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.
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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?
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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?
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Is there a conversion kit to change a samsung electric dryer to gas [closed]
Samsung electric modal # DVE50R5400A3 CAN IT BE SWITCH TO GAS
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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.
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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when did ground on top wall outlet orientation become a thing [closed]
At what point in time, and by who, decided that the correct orientation of the conventional NEMA 15-5R wall outlet was to be with the ground on top?
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Trying to replace older outdoor light fixtures adding juction box and siding mount plate
I'm attempting to replace 3 outdoor lights that are mounted on older aluminum siding of a 1950s home. Because the siding is older, I am trying to do everything I can to not remove it for mounting ...
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Aluminum and Copper Wiring [closed]
I just bought a house built in 1968. When looking in the main panel you can see aluminum wiring, which makes sense given the year built. But when I started opening the outlets, they had copper wiring. ...
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Wiring a 240v GFCI Breaker for NEMA 6-20R
I'm working on wiring up my new workshop. I've done a good amount of DIY electrical work before but I've never wired up a 240v receptacle like this before that doesn't have a neutral (NEMA 6-20R).
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led driver is gone out, but no markings on the box [closed]
my two surface mount led lights in the kitchen won't come on in the morning (or if they are off more than a few hours). after a few minutes they flicker and then finally come on. The driver has ...
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Replacement of service weatherhead cap [closed]
I am looking for an older electrical service weather head cap that I lost during hurricane Ian.The service may date to late 60's.
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Did I troubleshoot this 3-way socket correctly?
I'm trying to troubleshoot a floor lamp with a 3-way switch. Right now, it turns on/off only when I turn the knob. That is, it acts like a regular switch. For some reason, one "half" of ...
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Multiple Power Outputs to Three Light Switches
I spent the good part of my Saturday installing some fancy light fixtures. The crescendo was supposed to be when the lights came on but instead, I got a small pop and a flash of light behind the ...
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Why is there no power to the heating system in my flat?
I turned off the power in my flat (UK) to change a light fixture. When I turned it back on everything worked…except the switch for the heating. It’s a central boiler with an evinox satellite unit. The ...
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Fuse/breaker box question
My house was built in the 60s. I have a breaker box inside and a fuse box outside. The fuse box houses two fuses. If the fuse is blown, will it affect my house or my breaker box? Is it normal to have ...
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Two 30 amp manual transfer switch with 50 amp inlet & 12500 KW generator
I have a portable generator 12500 KW with a 50 and 30 AMP connection. I have an inlet box 50 AMP. I have 2 manual transfer switch 30 amp and 10 gauged wire. The 2 switches have 10G wire each that ...
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I been trying to install 1 commercial electric hubspace led light with lutron switch and light won't turn on at all, Even though I have power?though [closed]
All connections correct. A new wire was installed from switch to recessed light. I detect voltage to to light but light still doesn't turn on.
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Why is my double-pole 15 amp breaker/circuit tripping?
I live in BC, so this is about 120VAC house wiring. I have an island in the kitchen that has two outlets on it. It used to have an electric cooktop (before I installed a gas cooktop) and that 30amp ...
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Replacing and outlet (2 plugs) with only one black, one-white, has ground wire
I am replacing a dated outlet. when I removed the plate, I found 1 black wire, one white wire and a ground wire. The other outlets I replaced had two sets of wires, 2-black, 2-white, 1-ground. How do ...
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Melted GFCI receptacle
My wife turned on our electric teakettle for "about a minute" to warm a few cups of water, then turned it off herself. After that, we smelled a burning smell, narrowing it down to that ...
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Neutral Wire is used to carry power to light switch - is this legal?
Forgive me for my crappy drawing :) to make a long story short I just moved into a home and I am taking a look at one of the lighting jobs. I noticed the light switch had no power feeding it and the "...
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Confirming correct wiring on replacement AC contactor
I need to replace my AC unit's contactor (stuck open so have to flip breaker to turn it off).
My understanding is that key variables are number of poles, amperage, and control voltage. Replacement ...
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Mounting an outdoor box, but there's an existing recessed box
How would I mount this? I want to install an external box so I can run conduit, and we had an outlet here that was covered.
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Adding circuits to service disconnect panel
Is it code-compliant and safe to add 2 single pole breakers for 15A GFCI and 30A RV hook up circuits to this service disconnect panel? I opened the panel and pulled wires in expecting separate ground ...
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Breaker trips with fan installation. What am I doing wrong?
I'm trying to power up my ceiling fan, but for unknown reasons, it keeps tripping the breaker. I had it connected the same way in the other room, and it was working perfectly.
The fan is composed of ...