Residential Wiring

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Wiring Materials

  • Regular wire - Conductor (usually copper) encased in insulated plastic

  • Ground wire - Conductor not insulated

  • Solid wire - One solid conductor encased in insulated plastic

  • Stranded wire - Multiple conductors encased in insulated plastic

  • Wire size - Based on AWG; not including insulation

  • Non-metallic sheathed cable - multiple regular wires in one big insulation

  • Armored Wire - Shields conductor from outside harm

  • Liquid Tight Conduit - Shields conductor from water

  • Terminal Box - a box used to neatly terminate or organize wires

  • Metal Conduit - a metal protective pipe for wires

  • PVC Conduit = a plastic protective pipe for wires

  • Service Wires - primary electrical cables that deliver power from main power source to a buildings electrical panel

  • Bus Bars - conductive metal strips in electrical systems used to collect and distribute power

  • Ground Rod - a metal rod placed in the ground to provide a safe path for stray electricity

  • Grounding - connects an electrical system to the earth

  • Bonding - connects 2 or more conductive objects to each other

  • Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) - device that protects against electric shock by monitoring flow and cutting off power when it detects an issue

Electric Tools

  • Side Cut Pliers - cuts wires, nails, and other materials very precisely

  • Needle Nose Pliers - Electrical repair; grabbing small components

  • Locking pliers - large parts for loosening and tightening

  • Wire stripping pliers - peeling off rubber or plastic insulation from wires

  • Cable stripping pliers - peeling off rubber or plastic insulation from cables

  • Fish tape - used to pull wire through plastic or metal conduit

  • Conduit bender - to bend conduits

Electric Safety

  • To prevent electric shock

    • always assume wires are hot

    • always use a lockout, tag out

    • always wear PPE

    • never replace something with a higher rating

    • always use ground prong

Electrical Components

  • Resistors - used to limit current flow in circuit

  • Capacitor - a storage device for electrons or electricity

  • Fuses - used to interrupt current flow

  • Transformer - uses 2 or more coils to change AC voltage levels to higher or lower levels

  • step down transformer - increases voltage

  • step down transformer - lowers voltage

  • electric motors - machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy

  • Receptacle - device where a plug is inserted to access electricity (inside of an outlet; the socket)

  • Outlet - any point in an electrical circuit where electrical current is used for other devices (outside of outlet; on the wall)

  • Receptacle Outlet - An outlet where 1 or more receptacles are installed

Power Generation

  • Generating Station - consumes one form of energy and converts into electrical energy (goal, gases, oil, nuclear energy, solar energy, hydroelectric energy)

  • Wind Turbines - converts kinetic (caused by motion) jnnjenergy into electrical

  • Kilowatt/hour - standard unit of energy