HOME ELECTRICAL WIRING BASICS

Whether you are considering a backup power system, want to add another electric
circuit, or are going to install a new appliance, it is important to understand the
homes electrical wiring basics and applicable codes.

First, lets briefly review how electricity gets to your house. Most residential and
light commercial homes in U.S. have asingle-phase 3-wire 120V/240V service.

It consists of two inverted relative to each other lines and a grounded neutral.
Connecting an electric load between any line and the neutral yields 120 volts AC.
Connecting between both lines yields 240 volts AC (see the diagram). The two
120V buses are derived from a step-down distribution transformer, which is usually
mounted on a pole. Its secondary winding has a grounded center tap connected to
neutral wire. The two end terminals are electrically hot with respect to the neutral.
Note that both lines are derived from the same utility phase. Thats why such
configuration is often called split phase. The three conductors go from the pole
to your electric meter. From the meter they run to the panel containing the main
service disconnect. From there the lines go to magnetic circuit breakers that
protect individual branches. The branch breakers can be mounted in a separate
distribution panel or can be incorporated into the main panel. The individual outlets
in the homes are normally NEMA 5-15R duplex. The National Electric Code
(NEC) 2014 specifies ten locations in dwelling units where the outlets should
have GFCI (article 210.8). Particularly, GFCI should be in bathrooms, garages,
kitchens, etc.
The article 210.12 additionally requires special arc-fault circuit interrupters (AFCI)
for most types of rooms. Of course, if you dont touch it you are not required to
upgrade, but if you modify, replace, or extend any branch-circuit, you are supposed
to add an AFCI either at the beginning of that branch or at its first outlet.
Why, you may ask, do we need a 3-wire configuration? Would not a single
120V bus be enough? The case is, a standard wall outlet NEMA 5-15R is rated to
15A. Hence, the maximum power you can draw from such an outlet is
15120=1800 volt-amps. Moreover, for continuous loads, NEC recommends to
limits the current on receptacles to 80%. Therefore, steady state current should be
less than 12A (which corresponds to 12012=1440 VA).
What if your appliance consumes more power? There are of course highcurrent receptacles, such as twist-lock 125 Volt 30 Amp NEMA L5-30R. However,
large appliances such as a central a/c or driers are usually designed to work from
240V. This is done in order to reduce energy losses in the cables. Remember,
power is volts times amps. When you double the voltage, you need half the current
to deliver the same wattage. And for lower currents you can use lower conductor

thickness. Thats the main reason we are getting 240V. As you can see from this
wiring diagram, it is obtained from two 120VAC lines, so we have two voltage
levels. Of course, in theory, if most small residential appliances were not designed
for 120V, we could do away with it and use a more efficient 240V or any other
higher voltage system. As we know, Europe and most other countries employ a 2wire 220-240V wiring. Historically, U.S. initially adapted a lower potential level
mainly because the original Edisons electric bulbs were optimized for 110V. Later
on, it was raised to 120V. Note that the total electric current consumed by your
home is split between two lines and you should try to balance your loads.

Note that the receptacles rating is not the only factor that limits the amount of
current you can draw from it. Often, each breaker serves several outlets. The
allowable amperage is therefore also limited by the rating of the breakers and the
size of the wires. Continuous electric load on each circuit should not exceed 80%
of the breaker ratings per Table 210.21(B)(2) of NFPA70. The branch conductors
should be rated 125% of the maximum load.
As you can see from the above diagram, the standard receptacles have an
additional ground terminal. It connects to the neutral bus in the breaker panel,
which in turn is bonded to earth. In those devices that are powered via 3-lead
cords, this wire grounds the case of the device. In the past, appliances did not use
a safety ground wire and just had the neutral bonded to their cases. Likewise, old
outlets which can still be found in many homes, had two holes instead of three.
NOTE. The information in this site is provided AS IS for technical reference only without
guarantee and liability of any type, neither explicit or implicit. It expresses only a personal
opinion of the author, and does not constitute a professional advice- see complete disclaimer
linked below. Most works related to circuit wiring, panels and hard-wired appliances usually
requires apermit and should be performed by a licensed electrician.