House Circuit Breaker Panel Diagram

These small switches are called breakers and their function is to ensure electrical safety.

House circuit breaker panel diagram. This diagram illustrates some of the most common circuits found in a typical 200 amp circuit breaker service panel box. Numbers should correspond to each circuit breaker. The cover of the circuit breaker panel is installed and the electrician has the utility company turn on the power. The main circuit breaker panel is essentially a big switch that safely distributes the supply of power to your house.

The hot wire for a branch circuit is connected to the breaker by a set screw on the base. Make a list that you can post on the inside of the door. This diagram compares a main panel as i have diagrammed it so far with how a typical panel is arranged. Twelve gauge wire suits 15 to 20 amp breakers.

Find a diagram of a breaker box online before getting started. The electrician now turns on the circuit breakers and makes sure all circuits in the house are operating correctly. A service panel is a steel box with a hinged door or lift up panel on the front. The circuit breaker box also houses other smaller sub switches that connect with specific areas of your house.

In the sub panel box the neutral and ground wires will connect the same as they do in the main breaker box but the red and black wires will connect to the hot bar instead of a circuit breaker. Find the ground bus. The breaker or fuse will interrupt the current the flow if it ever starts to approach a dangerous level. Though the following instructions refer to circuit breakers the same procedure applies to panels that utilize fuses.

Behind the panel door. Grounding in the maze of wires that inhabits your breaker box there s one more to be. With the door open you can access all the circuit breakers in the panel. If the circuit breakers aren t already numbered inside the electrical panel number them.

There may be in the panel a distinct main breaker that can shut off power to most or all the circuits. The electrician finishes by labeling the panel to identify the function of each circuit. With the circuit breaker held correctly. 8 gauge wire goes with 40 or 60 amp two pole breakers.

The breakers are installed in a panel so that contact is made with one of two hot bus bars running down the middle of the box.