Electrical work scares a lot of homeowners, as it should. If you are not knowledgeable about electrical terms, dangers, and safety protocol, it is best to contact a Manahawkin electrician to do any work that may need to be done in your home. However, even if you are not doing the work yourself, the more knowledge you have about the subject, the easier it will be for you to have a conversation with an electrician. Here are some basic terms having to do with electricity and electrical work so that you don’t have to remain in the dark the next time you have to talk to an electrician.
Contact a trusted Manahawkin electrician if you need any electrical work done in your home
Alternating Current – Normally referred to AC (NOT your air conditioner), this is the typical source of electricity in the power supplies in your home. Where a DC (direct current) electrical charge only runs in one direction, an alternating current switches direction many times per second.
Circuit – A path of current.
Circuit breaker – An automatic safety shut off switch. The circuit breaker will shut off power to any circuit that has too much power running through it before it causes a problem. When a circuit trips, it is an indication that something is wrong. It is basically a warning sign for you that something went wrong electrically in that circuit. If it happens often, an electrician should be called.
Fuse – Switch that interrupts the flow of electricity through a circuit. It has metal wire inside that melts, thereby interrupting the circuit and shutting off power as a safety precaution for an overloaded circuit.
GFI – Ground-fault interrupter. It protects from electrocution or electrical shock by measuring the amount of current coming into the device versus leaving the device. When those measurements differ even the slightest bit, it indicates there is current exiting the circuit somewhere (possibly through someone’s body) and shuts off the power immediately.
Ground or Grounding – Another important safety element. It gives the electric current a safe path (or a path of least resistance) to travel in case of any problems. In other words, if any of the electric current flowing through a system of wires strays outside those wires due to damage or some other issue, instead of flowing through another conductive item (like a person), the electricity will travel through the grounding circuit eliminating the possibility of fire, shock, or electrocution.
Relay – An electromagnetic switch that uses a small current to trigger an activity (either turning on or turning off) in a much larger current. For example, a relay may be used in a heating or cooling system to turn on or off a fan based on the temperature of the room. The relay uses a small amount of energy to keep the thermometer functioning and only switches the fan (which requires a larger electrical current) on or off when a certain temperature is reached.
Switch – A mechanism that opens or closes a circuit. A common example is a light switch that can turn on or off a light by opening the circuit (turning the light off because the pathway is interrupted) or closing the circuit (completing the circuit allowing the light to turn on).
An expertly trained Manahawkin electrician can help explain more if necessary
The goal of this list is to give you a very basic knowledge and familiarity with some electrical terms that you may hear an electrician talk about. Hopefully, you’ve learned some things that will make that conversation easier and make it not so scary to talk about electrical work if you have to contact a Manahawkin electrician.