How To Install Electrical Receptacle

The video tutorial goes through the rough in installation and install process for a single electrical outlet.

How to install electrical receptacle. The easiest way to upgrade an ungrounded 120v receptacle to get ground protection is to replace it with a gfci outlet. A standard electrical outlet has two brass terminal screws two chrome ones and a single ground terminal which is green. X research source if the ground wire attached to the outlet has insulation around it then wrap the end of the ground wire around the screw on the top or bottom of the outlet. Gfci as an outlet receptacle combo or circuit breaker automatically cuts off the main power supply within millisecond against electric shock.

A 12 2 romex circuit would provide for this installing a 30 amp dryer outlet or 50 amp range welding outlet is beyond the scope of this article but is similar. If you add an outlet to a kitchen or bath it must be gfci protected. Most electrical codes now require outlets in kitchens and bathrooms to be on separate 20 amp gfci circuits. This doesn t turn an ungrounded outlet into a grounded outlet but it does provide protection against shock.

A gfci is needed to be installed in moisture water and water pipes or other similar conditions and locations such as bathroom kitchen hot tubes workshop swimming pool laundry l and any other areas where water and electricity are likely to come. When you wire a single outlet to a live circuit cable you connect the black wire to one of the brass screws usually the top one but it doesn t matter and the white wire to one of the chrome screws. Electrical outlet nec is also known as receptacle and more commonly a socket outlet iec. So before using the method we show here for how to wire a wall outlet in a kitchen or bathroom check with an electrical inspector.

A gfci outlet installation does not protect equipment from power surges. The following project shows how to connect the receptacle when the electrical box has already been installed and. Don t power your new outlet from a. The how to video uses a 15 amp outlet and 14 2.

What is an electrical outlet receptacle or socket outlet. Oversimplified the national electrical code nec mandates outlets in the kitchen and dining room must be served by 20 amp circuits. According to nec an outlet is the point s in an electrical wiring system where current can be taken and utilize by electrical appliances and equipment by plugging them in it. Installing a plug in receptacle for an electrical outlet can be a very easy job when it involves the simple replacement of an existing receptacle but it can be a bit more difficult if it involves running a new circuit from the main service panel or extending an existing circuit.