Electrical Systems and Wiring Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary and key facts from the lecture on electrical wiring, circuits, NEC standards, and appliance classification.

how many amps is each receptacle

1.5

what is the max receptacles for a 20 amp circuit

$10$ receptacles

how many receptacles can be on a 15 amp circuit

$8$ receptacles

what is romex

Shielded cable used to insulate wire

12 3WG

Yellow wire containing red, white, black, and bare wires.

what is the name of a switch used to turn on a light from 2 locations

three way

Maximum distance between receptacles

6 ft

what does NEC stand for and how many years is it updated

National Electric Code, updated every 3 years

what is the minimum amount of wires that can be supplying power to a building

2, hot and neutral

Most common used voltage

$120$ volt ac single phase two wire.

what is a system ground

grounds the entire electric system

what is an equipment ground

grounds one piece of equipment

what is the color wire for ground wire

Green

what is a branch circuit

The final portion in a wiring system that carries power to equipment

how far above a finished floor do you need to place receptacles

12-16”above the finished floor

how far above a finished floor do you need to place switches

42-48”

what is the height above a finished floor for receptacles/switches in a bathroom

44 inches

what determines the size of a wire

The amperage, length of wire, and voltage drop

Types of lighting

Task, ambient, and decorative

size of orange wire

10 gauge

WG

With ground (the metal wire)

Service Drop

Wires above ground strung from a pole

Service Lateral

Wires that are underground or buried

what protects a circuit from getting too much amperage

fuse or service beaker/overcurrent protection device

what is a switch

Device used to open or close circuits

what is another name for a four way switch

double pull double throw

what is the best conductor of electricity

silver

what is a cable

a bunch of wires twisted together

what does AWG stand for

american wire gauge

Fixed appliance

not meant to be moved, hand dryers or electric stove

Stationary appliance

remains in one position most of the time but can be unplugged, fridge or washing machine

Portable appliance

hand held and designed to be moved, hair dryer, kettle, and toaster

what is a photocell switch

turns light on at dusk and off at dawn

Current

flow of electrons, amps

Voltage

Electrical pressure, volts, E

Amperage

rate of current flow, I

Power

rate at which work is accomplished, work or energy released/time, watts

Resistance

opposition to current flow, ohms, R

what happens if electricity doesn’t go to a load but directly to hot or neutral

short circuit

Arc fault receptacle location

Bedroom

Ground fault receptacle locations

Garage and kitchen

Series circuit

A circuit with only one path for current to flow. Current stays the same, resistances add to the total, and voltage drops across resistors.

Parallel circuit

A circuit where loads touch each other at both ends and voltage stays the same; used in commercial and residential settings.

Ohm's Law formula for current

I=V/R

if there are 120 volts and 10 ohms, how many amps are there

I=120/10=12 amps

what are the four things we have to have to make a complete circuit

source of power, conductor, switch, and load

conductor

carries electrical current without providing too much resistance to current flow

automatic switch

transfers power from a primary source to a backup source

dimmer switch

can control the brightness in a room

timeclock

automatically turns power on or off at a scheduled time

occupancy switch

motion detected

is wire always a solid piece or can it be stranded

either one

what does AWG tell us

the size of the wire

how are the sizes of wire associated with the size

higher the number the smaller the wire

what are the two types of special purpose receptacles used

ground and arc fault

size of white wire

14 gauge

size of yellow wire

12 gauge

size of blue wire

14 gauge

what does 14 3WG mean

white wire with 3 conductors and a ground wire

where should you have lighting located