Aug 2, 2011

Knowing Your Electrical Panel

The metal box which you open to view the fuses, or circuit breakers controlling each circuit inside your home is called an electrical panel. Every homeowner is familiar with the sight of an electrical panel, but a lot of homeowners do not know the function of this device and how it protects their homes.
   
Electrical panels refer to the metal box housing the circuit breakers/fuses inside your home. The electrical cable from the utility pole outside your house runs into the electric meter mounted on your wall. From the electric meter, the electrical cable goes directly into the electrical panel where circuit breakers are located. Circuit breakers are switches that automatically turn off whenever an electrical problem is detected. From the circuit breaker, wires run to the various outlets inside your home.

Regular circuit breakers protect your home against electrical short circuits and circuit overloading. Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI) protect you from electrocution when you touch water that has come in contact with a live wire. An Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) is a type of circuit breaker designed to avoid fires by detecting dangerous electrical arc in electrical circuits. An AFCI breaker disconnects the power before the arc starts a fire.


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