How To Wire An Electrical Outlet

Your cable should be long enough to reach each socket.

How to wire an electrical outlet. Switch off the mains. What is an electrical outlet receptacle or socket outlet. You should switch off electrical power from the mains to avoid electrocution. According to nec an outlet is the point s in an electrical wiring system where current can be taken and utilize by electrical appliances and equipment by plugging them in it.

Most electrical codes now require outlets in kitchens and bathrooms to be on separate 20 amp gfci circuits. The video tutorial goes through the rough in installation and install process for a single electrical outlet. In order to install an electrical outlet and circuit from scratch you need a roll of 14 2 or 12 2 romex cable depending on how much load you need from the outlet and either a new work box or an old work box. The only difference is that depending on where the receptacle is located in the wiring scheme of your house it may have more wires attached to it than you find attached to a light switch.

Wiring diagram for dual outlets. Don t power your new outlet from a. When you wire a single outlet to a live circuit cable you connect the black wire to one of the brass screws usually the top one but it doesn t matter and the white wire to one of the chrome screws. Here 3 wire cable is run from a double pole circuit breaker providing an independent 120 volts to two sets of multiple outlets.

One can t be too careful. How to wire an electrical outlet. Electrical outlet nec is also known as receptacle and more commonly a socket outlet iec. Run the cable from the circuit breaker to the location of the electrical outlet.

They are secured in place by metal cable clamps or by pressure fit clamps mounted in the box. A standard electrical outlet has two brass terminal screws two chrome ones and a single ground terminal which is green. If you add an outlet to a kitchen or bath it must be gfci protected. This wiring is commonly used in a 20 amp kitchen circuit where two appliance feeds are needed such as for a refrigerator and a microwave in the same location.

Electrical cables feed through holes in the back or sides of the outlet s electrical box. Generally the outer sheathing of the nm cable should just barely extend into the box with 6 or 7 inches of each conducting wire extending into the box. The neutral wire from the circuit is shared by both sets.