Your Home Electrical Service and Panel – Friend or Foe? Part II – Electrical Panels

Welcome back to Part II of Lippolis Electric’s helpful description of your overall electrical service as we take the ‘mystique’ out of that mysterious collection of wires that envelope your house.  In Part I we discussed electrical service cables from the utility pole up to and including your meter.  Part II addresses your electrical panel, its function, and the importance of good electrical safety.

Table of Contents

• Your Electrical Panel and Its Branch Circuits
• Main Circuit Breaker
• Branch Circuit Breakers
• Resetting Circuit Breakers

Your Electrical Panel and Its Branch Circuits

The service panel, often located in your basement or garage, is the central distribution box connecting the utility service wiring to all the various usages throughout your house. Before exiting the box, the power passes through the main circuit breaker then steps down to individual smaller breakers.

In the interest of simplicity, a note on terminology is relevant at this stage.

• Service Entrance Conductors-all the wiring up to and including your meter
• Feeders-wiring between the main panel and any subpanels in your house
• Branch Circuits-wiring from the panel supplying power to points of use throughout your house, i.e. switches, outlets, lighting, and appliances.

Main Circuit Breaker

Positioned usually at the top of the panel, dividing the service conductors from everything else is the main circuit breaker.  It is designed to provide overall protection to the smaller branch circuit breakers.  Some main breaker handles operate up and down-others side by side.  Throwing this breaker to the off position will disconnect the house completely from utility power so it must be treated with the respect it deserves.  Stamped on its handle will be a number, usually 100, 150 or 200.  That number represents the amount of protection supplied by the breaker but more importantly, it defines the size of the electrical service.  If you are ever asked for the size of your service and are unsure of the answer, a quick check of the main breaker, locate the number and you have the answer!

Branch Circuit Breakers

The circuit breakers in your panel regulate the branch circuits going out to your devices and have their amperage rating stamped on the handle-15, 20, 30, and so forth. The single circuit breakers are rated 120 volts and the double circuit breakers supply 240 volts of power. Most of your AC motors, oven, and dryers will be 240-volt variety.

All circuit breakers, both main and branch type, provide three primary protective functions: overload, short circuit, and ground fault. What does all this mean?

• Overload. Well, plug too many items into one circuit causing it to trip-that is an overload, a potential source of heat and ignition.
• Short circuits are when black and white wires inadvertently contact one another.
• A ground fault is when the hot conductor (usually black) contacts anything grounded like the surrounding metal enclosure.

Other more sophisticated circuit breakers like ground fault and arc fault breakers provide additional levels of protection for you and your family.

Resetting Circuit Breakers

One of the greatest advantages of circuit breakers over fuses is they are fully resettable. However not all circuit breakers trip into the off position. Many manufacturers design their breakers to trip to the midway position. It is important to understand a circuit breaker cannot be reset from the midway position. You must manually turn the handle on the breaker all the way to the ‘off’ position then back to the ‘on’ position for proper resetting.

You, Electricity and Electrical Safety

It is important to emphasize anything other than resetting a circuit breaker requires a licensed electrician. Such examples are:

• If a circuit breaker refuses to reset, there is trouble on the circuit, and you need a professional to trace and locate the source of the problem. Repeated attempts to reset the circuit breaker can damage the breaker and require replacement.
• Even though all large box retailers may sell replacement breakers, it is wise to always error on the side of safety and request the assistance of a professional before attempting a task like this. However, we do acknowledge seasoned veteran homeowners exist out there who do not shy from this work. Our response to those does-it-yourselfers (who sometimes get themselves into trouble) is not to be too shy to ask for help.
• As families grow and expand, new circuits become needed and therefore require professional installation. Often these new circuits necessitate a permit and inspection. In all of Westchester, only a licensed electrical contractor can apply and receive a permit for such work.
• If you hear a buzzing or arcing within your panel or if the panel is warm or hot to the touch, a call to Lippolis Electric is in order. Water or moisture ingress may be at play or the equipment has outlived its usefulness.

For free professional diagnostics and evaluation of your service, a prompt call to Lippolis Electric will put all your concerns to rest. We have crews at the ready during stormy conditions and they are as close as a phone call away.