpose circuit in a house might be 20-amp, but some circuits are required to be; for example, for the outlets in kitchen, dining, laundry, and bathrooms… find out more basic electric wiring facts for residentials

And it’s not about the web of color coded wires… nope! There’s also the issue with the positioning. See, all wires are leading to a terminated point to power something. Be it a receptacle, lights, heater or any other device in and outside your home. The key point with electricity is to your life powered conviniently. This means all outlets including bulb holders have to be positioned right and easy to access.

Which brings us to a quick point…

You also have to ensure that you always match the appliances or bulbs used, to the recommended ampereage or wattage. Messing this up is the begin of electrical wars you will end up losing… so don’t even go there, use electricity responsibly. Don’t Overload!

Did you know that not all home electrical faults are your fault? Check out Josh Garskof‘s list of common electrical problems and their solutions as well as their dangers. This article takes you through the daily mistakes we make or may encounter (you’ve probably experienced a couple from the list…) with electricity at home:

10 Wiring Problems Solved

5. No GFCIs
What it means: Increased risk of electrocution in wet areas, such as baths and kitchens. GFCIs (ground-fault circuit interrupters) shut down circuits in 4 milliseconds, before current can cause a deadly shock.

Code violation? No; grandfathered in. (Codes today require GFCIs within 4 feet ofany sink and on all garage, basement, and outdoor outlets.)

Danger level: High.

Solution: Replace old receptacles with GFCIs (about $12 each). This is a simple job that many homeowners do themselves. Electricians charge about $20 per outlet. (There will likely be a minimum job charge.) Note: As an alternative, GFCI breakers ($25) can be installed on the main panel. But then every time one trips, you have to go down to the basement to reset it…. here are all the ten problems and their solutions

There are so many brilliant electrician videos out there about home wiring but Sam Maltese breaks it down for everyone to understand. He even zooms in on cable ratings to show you how to different wire gauges… serious details in this video. Hope this video will help you identify most of the electrical components highlighted in this article. Here is the video titled “Basic Residential Wiring”:

That covers much of what there is to know about residential electrical wiring for homeowners. You can schedule a quick inspection with an elecrtrcian near you or simply call us.

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What You Should Know About Your Home’s Electrical System

This is Homeowners Empowerment 101… welcome to lesson one. Modern day living depends on electricity in EVERYTHING! Whichever way you want to look at it. We need electricity for almost everything around the home and at work and pretty much everywhere else in between. Don’t you think it’s time you learning about your home’s electrical system is long overdue?

We all enjoy a good day with electricity, switching on a light here, warming something in the microwave, catching up on the latest sports news or gossip channel… but what’s behind all that comfort and efficiency? Where does all this juice come from and how is it distributed in your home? Do you even know how to calculate the energy usage in your home? This is a lesson in mapping your home’s electrical circuit from the electrician squad.

Jeff Wilsow shares a detailed outline of a typical home’s electric circuit. You should know whether you still have the old mechanical meter or the newer digital type. Jeff has dissected every basic part of a home’s electric circuit and practically leaves nothing untouched! Check out what he has to say:

Get to Know Your Home’s Electrical System

circuit breaker

The maximum amount of electricity that a home can use at one time is dictated by the size of the main breaker. The breaker is a type of switch, set to flip off in case of an overload in the home, reducing the risk of fire or electrocution. Most modern homes will have 200 amp (short for amperage) service, while an older home might only have 100 amp service and a larger home 400 amp service. If you’re curious about your home’s electrical service, open the main breaker panel and look for the largest breaker switch in the panel, usually mounted at the top of the panel. The number on the switch will tell you the total amps of your home’s electric service… what more does your home electric circuit have?

If you’re building your own house from ground up then please note; you will need to walk around with the electrician to easily identify receptacle positioning, positions and locations of hardwired appliances, the load you intend to use with all the appliances, lighting, heating, air conditioning, or otherwise. This will help you determine where your meter will be, where the circuit breaker will be installed, how the separation of wiring will be carried out (to rooms, appliances, lights, receptacles e.t.c) and so on… All this must be done before everything is closed in behind walls.

If you just bought a new home or planning to buy one anytime time soon then maybe you should try to find out how your home or home to be is wired. Poor wiring can be a disaster waiting happen and most electrical fires start with frayed and exposed electric wires. Another thing you should probably note is that if you’re buying an older home or leaving in one then what you will probably have instead of a circuit breaker is what we call a fuse panel. The fuse panel works just like the breaker only that instead of just flipping off in the event of an overload, the fuse in that circuit burns up to cut off electricity flow and avoid accidents such as electrocution or fires.

The ESFi has written a publication that includes among other things, the type of wiring you should expect to get in your home. There are about three types of wiring systems and ESFi highlights the difference:

What kind of wiring system is in my home?

More than 30 million homes, or about one-third of the homes in the United States are at least 50 years old, and studies have shown that the frequency of fires in these aging homes is disproportionately high.

Many older homes were built with electrical systems and components which are no longer safe and may be considered as fire hazards.

It is important to identify what type, color, and size wire is needed in order to properly address hazardous situations before they become critical… find out what hidden behind your home’s walls

Many people still don’t know this but every time you touch an appliance and feel a little shock it means you have some faulty wiring somewhere. There are several other ways your home lets you know it’s time to call an electrician. When fuses start blowing up or breakers start tripping up uncontrollably then you should know something somewhere in your electric circuit is amiss!

Understanding how your home’s electric circuit works can help you pull some simple DIY’s or call an electrician with the right information when need arises. The Home Depot has shared some insights on how to follow wire diagrams through their youtube channel (TheHomeDepot) in a video titled “Basics of Your Home’s Electrical System – The Home Depot”. Here is how to interpret and decipher electric circuits:

 

 

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