There are lots of parts of the house that a homeowner needs to have some knowledge in. Whether you need to know what it means when there is a problem or when you need to have a repair. A homeowner has to be able to manage a house and keep it running smoothly. One area of the house that will need to be understood is the electrical system. This is what is needed to run anything that is being plugged in or wired in the house. The system needs to run smoothly and often times when there is a problem it can be solved with the electrical panel. The panel is often outside the house or in the garage and is accessible by the homeowner. You can keep it locked to secure it from being messed with by anyone else. The panel that is outside can seem intimidating but it is a good idea to understand it and know what goes in it. Sentry Electric outlines what you need to know about your electrical panel.
Purpose of Electrical Panel in Your Home
There is a panel that is on the outside of the house or in the garage that all the wiring to the home is sent through. The panel has a door on it that when opened you will see a bunch of numbers as well as switches. This is actually a safety precaution for your home and your electrical system. You want to know what is in it and how they each work so that you can adjust a problem in your house when there is a problem.
Main Breaker in Service Panel
When you look inside the box you will see that there is one main breaker that looks like a large switch. The largest switch is the main breaker that means that if you were to switch it off you are essentially blocking all electricity to the home. Each of the wires that are going into the house can have the circuit stopped by this one switch. This is important to know if you have an emergency and you are not sure which switch the emergency is coming from.
Double Pole Breaker Wiring
The other type of switch that you will see happens to be the double pole that has two switched that are attached with a bar. There is no way to switch them off unless you do them both. They are attached because they are responsible for larger appliances that need more amps to run. These can be tripped when there is a problem with the appliance that it is running energy to.
Single Pole Breaker
The rest of the switches that you will see in the box happens to be single pole breakers. They are the standard switches that are attached to a room or an area of the house. If you find that an outlet in your master bedroom is not working it can be due to the single pole breaker being tripped. You will need to reset it by switching it back on.
Electrical Panel Repairs, Upgrades, Replacements & More in Greenwich, New Canaan, Darien, Norwalk, Westport, Southbury, Stamford, CT & Fairfield County, Connecticut
Sentry Electric can come out to inspect your panel to ensure that it is working right. Call us today!
