Residential electrical installation involves working with wiring, panels, and circuitry. It is usually best to work with a professional electrician or experienced electrical construction team for this type of project. Most newer homes use plastic-sheathed wiring, commonly called Romex cable. Wire gauges and other information are often printed on the sheathing.
A residential electrical service upgrade is an important project that requires the attention of a licensed and insured professional. When you hire an electrician for the job, make sure they are experienced and licensed in your state. They will take the time to review your home’s wiring and breaker system before completing the work. 
Wiring
The wiring in a residential electrical installation is what connects all the appliances, lights, and other features in a house to make them work. It can seem like a maze of wires and connections, but some basic rules can help you avoid electrical shock or fire. First, remember to always turn off the power at the breaker box before working on electrical wiring. This is especially important when you’re working in an older home with outdated wiring.
Next, determine what type of wiring you need for your project. Most modern homes use nonmetallic (NM) cable, which consists of a package of wires wrapped inside a colored sheathing. The color coding on NM cables helps you identify which wire is hot, neutral, or ground. It’s also a good idea to label the ends of each wire, so you know which end goes to the outlet or switch.
Depending on the size and type of project, you might need to install additional cables for lighting or power distribution. When this is the case, it’s a good idea to consult your local building department or electrician to ensure you have the proper wiring in place.
Another common method of electrical wiring is batten wiring, which uses insulated wires run through straight teak wooden battens that are fixed to walls and ceilings with tinned brass link clips. This method is more efficient than the CTS / TRS wiring and can be used for both domestic and industrial projects. It is not, however, suitable for long-distance power distribution. It is therefore not recommended for large commercial projects, or use outdoors. However, it is ideal for smaller residential installations.
Outlets
Despite their seeming simplicity, electrical outlets are an important part of your home’s wiring system. They supply power to household appliances and lighting. They also provide a way to recharge phones and tablets. Electrical contractors need to ensure that the outlets in a home are up to code. This includes ensuring that the outlets are spaced properly and have the correct types of outlets for each room. This helps prevent accidents, such as overheating wires, from occurring.
For residential wall outlets, local codes often dictate how the outlets should be spaced and what types of outlets are to be used in different rooms. These guidelines usually derive from the National Electrical Code (NEC), a model code that communities can adopt as they see fit. For example, a code may specify that the spacing between kitchen outlet locations is six feet to prevent homeowners from stretching cords too far and creating safety hazards.
Most residential outlets are traditional two-pronged, grounded receptacles with either three or four connection slots. The third slot is designed to accommodate a grounding pin to help prevent electric shocks. This type of outlet is inexpensive and easy to replace. But for increased safety, it’s a good idea to upgrade to tamper-resistant outlets.
These outlets have internal shutters that open only when a two-pronged plug is inserted. This helps to prevent children from sticking their fingers into outlets and potentially being shocked. Another type of outlet to consider is a ground fault circuit interrupter outlet or GFCI. These are designed to protect against electric shock from outlets near water sources like bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry areas. Finally, you may want to consider a combination outlet, which has both a switch and a traditional pronged outlet in the same outlet box.
Switches
Switches allow you to control lights or appliances from one, two, or more wall locations. They can be toggle, rocker, or slider, but the style doesn’t affect how a switch functions or what wiring it needs. There are single-pole, three-way, and four-way switches designed for standard 120-volt household circuits as well as double-pole switches for specialty 240-volt circuits that power large appliances such as stoves. Some switches are smart, letting you control lighting and appliances with voice commands or an app on your phone.
The first step in replacing a switch is to turn off the circuit power at the breaker panel and mark the breaker or fuse so you know it’s OFF. Next, open the switch box and disconnect the wires, leaving the hook ends of each wrapped around a screw terminal in the switch. The black (hot) wires connect to the brass screw terminals on each side of the switch. If you have a 3-way switch, you may also have a black common wire that’s connected to the shortest of the white (neutral) wires in the switch box and labeled “common” with tape or a marker.
When you replace a switch, make sure the new switch is rated for the circuit voltage and amperage, then close the breaker or fuse and screw in the switch. Before connecting the wires to the switch, put a piece of electrical tape on the common wire so you’ll remember to treat it differently later on. Then connect the hooks of the two black wires to their respective terminal screws on the switch, wrapping each around the screw in a clockwise direction. Wrap the white traveler wires together in the same manner.
Subpanels
Subpanels are used to take the extra electricity load off of your main circuit breaker panel. This can prevent the overloading of your electric system, which can cause a fire hazard. It also helps to increase the safety of your property, as you can quickly turn off the subpanel in case of a fire or other emergency.
A subpanel is a small breaker box that sends and transfers electricity to other areas of your property. It can be installed in your garage, workshop, or other area that needs an extra electrical circuit. It is also possible to add a subpanel in your basement, as it can be a convenient place for your laundry room or home theater.
These breaker boxes are often smaller than your main breaker panel, and they look similar. They can also have a single or multiple breakers. If you install a subpanel in your garage, for example, it can help to organize your equipment and make it easier to identify which switches are powered by each circuit. Subpanels are usually placed at a height that is high enough so that children and pets cannot reach them, but they can still be easily accessed when you need to do maintenance or make repairs.
A subpanel can be installed at any location where you need more electrical circuits, but it is typically located close to the main power panel. This can make wiring and connections easier and minimize the length of the feeder cable that will need to be run from the main panel to the subpanel. However, a subpanel can’t increase the amount of power that your house can accept, so if you need more power, it may be better to upgrade your main panel instead of adding a subpanel.
Circuit Breakers
The circuit breakers in your home are the safety devices that cut off the current whenever it jumps above a safe level. They are the modern replacements for older fuse wires, which were designed to disintegrate when they overheated from too much current. The main breaker panel and rows of circuit breakers connect to hot bus bars that carry electricity from the power company to your home’s wiring and outlets.
The simplest kind of breaker switch is a spring-loaded design that uses stored energy to throw the switch, cutting off the circuit. More advanced circuit breakers use semiconductor elements to monitor current levels and shut off the flow of electricity before it can damage your home or cause an electrical fire.
If a circuit breaker trips, you must open the door of the breaker box and flip the switch to the “Off” position before you can turn on your appliances and electronics again. If you find that your breaker keeps tripping, there may be a serious problem with your wiring or other components and you should contact an electrician for help.
A residential electrical contractor can install a new panel that has more amp capacity and additional breakers to handle the demands of your household. You will probably also need a professional to replace the wires that bring electricity from the power company and connect them to your breaker box and switches.
