![]() This is why a toaster, stove or hotplate works, current is sent through the wires and they get hot. Figure 4 - Circuit breakerĪ piece of wire gets hot as it carries the current to your home or throughout your home. The thinner the link between the caps the less amount of current (amps) that the link can handle before it melts, due to the heat. Figure 3 - The fuse element, on the left of the picture, is what is inside the cartridge. The original fuse was a piece of wire sized to melt when a specific amount of amps (current) was going through it, as shown in Figure 3. To do this we will look at the original fuse. It is important to understand the relationship between wire gauge and amperage. Many older homes still have 60 amp services and in rural locations it is still possible to find 30 amp services. However, there is a difference to the current carrying capability of copper versus aluminum.īecause of our ever increasing demand for electrical power in out homes, most new homes are being built with a minimum of a 150 Amp service and 200 is not uncommon. Utilities can drop power into your home using copper or aluminum wiring. ![]() ![]() 120 & 240 are nominal numbers and can vary from 110 to 120 and 205 to 240 depending on the utility. The amount of power that the utility provides is governed by the transformer on the pole, as shown in Figure 1, or the transformer that is mounted on the ground, as shown in Figure 2, that services your home and the size of the wires from that transformer to your home.įor explanation purposes we will use 120 and 240 VAC as the voltage. Power is supplied to your home, from the utility, in the form of volts and amps. ![]()
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