Electrical Repairs

When planning an addition to your home, you may also plan an addition to your home's electrical circuitry. To avoid tripping the circuit breakers involved, you'll need to know how to calculate the...

Whether you are working on a remodeling project or new construction, the electrical work is one of the most important parts of the job. Anytime you are install or replace an outlet, you need to...

Electrical receptacles, or outlets, are components in an electrical system that allows us to connect our home or office devices to so they will operate. Overtime, an electrical receptacle will...

Double-pole thermostats are used to control line voltage -- electrical power to heating devices. Line voltage is the electricity that comes from the main circuit breaker or fuse panel. When wiring...

Planning the work for an electrical project must be done carefully, and in steps considering all the correct information. One of the key processes in installing a new outlet and/or wiring, is...

In the past, a three-way switch circuit could only be controlled using two three-way switches. But these days, three-way dimmer switches allow you to customize the level of light put out by a...

Circuit breakers are the gateways that allow electricity to flow to and power the various devices in our homes. The breakers allow homeowners to turn on and off power at the main circuit panel....

Working with or repairing electrical outlets is pretty straightforward when following a few guidelines. However, the most important thing to remember is that electricity is dangerous and can kill...

For the most part, a light switch is a simple, yet durable controller that is built to withstand thousands of toggles. But even the most expensive light switches will eventually wear down. Knowing...

Baseboard heaters are electrical devices used to heat individual areas in a room. These long heaters are placed under exterior windows along the floor and range in size from two feet to four feet...

A circuit breaker's function is to ensure that power is turned off when a line gets damaged or becomes overloaded. Removing a mulfunctioning breaker from a panel is simple enough, but the dangers...

If your ceiling fan fails to operate, the problem can most times be traced back to a bad fan switch. The replacement of a four-wire ceiling fan switch is a very simple process, which any weekend...

A push-button light switch controls the operation of a light fixture the way a traditional single-pole switch done, except instead of toggling the switch up and down, the user simply pushes a...

A GFCI, or Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, is an outlet that's designed to instantaneously trip when the voltage goes to ground. They are required for use within six feet of any wet location in...

Removing a dimmer switch may sound like it's a more difficult job than removing a standard single-pole switch, but the two jobs are in fact identical. Each switch has a hot feed, a traveler wire...

Ceiling fans come in all shapes, sizes and designs; they are a convenient and attractive addition to a home. Most of the time when a ceiling fan fails to operate the blame can be placed on a...

Home electronics and computers can be damaged by voltage that is over or under the nominal 110 volts AC (alternating current) delivered in American households. Likewise, electronics and appliances...

Low voltage landscape lighting not only makes your home more appealing at night, but it can also make your home safer. Since these lights are exposed to the elements 24 hours a day, they can...

A circuit breaker is a safeguard. Its sole purpose is to protect electrical circuits from overloading or short-circuiting. When a short circuit is about to occur or electrical circuits are about...

An electrical dimmer switch is a lighting control unit that allows you to customize the level of light that is produced by a light bulb in a lamp or light fixture. They can be turned all the way...

Identifying a circuit breaker and its various electrical properties is a must before attempting to replace a faulty one. A circuit breaker normally has two of three electrical attributes printed...

High-pressure sodium (HPS) light ballasts are actually high voltage multi-tap transformers. Multi-tap means that a variety of single-phase voltages can feed the transformer. In most cases once a...

Troubleshooting a light fixture is usually a simple matter of testing a few components. The problem is nearly always with the light bulb, a loose wire, the switch or the circuit breaker. Before...

When portable electronic devices stop working, the problem may be in the power supply rather than the device itself. These power supplies, often called "wall warts," can be tested and replaced if...

If your dryer suddenly quits operating or turns but has no heat, the first thing to do is a voltage test at the 220-volt electrical outlet. The same is true if you are plugging in a new dryer. The...

A megger, or a megohmmeter, uses a high voltage to test the insulation value of wires. A megohm is equal to 1,000,000 ohms of resistance. This high value of resistance measurement ensures that the...

Circuit breakers, whatever their type, share a common function---to protect an electrical circuit against overloading and to avert damage to the circuit and the appliances connected to it, and the...

Capacitors come in many sizes and can be found in a wide variety of electrical devices. Their sole purpose is to store energy for a temporary period of time, but if they are removed from the power...

In our everyday lives we use electricity often, but depending on where you are in the world, the power output is not exactly the same. Differences between the power grids in North America (110...

If you are working on the construction site of a new building or just remodeling your current house, you will want to use a circuit tester. A circuit tester will check the outlets in the building...

It is possible to figure out the wattage of a circuit if you know the voltage and amperage. There is no direct conversion between volts and watts because the units do not measure the same concept...

Three-phase motors are used almost exclusively on three-phase power. There are two voltages in which the three-phase motors operate: 240 VAC and 480 VAC. In almost all applications, three-phase...

There are basically only 4 things that will cause a fluorescent fixture to fail. Keep reading to find out what they are and how to repair the problem.

Three-way switches are the perfect solution for flexible light control, but their benefit can be put to use in other applications as well, such as controlling a ceiling fan from two different...

For most homeowners, the thought of performing their own electrical repairs can be intimidating. After all, when care is not exercised, one mistake could cause injury or worse. But, some jobs are...

Power is a physics term used to describe the average amount of energy that is transferred per unit of time. Thus power is expressed in units that are units of energy divided by units of time, the...

A garage door opener is a convenient addition to the garage. The garage door can be opened with just a push of a remote control from the car. The garage door opener should also have a wall button...

High pressure sodium lights are used for illuminating large outdoor areas. They emit bright yellow light. Typically these lights are used on sides of industrial buildings and in some street lamps....

Power transformers are used to either step up (raise), or step down (lower), electricity. There are two separate circuits on a transformer: a high voltage side, identified as H1 and H2; and the...

When purchasing a replacement fuse, the easiest way to get what you need is to bring the old fuse with you. Fuses are marked with identifying information such as voltage ratings, current ratings...

How to Change a Ceiling Light Fixture in Your Home.

Calculating current can be very useful when adding circuits to an existing circuit so you do not overload the circuit breaker.

Whether you would like to change one bad plug or your whole house out, changing a receptacle in your home can be simple if the proper steps are used.

Electrical and electronic devices all need some type of protection, which typically comes from fuses. Unlike circuit breakers, a fuse is a one-time protection that must be replaced after serving...

In this article, you will learn how to easily test if your Malibu 4 watt or 7 watt low voltage light bulbs are dead. The filaments on these bulbs are very small and are sometimes difficult to...

The electricity that flows to your house is called alternating current (AC) electricity. AC electricity switches directions rapidly, going from negative to positive and back again 60 times a...

Necessity is the mother of invention in such related fields as electrical and electronic wiring. These two separate but equal fields use the same basic concept--connecting one source or signal to...

Contactors are used to remotely switch electrical power. The coil-actuated switch operates exactly like a relay, but a contactor typically handles higher amperages in the switch mechanism itself....

Step down transformers are used to take a high voltage and transform it to a lower workable power. Typically, step down transformers are used in control circuitry. The most common home application...

A motion sensor switch is a great way to help reduce the amount of electricity that's wasted on lighting in your home. While you may not immediately think that you waste lighting, consider this:...