Electricity powers up your home. It makes modern living comfortable, convenient, and efficient. But how does it reach your home, and how does it work inside? It circulates in the form of current around your home through wires and components, operating your home’s outlets and appliances from the power source. The electrical cables ( the wires behind your wall) are made up of copper or aluminum conductors, which are insulated with PVC or rubber, delivering electricity to every corner of your home.
It is important to understand the basic workings of electricity around your home so that you can keep the system properly functioning and in a safe working zone.
The Journey of Electricity to Your Home
It takes a flip of a switch or plug in a cord for you to experience the presence of electricity, but it travels a long way to reach your home. The generation stations all across the country are connected through the power grid - the electrical system. Let's have a look at the journey of electricity from the generation station to your home.
Generation - Generation stations use fossil fuels, nuclear power, and renewable sources such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric power to generate electricity which is made at generation stations by huge generators.
Transmission - The generated electricity is transferred through high-voltage transmission lines that are carried efficiently to substations.
Substations - The high voltage is lowered by transformers at the substation so that it can be transported on smaller power lines.
Distribution -The lowered voltage is then delivered to your neighborhoods through poles, underground, or overhead distribution lines that you see along the highway and in front of your home.
Home Network - The electricity finally enters your home through the service entrance panel, passing through a meter that measures the consumption of electricity used by your family.
Electric Circuits Inside Your Home
Let’s understand how an electric circuit works around your home through various components like the service panel, circuit breakers, and electric wires to power the appliances and electronic devices.
The Service Panel
Electricity reaches the home through the service panel which is also termed as the breaker box, and is the center of the electrical system. It is usually in the basement, a utility room, or a garage and distributes electricity to all the corners of the house.
Circuit Breakers
The service panel contains circuit breakers or fuses to protect the wires inside your home from being overloaded and shut off the power of your entire home immediately. Also, there is a high probability that various lighting circuits, several outlets (receptacle) circuits, and exclusive circuits that handle the power of major appliances like furnaces, clothes dryers, water heaters, etc., must be installed in an average-sized home as per the different electrical needs.
Electric Wires
Electric wires are hidden inside the walls, floors, and ceilings to carry electricity from panels to outlets, switches, and fixtures through circuits. They consist of insulated conductors to prevent the wiring from damaging and causing fires when it gets electric shocks or short circuits.
Electricity Powers the Devices
The electricity flowing through your home’s circuit is AC ( alternating current ), which moves back and forth around 60 times in a second. This is how the electric circuit works in a circle. The current runs from the power source and takes the return path back to the source. Let's understand how it works.
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The electricity current flows from the power source through the electric wiring.
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Then we have switches that, when turned on, allow the current to flow and, when turned off, don't permit the current to flow through the circuit. They can be single-pole, three-way, or four-way, used for turning the commands of electric equipment and lights on or off.
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Now, we have outlets that are the points where devices can be plugged into the power source.
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Fixtures are the permanent electrical devices fixed in a building, such as light fixtures, ceiling fans, etc.
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When the device is plugged in, both permanently installed devices and devices like lamps, chargers, etc., and the switch is turned on, it powers the devices with electrical energy to perform their functions.
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After the work is done, the switch is turned off, and the electricity current flows back to the power source.
Final Words
As much as it's important to understand the basics of the electrical system, it's also necessary and good to seek professional help when the electrical jobs are complicated and follow the safety measures while doing any kind of electrical work on your own.
