The complete idiot's guide to electrical repair

Part 1: The Basics: Out of the Dark Ages 1 1 Fear of Frying 3 A brief intro to your electrical system. 2 What Is Electricity Anyway? 15 The why, how, and where of electricity. 3 History Lessons 27 Electricity has always been around, but it took a lot of smart guys to harness it and make it useful. 4 If Your Walls Could Talk 39 Codes, inspectors, and a closer look at your wiring. 5 More Wall Talk 53 Your wiring shouldn’t be a puzzle; all you need to do is understand the pieces and how they go together. 6 When You Buy a House 67 How to be an electrically smart buyer when you go house hunting. Part 2: Safety, Tools, and Contractors 81 7 Caution Signs and Safety Concerns 83 Electrical shocks can be more than shocking; here’s how to avoid them. 8 Call Me Sparky 97 To do your own electrical work, you should look at the job the way an electrician would. 9 Extension Cords and Multiple Strips 111 A great convenience—as long as you don’t abuse them. 10 Electing for Electricians 125 What to look for in, and expect from, a qualified electrician. Part 3: Components and Simple Repairs 135 11 Switches and Receptacles 137 Telling the difference from one type to another. 12 Replacing Old Switches and Receptacles 149 Simple repairs to get you started. 13 Lighting Up 171 From bare-bulb fixtures to halogen lamps, there’s a light for every purpose. 14 Light Fixes 187 You don’t need to live in the dark if you know how to repair your lights. 15 Working Around Existing Wiring 205 Here are some guidelines for accessing and tying into your system. 16 Trouble, Troubleshooting, and Safety 223 Avoiding bigger problems later by staying out of trouble now. Part 4: Power Hungry 233 17 Service with an Attitude 235 More power to you when you upgrade to a new service panel. 18 Adding New Circuits 247 Additional power calls for more circuits; here’s how to add them. 19 Kitchen Power 251 Cooking should be convenient, and new kitchen wiring goes a long way toward accomplishing that. 20 Bathroom Wiring 263 Water and electricity can mix if you follow the rules. 21 The Great Outdoors 275 You don’t need to limit your electrical work to the indoors when you have a whole yard to light up. 22 Electric Heat and Air Conditioning 287 There’s more than one way to get some cool comfort or winter warmth from your electrical system. Part 5: Refinements 299 23 Workshops, Offices, and Generators 301 Extending your system after you’re finished with the basics. 24 Your Own Hi-Tech Revolution 317 Power at your fingertips when you wire for remote controls and media madness. 25 Alarms, Detectors, and Security 333 Protecting your family and your home from smoke, fire, and intruders. 26 More Low-Voltage Wiring 349 Intercoms, doorbells, and thermostats help complete your wired world at home. 27 A Few Alternatives 359 Accessing electricity is great, but saving energy can be a big plus, especially with your utility bill. 28 Putting It All Together 373 Looking at the big picture. Appendixes A Resources 385 B Glossary 387 Index 391 Contents Part 1: The Basics: Out of the Dark Ages 1 1 Fear of Frying 3 A Wired World ......................................................................4 Linear Logic ........................................................................4 Follow the Electrical Code ....................................................5 Safety Rules, Mr./Ms. Homeowner ........................................5 Mutual Respect ....................................................................6 Do It Yourself or Hire It Out? ................................................6 Drilling and Pulling ............................................................7 Neatness Counts ..................................................................8 Simple Projects First ............................................................9 System Checkup ....................................................................9 Plugless in Seattle ................................................................9 Let There Be Light ..............................................................10 Hot Spots ..........................................................................10 Special Needs ....................................................................10 Confused About Fuses? ........................................................11 Circuit Breakers ....................................................................12 More Power to the People ..................................................12 2 What Is Electricity Anyway? 15 Go with the Flow ................................................................16 Staying Current ..................................................................17 AC/DC ..............................................................................17 You’re Grounded ................................................................18 Voltage Provides the Push ..................................................19 Know Your Volts: 120/240 ................................................20 Amps for Short ..................................................................20 Watt’s That? ........................................................................21 Wattage Around the House ................................................21 This Joule Isn’t a Gemstone ................................................22 Resistance Isn’t Futile ..........................................................22 All Wire Isn’t Created Equal ..............................................23 No Substituting ..................................................................25 3 History Lessons 27 An International Effort ........................................................28 The Pioneers ........................................................................28 Ben Franklin Flies a Kite ....................................................28 Galvani’s Frog Legs ............................................................29 Watt ..................................................................................29 The Amp Man ..................................................................29 Oompa-Ohm ......................................................................30 Coulomb Was Très Cool ....................................................30 Other Electrical Fellows ......................................................31 Edison, Mega-Inventor ........................................................31 Let There Be Light ..............................................................32 Our First Big Power Plant ..................................................33 Tesla Needed a Lawyer ........................................................33 Early Safety Measures ..........................................................34 The Standards Change ........................................................35 Fuses to Breakers ................................................................35 Just One Ceiling Light ........................................................35 Knob-and-Tube Wiring ........................................................36 Wiring Evolves ....................................................................36 Creeping Home Power Demands ........................................37 4 If Your Walls Could Talk 39 The National Electrical Code ..............................................40 You and the Code ..............................................................41 Local Rules, Local Inspectors ..............................................41 The CEC ............................................................................42 Underwriters Laboratory ....................................................43 Are You Up-to-Date? ............................................................44 Two-Wire and Three-Wire Systems ....................................44 Feeling Polarized ................................................................45 Circuit Breakers vs. Fuses ....................................................46 This One Blows ..................................................................47 This One Trips ..................................................................47 The Main Shutoff ..............................................................48 The More Power the Better ..................................................49 Look to Future Needs ..........................................................49 Cost Comparisons ..............................................................49 Panels and More Panels ....................................................50 viii The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Electrical Repair 5 More Wall Talk 53 Branching Out to Break Up the Load ................................54 Amps, Watts, and Wire Gauge Working Together ..............54 Circuits and Runs ..............................................................56 Know Your Circuits with a Circuit Map ..............................57 What Are Friends For? ......................................................58 GFCIs—Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters ........................58 Wire Systems Old and New ................................................60 Do You Need to Replace? ....................................................61 Jump Up to 200 Amps ......................................................61 Good Wire, Bad Wiring ....................................................62 When New and Old Collide ..............................................62 Location, Location ..............................................................64 Your Checklist ......................................................................64 6 When You Buy a House 67 Caveat Emptor or Buyer Beware! ........................................68 Who Does the Inspection? ..................................................68 The Preliminaries ..............................................................68 Testing! Testing! ................................................................69 The Other Tool You Need ..................................................71 Smoke Alarms ....................................................................72 Aluminum Wiring ..............................................................72 What’s the Story? ..............................................................73 What You Should Look For ................................................74 Warning: Aluminum Wiring Ahead ....................................75 Solutions ............................................................................75 The Great Outdoors ............................................................77 Attic Insulation Problems ....................................................77 A Breath of Fresh Air ..........................................................78 More Testing ........................................................................78 Some Final Points ................................................................79 Part 2 Safety, Tools, and Contractors 81 7 Caution Signs and Safety Concerns 83 Shocks Galore ......................................................................84 When You Can’t Let Go ....................................................84 How Much Can You Take? ................................................85 Timing Is Everything ..........................................................86 ix Contents Know Your First Aid ............................................................86 The Source of the Problem ..................................................87 Quiz #1 ................................................................................87 Safe Work Practices ..............................................................89 Turn It Off! ........................................................................89 One Hand Behind Your Back ..............................................90 Test, Test, Test ..................................................................90 On Dry Ground ..................................................................90 Watch That Ladder ............................................................90 Tool Health ........................................................................91 A Lesson from Your Kids ....................................................91 Speaking of Kids … ............................................................91 Some Statistics ....................................................................93 Electro Kindling ..................................................................94 New Service Doesn’t Let You Off the Hook ........................95 More Information ................................................................95 8 Call Me Sparky 97 An Electrician’s Mindset ......................................................98 Think Before You Drill ......................................................99 Minimum Damage, Minimum Repairs ................................99 Permits ..............................................................................100 Keeping the Inspector in Mind ..........................................100 The Code Calls the Shots ................................................101 Insurance Issues ..............................................................101 Tools of the Trade ..............................................................102 Hand Tools ......................................................................102 Power Tools ....................................................................103 Care and Feeding of Power Tools ......................................106 Bits ..................................................................................107 Rent or Buy? ....................................................................108 UL-Approved Parts for You ................................................109 Home-Improvement Stores vs. Electrical Wholesalers ....109 9 Extension Cords and Multiple Strips 111 Extension-Cord Protocol ..................................................112 What the NEC Says ........................................................112 One Size Doesn’t Fit All ..................................................113 When Cords Go Bad ........................................................114 x The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Electrical Repair Know the Rules ................................................................115 Homemade Cords ............................................................116 Multiple-Outlet Devices ....................................................116 Surge-Suppression Devices ................................................118 What Do They Do? ........................................................119 Computers Aren’t Very Tough ..........................................120 Suppressors for Everyone ..................................................121 Speaking About Computers ..............................................122 More Rules ......................................................................122 Going Whole Hog ............................................................122 10 Electing for Electricians 125 Hiring It Out ......................................................................126 Contracting for a Contractor ............................................126 License and Bonding Spoken Here ....................................127 The Name’s Bond, Surety Bond ........................................127 Insurance Is a Must ..........................................................128 Three in One ....................................................................129 Plans and Specifications—Always! ....................................129 Who Draws Them Up? ....................................................130 Allowing Substitutions ....................................................131 Comparing Bids ..............................................................131 About Those Contracts ......................................................131 Write It Down ..................................................................131 Change Orders ................................................................132 A Deal’s a Deal ................................................................132 Cleanup and Wall-Repair Woes ........................................133 Electricians Hate Plaster Walls ........................................134 Fire Blocks ......................................................................134 Part 3 Components and Simple Repairs 135 11 Switches and Receptacles 137 There’s One for Every Purpose ..........................................138 Switches ............................................................................139 Three-Way Switch ............................................................139 Four-Way Switch ..............................................................139 Switch/Receptacle Combo ................................................140 Ganging Up ....................................................................141 Pilot-Light Switch ............................................................141 xi Contents Dimmers ..........................................................................141 Timers and Doorbells ......................................................142 Receptacles Galore ............................................................142 Don’t Forget the Boxes ......................................................143 They’re Not All the Same ................................................143 Plastic or Steel? ................................................................145 Check the Size ..................................................................145 Cover ’Em Up ....................................................................146 Brass: New and Old ........................................................147 The Artful Flare of Ceramics ............................................147 12 Replacing Old Switches and Receptacles 149 Probing the Problem ..........................................................150 Checking the Devices ........................................................151 Continuity Coming Up ....................................................153 New Switches ..................................................................154 Three-Way Switch ............................................................157 Four-Way Switch ..............................................................159 The Great Outdoors ..........................................................161 Dimmers ..........................................................................161 Old Wire, New Switch ......................................................161 Disreputable Receptacles ..................................................162 Check and Check Again ..................................................162 Test for Grounding ............................................................164 Two-Wire Grounding ........................................................165 Installing a New Receptacle ..............................................166 Grounding an Old Receptacle ..........................................168 Aluminum Wiring ............................................................169 13 Lighting Up 171 How Illuminating ..............................................................172 Measuring Your Lighting Needs ........................................173 Distinguishing a Lumen from Illuminance ........................174 Know Your Lighting ........................................................175 Aim High, Low, and Wide ................................................176 Lighting Up Outside ........................................................176 Combining Lighting Styles ................................................178 Looks Are Something ........................................................181 What’s Your Type? ............................................................181 Incandescent ....................................................................182 xii The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Electrical Repair Tungsten-Halogen Lamps ................................................182 Fluorescent Lighting ........................................................183 When Cheap Power Reigns ..............................................184 Other Considerations ........................................................185 14 Light Fixes 187 Inspect First ......................................................................188 Time to Replace ..............................................................190 Installing a Box ..............................................................191 Try a New Style ................................................................193 Fluorescent Fun ................................................................194 The Pieces Inside ..............................................................194 Even More Efficiency ........................................................195 Fluorescent Woes ..............................................................195 Lamps ................................................................................199 The Easy Repairs ..............................................................199 Bugged by Bad Plugs ........................................................200 Round-Cord Plugs ............................................................201 Sock It to Your Socket ......................................................202 A Dose of Reality ..............................................................202 15 Working Around Existing Wiring 205 The Dangers of Overextending Yourself ..........................206 Your Total Load ..............................................................206 Don’t Estimate, Calculate! ..............................................208 Leave Dedicated Circuits Alone ........................................208 Uh-Oh, Old Wiring ..........................................................209 Mixing Old and New Wiring ............................................209 How Much You Can Keep? ..............................................210 Walls Everywhere ..............................................................211 Boxes and the Code ..........................................................215 The Perils of Plaster ........................................................215 Drywall ..........................................................................216 Boxes in Ceilings ..............................................................216 No Access, Now What? ....................................................217 The Woodwork Comes Off ..............................................218 Get Your Drill Out ..........................................................218 Insulation Obstacles ........................................................218 The Finish Work ................................................................219 Fitting All Those Wires In ................................................219 Plaster and Drywall Repair ..............................................220 xiii Contents 16 Trouble, Troubleshooting, and Safety 223 The Rules Once More ........................................................224 Warning Signs ....................................................................225 Hot Stuff ..........................................................................225 Short Circuits ..................................................................226 Power Cords ....................................................................227 Lamps ............................................................................227 Incandescent Light Fixtures ..............................................227 Fluorescent Woes ..............................................................228 Fire Hazards ....................................................................228 Don’t Overextend with Extension Cords ............................229 Regular Tests You Should Do ............................................229 General Precautions ..........................................................230 Power Outages ..................................................................231 Part 4 Power Hungry 233 17 Service with an Attitude 235 One New Service Coming Up ..........................................236 Overhead and Exposed ......................................................236 Going Underground ..........................................................239 New Service/Old Service ....................................................239 Fuse Box Becomes Junction Box ........................................239 New Panel, Old Panel ......................................................240 Anatomy of a Panel ..........................................................240 Location Is Everything ......................................................242 Grounding Your Panel ......................................................242 Breaker, Breaker ..............................................................243 Subpanels—a Real Convenience ......................................243 Subpanel Alternatives ......................................................244 Subpanel Considerations ..................................................244 What’s This Going to Cost? ..............................................245 18 Adding New Circuits 247 Write Up a Plan ................................................................248 Power Everywhere ............................................................248 15 Amps or 20? ..............................................................249 Plenty of Dedicated Circuits ............................................249 xiv The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Electrical Repair Roping the House ..............................................................250 Keeping the Inspections in Mind ......................................250 19 Kitchen Power 251 The Well-Wired Kitchen ....................................................252 Dedicated Circuits Everywhere ..........................................252 Small-Appliance Circuits and GFCIs ................................253 Wiring the Fridge ..............................................................254 Two More Exceptions ......................................................255 Ranges and Ovens ............................................................255 Disposers ........................................................................255 Dishwashers ....................................................................256 Big Appliances: Stovetop and Range ..................................257 Keep or Replace Your Appliances? ....................................258 Lighting the Way ..............................................................258 Work Lights ....................................................................259 Accent Lighting ................................................................259 Lots-o-Switches ................................................................259 Ventilation ........................................................................260 You Have a Choice ..........................................................260 Up and Out, Down and Through ......................................260 Bigger Is Better ................................................................261 Wiring Concerns ................................................................262 20 Bathroom Wiring 263 GFCI Is a Must ..................................................................264 Installing the Fan ..............................................................265 How to Size It ..................................................................266 Roof or Wall Vent? ..........................................................266 So Many Different Switches ..............................................266 It’s Cold in Here ................................................................267 Baseboard Heating and Forced Air ....................................268 Heated Floors ..................................................................268 Heat Lamps ....................................................................268 Some Codes Don’t Like Electric Heat ................................269 More Bathroom Toys ........................................................269 The Luxury of Warm Towels ............................................269 Fog Be Gone ....................................................................269 On-Demand Hot Water ....................................................270 xv Contents Bathroom Lighting ..........................................................270 Incandescent Fixtures ........................................................270 A Possible Laundry Room? ..............................................272 21 The Great Outdoors 275 Light Up the Night ............................................................276 Light Pollution ................................................................276 Other Concerns ................................................................278 Drilling and Digging ........................................................279 Metal and Plastic ............................................................280 You Can’t Use Cable ........................................................280 Dig It ..............................................................................281 The Job So Far ................................................................281 Draw Up a Plan ..................................................................282 Skip the Digging ................................................................282 Light Options ..................................................................283 Low-Key Low Voltage ......................................................283 Fiber Optics ....................................................................284 120-Volt Lights ................................................................284 Fancy Fixtures ..................................................................285 22 Electric Heat and Air Conditioning 287 Electric Furnaces ................................................................288 Seal Those Ducts ..............................................................289 Zone In ............................................................................290 Hooking Them Up ............................................................291 Heaters with Receptacles ..................................................291 Going Portable ................................................................291 Radiant Heating ..............................................................292 Heat Pumps ........................................................................292 Whole-House Ventilation ..................................................293 Air Conditioning ..............................................................293 Air-Conditioning Alternatives ..........................................294 Shade ..............................................................................294 New Construction ............................................................295 Hot-Water Heaters, Big and Small ....................................295 Mixing Water and Electricity ............................................296 Hot Water on Demand ....................................................296 xvi The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Electrical Repair Part 5 Refinements 299 23 Workshops, Offices, and Generators 301 Workshops ........................................................................302 Woodshop Details ............................................................302 Raceways or Cable? ........................................................303 Safety Power Controls ......................................................303 Lighting Your Workroom ..................................................304 A Breath of Fresh Air ......................................................304 Home Offices ....................................................................305