Main panel and Subpanels

Once electricity is carried beyond your meter, it must be distributed to lights, receptacles and appliances throughout the house by several different individual electrical circuits. Here we look at the load centers-the service entrance panel and distribution center or main panel and smaller subpanels used to hook-up and control the various electrical circuits.

Main panels come in scores of sizes and configurations. A panel might be mounted on the outside of the house, either separate from or combined with the meter or on an inside wall, behind the meter.

The main panel includes some type of mechanical device for disconnecting the house's electrical circuits from the incoming power. In most contemporary systems, this device is a circuit breaker or "breaker." Other types of disconnects utilize levers and fuses-you pull down on a lever or pull out a fuse block to shut off the power to the house circuits.

MORE ABOUT:
/ Electric meter / / Electrical service / / Elecrtic panel & circuit breakers /
/ When lights go out / / Main panel & subpanels / / GFCI breakers /
/ Receptacles / / Switches / / 3-way switches / / Where to mount fans /
/ Ceiling fans / / Smoke detectors / / Central air conditioning units /
/ Thermostats / / Ventilation /

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