Know Your Home's Electrical System

If you're building or remodeling, our experts share advice for planning your home's electrical system.

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The electrical system consists of the electrical service (the actual electricity supplied to your home), lighting outlets and various hardwired appliances. The electrical service must be sized to accommodate the lifestyle of the occupants, and is usually between 100 amps and 200 amps, though 400 amps for a very large home is common. An electrician installs the service, and may also install telephone and cable TV wires and, less frequently, security systems.
The electrical lines are run from the street to the meter box outside the home (the unit where your electricity is read to determine your electric utility bill), then through an exterior wall and directly into the electric panel board, which has switches (also known as breakers) to control the electricity in each room of your home. Here, the amps are divided up across circuits to provide various areas of the home with electricity. For example, of the 200 amps available in a home, the circuit for the living room may have 20 amps, the circuit for the bedroom may have 10 amps, and so on.
An electrical system is required by building code to protect you and your family. Some of the safety measures include:

• Circuit breakers prevent fires by cutting off the electricity supply to a certain area if the wires short out.
  
• Ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) in high-moisture areas such as kitchens, bathrooms, garages and pool areas protect occupants from electric shock by cutting off power to the circuit.
  
• Smoke alarms in each bedroom and in common spaces on each floor, like hallways, are hardwired to the electrical system and interconnected to each other to alert occupants of a fire. Most have battery backup as well.

Electrical systems also are regulated by an international and local building code. For example, electrical codes in some regions require wiring to be in flexible metal casing as an additional fire prevention measure. An electrical inspector must check the installation when the system is first being wired and again when the home is finished -- right before closing -- to ensure all codes are followed and the electrical system is safe for you and your family.