Arm yourself with crucial knowledge about ledgeman boxes , circuit breakers , fuse boxwood , commonly blown safety fuse , and more .
Before you start every electrical project , verify you know how to turn off the might in your place . We ’ll show you how to check that your home circuits have been switched off so you may safely proceed with electrical work . Our guide will also help you knowwhat to do when lightsor receptacles suddenly go dead , which could indicate that a circuit has overloaded .
To change state off the power in your home , start by locating the electric service panel , then play along our step - by - step instructions below . If you have an older domicile , you might have a fuse box instead of a circuit ledgeman , so if this is the caseful , head to ourtutorial for how to turn off the top executive at the fuse box .
Credit: Jacob Fox
Locate Your Home’s Service Panel
A residential master service control board incorporate eithercircuit breakersor fuses and is usually turn up in a service program area . It should be easily approachable but aside from the independent traffic stream in the planetary house . The panel may bein the garageor cellar . In warm clime , it may be on the outside of the home . In an apartment or condominium , it may be recessed into the wall in a water closet orlaundry orbit . The service panel is likely a white-haired alloy box or threshold unless it ’s been painted .
When locating your home ’s divine service jury , you might find more than one , especially in an older home . Subpanels are sometimes added to senior systemsto inflate the phone number of circuits . bend off the power on these like you would a primer or breaker in the main servicing board .
You might need to get to the service gore in the iniquity or in a hastiness during an emergency . ensure all adults in your home know where to find the breaker boxwood and how to turn off the power . Keep the way to the panel unmortgaged , and do n’t lean anything against it .
Credit: Dave Toht
Examine the Breaker Box and Turn the Power Off
Once you ’ve located the breaker box in your home , spread the door to get to the fuse or breaker in spite of appearance . Call a professional electrician to verify if the service panel appears damage or if loose wires are visible .
After spread out the service panel door , you ’ll see rows ofindividual circuit surf , which search like on/off switch switch , and a principal circuit breaker on top . A listing indicates which part of the planetary house each surf controls . The list should identify which breaker keep in line the receptacle or secureness you need to de - arouse . These are case-by-case ledgeman . To shut one off , flip the lever tumbler to the " off " billet . Test the gimmick to ensure the power is offbefore working on it .
To twist off the major power to the entire house , flip off the independent breaker , unremarkably a duple - width permutation located at the top of the armed service dialog box . You might need a flashlight handy when you turn off the power to your entire family .
Credit: Dave Toht
How to Reactivate Tripped Breakers
ledgeman vary in the agency they shut off when they sense an overload . One toggle eccentric has a flushed push button that pops up when the breaker has trip out . Reactivate it by move around the switch back on .
Some toggles call on partway off when they blow . To restore power in a breaker , flip the substitution all the way off , then on . The clit on a push - button breaker pop out when the breaker shuts off ; tug the clitoris in to fix power .
