Electrical House Wiring 101

Draw a sketch of your room that shows lighting switch and outlet locations.

Electrical house wiring 101.

Electrical 101 electrical information for the home and office including switches outlets plugs ballasts troubleshooting light bulbs basic electricity. Wire size is given in its gauge number. An electrical box is a plastic or metal box used to connect wires and install devices such as switches receptacles outlets and fixtures. This repeats until the end of the chain.

Wires running inside nm cable bx cable or conduit are sized according to each circuit s amperage. In order to ensure your home wiring is done correctly there are a few basics that you need to be aware of. Boxes come in many different sizes and several different shapes. The wire and cable aisle at your home center can be a pretty confusing place.

In this article you ll learn how to identify different electrical cable types and their use and how to determine the size of individual wires and their purpose. Electrical house wiring mistakes can be deadly so make sure you obtain a permit from your local building department and have an electrical rough in inspection scheduled with a building official when you re finished. The black wire line and white neutral connect to the receptacle terminals and another 2 wire nm that travels to the next receptacle. Electrical wire and circuit breakers are designed to work in tandem with one another and each must be of a proper corresponding size.

Special connectors are used to secure conduit to boxes and to join lengths of conduit together to form long straight runs or bends. The boxes connectors and conduit form a wire enclosure system called a raceway. No power no trouble. Conduit always terminates at some type of electrical box or at fixed equipment that also serves as a box.

An electrical box is almost always required for mounting devices and for housing wiring splices. The key to safe basic house wiring is always keeping in mind that electricity packs a big and deadly punch. Even the most qualified electricians risk their lives if they don t follow basic safety procedure. For example wiring for 20 amp circuits is 12 gauge which is heavier than the 14 gauge wiring used for 15 amp circuits.

The lower the gauge the larger the wire and the more current it can handle.