Best Practices

Electrical

Prior to any electrical work, check for live wire with a volt detector

  • A home’s electrical system is designed to work off 120 volts with the exception of certain major appliances, such as an electric clothes dryer, which runs off 240 volts

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  • Typical electrical wire for home use comes in an insulated sleeve and consists of three wires. A black wire carries the electrical current and is therefore commonly known as the “hot” wire. There is a white wire that is the “neutral,” and, finally, a bare copper wire that is the ground wire

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  • Strip the ends of wires with wire stripping pliers, and connect with wire nuts

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  • When electrical wires are joined together the black wires must be hooked together, the white wires must be hooked to the white wires, and the ground wires must be hooked together. Otherwise, the circuit will not work, and will result in an electrical “short”

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  • Three-conductor electrical wire is available for use with applications that require an additional “hot” wire, such as with a three-way switch. A total of four wires are found in three-conductor wiring: A white neutral wire, a bare copper ground wire, a black “hot” wire and a red wire for a second “hot” wire

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  • Light switches and wall outlets have screws on both sides for connecting wires. The green screws are for the ground wires, the silver/stainless colored screws are for the white neutral wires and the brass colored screws are for the black “hot” wires

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  • Switches are generally set at 48” high, whereas outlets are set at 16” high

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  • 14/2 gauge electrical wire is rated to a maximum of 15 amps and should not be used with any circuit breaker larger than 15 amps. 12/2 gauge wiring is rated to a maximum of 20 amps

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  • The number of current consuming outlets on one circuit shall not exceed four on an appliance circuit.

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  • The number of current consuming outlets on one circuit shall not exceed the fifteen on a lighting circuit. In lieu of the maximum 15 outlets, when a circuit supplies only permanent luminaires, additional luminaires will be allowed when a calculation based on actual wattages is provided

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