Understand your Home Electrical Service Panel

Electricity from utility transformers on utility poles outside your home enters your home through the electric meter installed by your utility company to measure your electric usage, to the Electrical Service Panel (Circuit Breaker Panel), which distributes this electricity to various places within your home by circuits. Circuits carry current at full voltage in hot wires to appliances, fixtures, receptacles etc. in your home, and return current back to the service panel in neutral wires at zero voltage. Electrical Service Panels vary on their capacity ranging from 60amps in older homes to up to 400amps in newer homes. If your power consumption increases and your home has a lower capacity Service Panel, consult with a local Electrician on upgrading your panel to a higher capacity panel. Get a written cost estimate for the service and parts and enquire about your local municipality permit requirements. Inserted inside the Electrical Service Panel are circuit breakers or Fuses, which are meant to prevent circuits that carry current from overloading. When a circuit overloads due to either having many devices, appliances, fixtures connected to it, or if it over loads for a different reason, the breaker trips, to prevent the flow of power which causes the switch on the breaker to change position.