Questions tagged [electrical]
Distribution and use of electricity throughout the home. Electrical standards vary greatly worldwide, so you need to provide your location in your question or profile to ensure you get answers that are relevant to you. Posting photographs of wiring junctions or drawing a wiring diagram and posting it is also highly recommended.
17,850
questions
1
vote
2
answers
41
views
Is there a breaker handle lockoff that fits eaton/bryant double pole GFCIs?
I want to replace my existing BR240 wall oven double pole breaker with a new Eaton double pole GFCI.
The existing lockoff for the BR240 is the standard Eaton BRLWCS lockoff for BR breakers and it does ...
- 84.5k
0
votes
1
answer
596
views
Installed new ceiling lighting fixture - now other lights in circuit not working
Moved into an old house from 1950s, in Austria. The wiring is fairly old, I assume. In the upstairs master bedroom I replaced the ceiling light fixture today. There are three wires, one blue and two ...
CommunityBot
- 1
3
votes
1
answer
144
views
Cabling problems to consider at 30m
I have just had a workshop built on the side of the house and will be setting the electrics up.
The question I have is based on the distance I have going from my mains inlet (via a Henley block) and ...
CommunityBot
- 1
5
votes
5
answers
1k
views
How can I connect my thick wires into an ikea wire connector
I have thick wires that can not be twisted into one hole of the wire connector, so can I split the wire into two section and feed them into the connector?
- 10.2k
0
votes
0
answers
47
views
Circuit breaker trips when I flip the switch on for an outlet [closed]
The circuit breaker that we have in our kitchen trips as soon as I flip on one specific switch.
Interesting part is that this switch is only for a socket outlet itself (for the oven I believe) - and ...
- 101
2
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Add c wire to furnace for smart thermostat
I have an older furnace and am looking to add a c wire for a smart thermostat. Currently behind my thermostat I have red/black wire, however, there are 3 additional wires that are not connected.
At ...
- 1
1
vote
3
answers
1k
views
Would there be a problem installing 20A outlets/receptacles on a 15A circuit?
I am upgrading some 15A outlets on a 15A circuit. Can I install 20A outlets instead of 15A outlets? If not, why not?
Will a 20A outlet on a 15A circuit pass a home inspection? Or, is it not allowed?
...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
43
views
Why doesn't my ceiling fan work after moving it to a 30A circuit? [closed]
I moved an indoor ceiling fan operating on a 15 amp circuit outdoor to a 30 amp circuit. While the lights work well, the fan lost power. Seems like it's working on half the power. I checked the ...
- 2,775
0
votes
1
answer
50
views
I'm replacing a dimmer switch with a regular switch, but the only configuration that works involves wires from my another switch. What's going on?
EDIT: Per the excellent answer below,this was (to my surprise) a three way switch. Thankfully I had a few extra three ways lying around! In addition, the other switch on the three way was wired ...
- 103
3
votes
5
answers
115k
views
Oven suddenly tripping circuit breaker...bad oven or bad breaker?
We have a double Thermador oven in our house. We've owned the house for around two years, and the oven has worked fine up until the last few weeks. Now, using either of the ovens trips the circuit ...
0
votes
0
answers
20
views
Is my LED lighting circuit load calculation correct? [duplicate]
Am I way off in my estimations that my total load will be significantly lower than the safe amount for my setup? I have a hard time understanding how parallel lines affects load calculation and what I ...
- 142k
1
vote
3
answers
30k
views
How many lighting circuits are needed in the LED era?
This is in a two story, ~1000square foot per floor building. With the advent of affordable, decent (IMHO) LED fixtures (finally!) the entire lighting load for the structure looks to be 500W - 1000W at ...
- 142k
0
votes
2
answers
35
views
A 220v Circuit breaker that controls either AC or an inlet switch box
I have a kill switch by my AC (40 Amps circuit breaker). I want this to be a selector to run AC or an inlet switch when there is no power (40 amp circuit) so I can plug in my generator to power the ...
- 8,543
0
votes
0
answers
22
views
Is it possible to run 3 independent switch/ light combos in series?
This is actually kind of two questions in one:
I'm running a 15 AMP, 14-3 wire to power three rooms' lights in a single area of my home. This is all new work. In terms of total estimated load, it will ...
- 53
2
votes
0
answers
54
views
Can I Use Square D 60A Non-Fused A/C Disconnect with #14 NM Cable?
I am installing a 15A mini split, and the disconnect I'm using is a 60A non-fused Square D QO200TR. It provides no overcurrent protection and is pretty much just an on/off switch. It's protected ...
- 103
-1
votes
0
answers
54
views
Is there a conversion kit to change a samsung electric dryer to gas [closed]
Samsung electric modal # DVE50R5400A3 CAN IT BE SWITCH TO GAS
- 1
5
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How should I run cable across a steel beam?
I’ve seen a lot of questions on the internet about running wire along the length of steel beams in basements. I have a little different of a situation.
I have installed a steel beam in my kitchen to ...
- 53
2
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Why are there two cables connected to this GFCI outlet?
I'm trying to add a new GFCI outlet by splitting and using pigtails off an existing GFCI outlet. However, when I opened out the junction box I noticed that there are two sets of wires attached to the ...
3
votes
2
answers
817
views
Why can THHN/THWN go in Schedule 40 PVC but NM cable (Romex) requires Schedule 80?
NEC 334.15(B) says that exposed NM wire run along an interior wall should be protected, and they list various acceptable raceways, including Schedule 80(!) PVC, but not Schedule 40.
Why does NM cable ...
1
vote
4
answers
146
views
How can I charge two EVs from a 16A fuse box?
I have an external garage with a 16A fuse box. I can safely charge my EV overnight using an 8A charger in the garage. My partner wants to get an EV but the garage is the only home charging option.
Is ...
0
votes
3
answers
77
views
What is equivalent in copper to 350mcm aluminum?
I am in the process of building my barndominium. My power company has set a pedestal at my pole with the meter and also two 200 amp (400 amp service) breakers included. The length of my run requires ...
13
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Can a GFCI outlet intentionally and explicitly be used as a switch without violating code?
I'm working on adding several outdoor outlets in the eaves of my roof for holiday lighting. I have a switch in my garage for these outlets right next to the garage light switch. Thing is, I keep ...
0
votes
1
answer
64
views
Finland sauna heater wiring issues
I'm working on a harvia sauna heater (hsp904mxw) and a control unit for it (cx1004xw01) and I'm having some issues wiring it up. Shown options for wiring are 400v 3 phase, 230v 3 phase and 230v single ...
CommunityBot
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
31
views
Looking for a 200 and 100 amp meter box [closed]
We’re upgrading our electric and need to find a meter box with two gangs; one 200 and one one hundred for 300 amp service. I can’t find this type of box anywhere. Wondering if anyone has any ...
- 1
1
vote
2
answers
1k
views
Do multiple GFCI outlets on a circuit negate protection?
My rental house was built in 1985 and there is some kind of master GFI (for lack of a better term) in the garage that controls all the GFI outlets in the house. I'm told all the houses are built like ...
- 6,773
1
vote
1
answer
98
views
Outage in half of house [duplicate]
The ceiling lights are out in half of the hallway, the outlets still work however. My laundry room lights are also out but the dryer turns on however it's not heating up if that matters. I checked the ...
- 26.6k
2
votes
2
answers
375
views
How do I trace back a dead outlet? [duplicate]
I have a dead outlet that I can't quite figure out. It's a GFCI outlet about 10 feet from the breaker panel (in the same room). It is (as far as I know) the only outlet that is dead in the house.
...
- 142k
0
votes
2
answers
66
views
Did old knob and tube wiring tend to run hot and neutral wires separately?
I was drawing a diagram of cable runs through my 1920s house as I am planning to replace knob and tube with romex. Some are completely buried in the walls so there's some guesswork involved. As I was ...
- 41.8k
2
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Newly installed Lutron motion sensor switch is always ON
This question is for
Lutron Maestro Motion Sensor Switch | No Neutral Required, 150W LED, Single Pole | MS-OPS2-WH, White
It similar to this question here: lutron sensor switch - wiring help
I have ...
CommunityBot
- 1
1
vote
3
answers
98
views
Amp Breaker is Tripping. Would the Amount Of Appliances Going do That? And is 30 Amps reasonable?
Currently living in an old New York City apartment and our 30 amp breaker keeps tripping. I called in the electrician and he did a voltage test. He said that we were using too many appliances. My ...
- 1,208