How to Wire a Barn From a Main House Panel
Electricity flowing into your house beyond your meter goes to receptacles, lights and appliances throughout your house. All of this electricity flows from the main house panel. From the main house panel you can wire other buildings on your property such as a barn, shed or garage. To deliver power to other areas on your property you can use an extension cord, which is a temporary, and not necessarily the safest, solution. The best way to wire a barn from your main house panel is to install a direct burial electrical cable. This is a permanent solution. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Shovel
- Voltmeter
- 8/3 wire
- 2-inch PVC pipe
- Screwdriver set
- Shaving cream (optional)
Instructions
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1
Run a new electrical line from the house main panel to the barn. Materials cost a bit more than an extension cord, but the setup will give the barn plenty of electricity for receptacles and lights.
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2
Dig a trench from the outside of the house where the main panel is located to the barn where you want to install the sub-panel. Use a shovel and dig down about eight to 10 inches.
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3
Test the house main panel for electric current with a voltmeter after you turn off the outdoor switch. Touch the tip of the voltmeter to the wires on the main breaker panel. If the needle doesn't move, no power is present.
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4
Install a second 8/3 wire onto the house main panel. Match the colored wires and loosen the screws on the terminals connecting like-colored wires and wrapping the like-colored twisted wires to the screw terminal. Do this for all three wires.
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5
Set a two-inch PVC pipe in the ground with an 8/3 wire and ground running down the middle of the pipe. At the barn end connect the wire to the sub-panel. The black wire is the hot wire, and the white wire is the neutral wire. Attach these wires to the screw terminals in the sub-panel. Attach the copper wire to the ground pole in the sub-panel box by threading the wire through the hole in the bar, wrapping it around the screw and tightening it with a screwdriver.
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Tips & Warnings
Put shaving cream on the wires in the PVC pipe to help glide them through the pipe.
Do not attempt to put a second wire on the main panel without checking to make sure the power is off. Electric shock at 440V can kill a person.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit barn image by Cathy Kovarik from Fotolia.com
