Amperages and voltages are the two main electrical commodities you will need to be familiar with.

Amperage, or current, is the measure of the rate of flow of electricity per second past a given point.

Voltage is the force, if you will, with which that current flows.

Local codes will dictate what we can do with an electrical system, but the core issues boil down to:
  • There must be enough outlets for a given amount of living space.
  • There must be enough circuits, so no single circuit is overloaded.
  • The wires carrying those circuits must be heavy-enough gauge, so that these wires do not overheat.
  • Some appliances (typically washing machines, furnaces, and baseboard heaters) that draw a heavy load must have their own circuits.
  • Receptacles placed near water must have ground-fault interrupters (GFIs) so that they will immediately trip the breaker and disable the circuit if any water contacts the receptacle.
  • Wiring must be securely fastened to walls.


A typical house will demand a 200-amp service. But if the house is large--say 4 bedrooms or more--then we may install a 300-amp service. All large appliances--such as dishwasher, refrigerator, washer and dryer, ranges, microwave--will have separate circuits. Of course, all our houses meet local code.
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