Any electrical repair in your home involves turning off the power to the circuit you'll be working on, and you do this at the main electrical service panel. You may know the service panel as the breaker box, while in the trade it's officially called a load center.
The main service panel is like the switchboard for all the electricity in the home. It receives the incoming power from the utility company and distributes it to each of the circuits that supply the various lights, outlets, appliances, and other devices throughout the house. Everything but the incoming utility power can be shut off and turned on at the main service panel.
Behind the Panel Door
A service panel is a steel box with a hinged door or lift-up panel on the front. With the door open, you can access all the circuit breakers in the panel. Typically, one panel feeds the entire house, but there can also be another, smaller panel, called a subpanel, which may be used to serve a specific area, such as an addition, a large kitchen, or a detached garage. A subpanel works just like a main service panel but is supplied by the home's main panel rather than directly by the utility lines.
Each circuit breaker is controlled with a lever that can be set manually to an ON or OFF position. If a circuit breaker trips, usually due to an overload or other problem with the circuit, the lever will automatically move to a third position between ON and OFF. Breakers should be labeled to identify the main area or appliance served by the breaker's circuit. Labels may be stickers or hand-written words next to breakers or on a sheet adhered to the inside of the panel door.
Inside the Service Panel
When you open the panel door, you gain access to the circuit breaker switches, but that's all. And that's as far as most homeowners need to go. However, to get inside the panel to install or replace a circuit breaker, you have to remove the protective cover around the breaker switches, known as the dead front cover. The dead front cover is typically held in place with a screw in each corner. Removing the cover provides access to all components of the panel. Some panels have a separate door and cover; others have a door and cover as parts of the same unit.
Warning: Always shut off the main circuit breaker (see next slide) before removing the dead front cover. This shuts off the power to all of the circuit breakers and household circuits but does not shut off the power from the utility. The utility service lines and the terminals they connect to inside the panel remain live (carrying deadly electrical current) unless the utility company shuts off the service to the home.
Main Circuit Breaker
The main circuit breaker is a large breaker usually located at the top of the panel but sometimes near the bottom or along one side. It controls all the power of the branch circuit breakers (the breakers controlling individual circuits) in the panel.
Power comes from the utility service lines, flows through the electrical meter on the outside of your house, and continues into the service panel. However, some systems include a separate disconnect switch between the meter and the panel. The main breaker is used to turn power to all the branch circuits ON or OFF at the same time.
The main circuit breaker also identifies the total amperage capacity of the service panel and will have a number on it identifying its amp capacity, such as 100, 150, or 200. The standard for new panels today is 200 amps, but panels can have an even higher capacity.
Warning: The main circuit breaker shuts off the power to all of the branch circuits but does not shut off the power from the utility. The utility service lines and the terminals they connect to inside the panel remain live (carrying deadly electrical current) unless the utility company shuts off the service to the home.
Any electrical repair in your home involves turning off the power to the circuit you'll be working on, and you do this at the main electrical service panel. You may know the service panel as the breaker box, while in the trade it's officially called a load center.
The main service panel is like the switchboard for all the electricity in the home. It receives the incoming power from the utility company and distributes it to each of the circuits that supply the various lights, outlets, appliances, and other devices throughout the house. Everything but the incoming utility power can be shut off and turned on at the main service panel.
Behind the Panel Door
A service panel is a steel box with a hinged door or lift-up panel on the front. With the door open, you can access all the circuit breakers in the panel. Typically, one panel feeds the entire house, but there can also be another, smaller panel, called a subpanel, which may be used to serve a specific area, such as an addition, a large kitchen, or a detached garage. A subpanel works just like a main service panel but is supplied by the home's main panel rather than directly by the utility lines.
Each circuit breaker is controlled with a lever that can be set manually to an ON or OFF position. If a circuit breaker trips, usually due to an overload or other problem with the circuit, the lever will automatically move to a third position between ON and OFF. Breakers should be labeled to identify the main area or appliance served by the breaker's circuit. Labels may be stickers or hand-written words next to breakers or on a sheet adhered to the inside of the panel door.
Inside the Service Panel
When you open the panel door, you gain access to the circuit breaker switches, but that's all. And that's as far as most homeowners need to go. However, to get inside the panel to install or replace a circuit breaker, you have to remove the protective cover around the breaker switches, known as the dead front cover. The dead front cover is typically held in place with a screw in each corner. Removing the cover provides access to all components of the panel. Some panels have a separate door and cover; others have a door and cover as parts of the same unit.
Warning: Always shut off the main circuit breaker (see next slide) before removing the dead front cover. This shuts off the power to all of the circuit breakers and household circuits but does not shut off the power from the utility. The utility service lines and the terminals they connect to inside the panel remain live (carrying deadly electrical current) unless the utility company shuts off the service to the home.
Main Circuit Breaker
The main circuit breaker is a large breaker usually located at the top of the panel but sometimes near the bottom or along one side. It controls all the power of the branch circuit breakers (the breakers controlling individual circuits) in the panel.
Power comes from the utility service lines, flows through the electrical meter on the outside of your house, and continues into the service panel. However, some systems include a separate disconnect switch between the meter and the panel. The main breaker is used to turn power to all the branch circuits ON or OFF at the same time.
The main circuit breaker also identifies the total amperage capacity of the service panel and will have a number on it identifying its amp capacity, such as 100, 150, or 200. The standard for new panels today is 200 amps, but panels can have an even higher capacity.
Warning: The main circuit breaker shuts off the power to all of the branch circuits but does not shut off the power from the utility. The utility service lines and the terminals they connect to inside the panel remain live (carrying deadly electrical current) unless the utility company shuts off the service to the home.
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