Basic House Wiring Diagram And CFCI Receptacles
When dealing with a basic house wiring diagram you should know that a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) is an electrical device that prevents electrocution caused by an accident or equipment malfunction. In a general-purpose, 120-volt household circuit, current moves along two insulated wires—one white and one black. Power is brought to the device or appliance by the black wire and returns from it by the white wire. As long as these two current flows remain equal, then the circuit operates normally and safely. However, if a portion of the return current is missing, or "faulted," a GFCI will immediately open the circuit in 1/2sth to of a second—25 to 30 times faster than a heartbeat. In this fraction of a second, you may receive a jolt of a shock, rather than the dangerous or potentially lethal shock that would otherwise
occur in a circuit without the protection of a ground-fault circuit interrupter. This happens when current flows out of the normal circuit to a ground pathway, causing the imbalance between the black and white wires mentioned earlier. In this instance, if you place your body between the black and white wires, and you are not grounded, the GFCI will not function properly because it has no way of distinguishing your body from any other current-drawing device. The number of electrons entering the circuit is equal to the number of electrons returning from the circuit, except that they are passing first through the resistance within your body—causing your heart to go into fibrillation, beating erratically. If your heartbeat is not quickly restored to normal, then you will die.
Even if the circuit is connected to a breaker panel, the breaker will not trip unless the internal current exceeds 15 or 20 amps—2,500 times more than is necessary to cause electrocution. A breaker or fuse is only designed to protect your household wiring against excessive current—it is not designed to protect you. Required CFCI Locations. Even though CFCI circuits are not foolproof, they are nevertheless required in certain locations within a dwelling unit, specified by the NEC (Section 210.8). These locations include, but are not strictly limited to, bathrooms, garages, outbuildings, outdoors, crawl spaces, unfinished basements, kitchens, and wet-bar sinks. A good general rule to follow is that if you are working in a damp or wet environment, then the receptacle you use should be GFCI-protected. If no GFCI receptacle is located nearby, then use an extension cord that has a built-in CFCI. A CFCI receptacle resembles a conventional receptacle, except that it has built-in RESET and TEST buttons. A GFCI on a basic house wiring diagram can also be directly installed at the panel box as a circuit breaker. This type of ground-fault circuit interrupter has a FEST button only; when tripped, the switch flips only halfway off to break the circuit. To reset the circuit, the breaker must be switched completely off and then flipped back on again. A GFCI receptacle is less expensive than a breaker-type GFCI and has the advantage of letting you reset a circuit at the point of use. Leave The Basic House Wiring Diagram Page To Go To The Home Page |