How To Hook Up Gfci Receptacle

A gfci ground fault circuit interrupter is a special type of outlet that detects dangerous ground faults and immediately turns off the power to stop shocks.

How to hook up gfci receptacle. Gfci as an outlet receptacle combo or circuit breaker automatically cuts off the main power supply within millisecond against electric shock. Using pigtails is a great way to ensure that if one receptacle goes bad the rest downstream stay operational. Plus installing a gfci outlet reduces the risk of electric shock helping ensure the safety of you and your family. To properly wire gfci or ground fault circuit interrupter receptacles turn off the power to the circuit you re working on and unscrew the cover plate on the outlet box.

Load terminals identified by color require the white load conductor or conductors to connect to the silver load terminal and the black load conductor or conductors to connect to the brass load terminal. But when wiring gfci and afci receptacles only the ground wires can be hooked up with pigtails. You can replace almost any electrical outlet with a gfci outlet. How to replace a gfci ground fault circuit interrupter outlet.

When it comes to ground fault circuit interrupter or gfci outlets there is always a question as to how to connect the wires this is because gfcis have two different sets of terminals. How to wire a gfci and receptacle. The load terminals of a gfci outlet can be used to connect additional outlets to the same gfci protected power. What gfci outlets do is reduce the danger of deadly shock from faulty plug in cords and devices.

Otherwise the outlets downstream will not be protected. Load essentially means using the protected power opposed to supplying the power. In this video i will show you how to wire up a gfi and make a receptacle gfi protected. Turn off the power at the circuit breaker box.

In many homes necessary circuit breakers and gfcis are already installed but they can stop working unexpectedly so it is important to know how to replace gfci outlets when this happens. Gfci also known as ground fault circuit interrupter is a protective device which automatically detects the ground faults and leakage current and provides personal protection against electrocution. If there is only 1 cable containing 2 3 wires connect the white line wire to the silver or white terminal and connect the black wire to the brass terminal which is the hot terminal. If the existing electrical box is too small to accommodate a gfci outlet or if the house wiring is aluminum instead of copper you may need to hire a qualified electrician to do this job.

The line terminals and the load terminals. If the circuit breakers aren t labeled you can locate the proper switch by plugging a radio into the outlet you plan to change.