The Do-it-Yourself Electrical Guide

I know, from your inquiries, that many of you have minor electrical repairs you’d like to do in your home or shop, so I thought that I’d share these great diagrams of how to wire switches and outlets.

Single Wire Switch Diagram

Two Wire Switch Diagram

Single Wire Outlet Diagram

From The Complete Guide to Wiring

Two Wire Outlet Diagram

From The Complete Guide to Wiring

The above diagrams and many others are available in ““The Complete Guide to Wiring”.

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1

Simple Solutions to Reduce Your Electric Bill.

Everyone is looking for ways to save money but saving money implies you have actually have extra money to set aside. For many of us, that’s not the case.

Many of us are just looking for ways to cut costs, spend less money, and just make ends meet. So if you’re anything like me, finding ways to cut costs is a top priority.

One of the easiest ways to cut cost, is to use less energy. And here are a few energy saving tips for doing just that.

So here we go.

Insulate the Following

• Garage door
• Water heater
• Attic
• Water pipes
• Seal around doors and windows

All of these do it yourself projects will help you save money by using less energy.

And here’s a few others you’ve probably heard of too, but these are very simple, easy and inexpensive to implement.

One obvious energy saving technique, which many of us forget at times, is simply turning off lights when they’re not needed.

Outdoor Sensors and Timers

Consider using sensors or timers for outdoor night lights and garages. A motion light will save quite a bit of energy compared to leaving a porch light on all night and be less offensive to the neighborhood. Anyway, it is suppose to be dark at night.

By far, the fastest way to save energy and cut cost is to reduce the amount of power needed to operate the lighting in your home and/or business. The simplest way to accomplish this is to replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.

These energy saving lights have come a long way in the past few years. They’re more efficient and come in almost any size and type you’ll need.

Compact Fluorescent

Compact fluorescent bulbs use less wattage (power) to provide the same amount of light as incandescent bulbs. So changing over just makes sense.

You see, an 18 watt compact fluorescent provides the same amount of light, about 1000 lumen’s, as a standard 60-watt incandescent bulb. So by changing just one bulb you’re using 65% less energy. Make sense now.

For commercial lighting applications that use T12 fluorescent’s, make the change to T8 bulbs. Check for “over lighting” (the number of lights needed to light up a particular area). Also adjust the timer settings on your outdoor lighting (e.g. buildings, landscaping and parking lots).

Check out this energy star site for more information on compact fluorescent’s and fixtures.

DIY’ism: Saving energy creates a better world today.

If you have questions about your DIY projects, just ask your Personal DIY Consultant. I’m here to help you succeed with speed.

Learn More

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1

Do-it-Yourself Electrical Precautions: Electrical Safety Do’s and Don’ts

When it’s time to take on a DIY electrical project there are some really important tips you should know. Tips that can help you avoid pitfalls before you start, boost your confidence, and save you time and money.

First and most importantly, never take on a do-it-yourself electrical project unless you have a full understanding of what you are about to do. Otherwise please call a licensed electrician.

Remember, the amount of power coming into an average home is easily enough to injure or even kill you.

If you have any doubts about your ability to handle an electrical project, stop, email your questions to me and/or call a licensed electrician.

Having said that, once prepared, you can safely and easily take on an electrical project successfully and save money too. Being patience and methodical will keep you safe and produce great results.

So here we go.

DIYism: Remember, it always takes more time to complete a project if you rush.

DIY Electrical: What NOT to do.

• Don’t strip electrical wiring with your teeth (you may break a tooth). Use wire strippers.
• Don’t use anything other than wire strippers, as you may nick or damage the wire. This can cause increased resistance, breakage or arcing. All bad.
• Don’t trust the labels in your breaker panel unless you were the one that marked each breaker. If you haven’t labeled your breaker box then, for your safety as well as your family and friends, do so now (instruction and circuit breaker labeling kits are available at your local home center or through [amazon ISBN=B0012MIHEG]Amazon.com[/amazon].

DIY Electrical: What you should do.

• Do test the circuit, after you turn the power off, just to be sure.
• Do use a Multimeter to test circuits — it is safe and accurate.(you can learn about multimeters here)
• Do have a flashlight or battery powered lantern handy.
• Do test all switches before beginning work, as there is a chance that a multi-switch box may be controlled by more than one breaker.
• Do tape and label wires, after removing any switches or outlets, as a reminder of where they go. This makes it much easier when reinstalling the switches and outlets. It only takes a minute and is always worth the time (especially with three-way switches).

If you have to run a new circuit from your breaker panel, call a licensed electrician.

Even though I know how to run a new circuit from a breaker panel, I always call my electrician because his experience allows him to see things that I may overlook, thus avoiding any problems and additional cost.

You may also know how to do a particular electrical job but, believe me, it’s money well spent for the piece of mind that a professional brings to the job. Their knowledge and experience will get the job done quickly and correctly the first time.

As I said in the beginning — and this holds true for all DIY projects — do the research so you; understand of the steps involved to complete your DIY project, know the necessary materials and supplies required, have the correct tools, and be aware of any possible pitfalls for your project.

Learn More

If you have questions about your DIY projects just ask your, Personal DIY Consultant. I’m here to help you succeed with speed.

Shedding light on GFI Outlets to help keep you out of the dark.

As you know, running into unforeseen electrical problems can be very intimidating — specially when you’re left in the dark.

If you are like most people, when one of these problems occur you search around looking for a probable cause, even when you may not really know what to look for. Sound familiar?

Then, when you get to the point you know you can’t resolve the problem, you hesitate to call a professional because you know it’s going to cost a bunch of money (electricians generally charge as much as $85 just to show up). Then, if it turns out to be a simple fix, not only does your ego take a hit, but so does your wallet.

Such is the case when a GFI outlet shuts down the power in part of your house. So it’s nice to know which GFI is the culprit and where it’s located.

A Ground Fault Interrupter (GFI) is that electrical outlet with two buttons on it. One says “Test” and the other says “Reset”.

GFI’s are used wherever there is the potential for contact between people and an electrical appliance that is near moisture or water. Which is why GFI’s are mostly installed near sinks, tubs, saunas, hot tubs, pools and for outdoor outlets.

GFI outlets protect you from shock by shutting off the electricity the instant the GFI senses most kinds of shorts or changes in current. When this happens, the breaker inside the GFI is triggered and pops the “Reset” button out.

Some homes have a GFI installed in the garage — which has been known to cause a bit of a problem.

You see, back in the day, electricians were famous for running power from the breaker panel to a GFI in the garage and then from the GFI to various parts of the house. This was a cost saving short cut (less GFI’s to install).

This would protect various parts of the house but, when the power went out somewhere in the house, the home owner wouldn’t know it was caused by the GFI in the garage. Many frustrated homeowners ended up calling an electrician to figure this out… and boy was that expensive.

So here’s a tip to save you from what could be a very frustrating, and possibly costly, situation.

Take a few minutes to locate every GFI in your house and garage. When you find one, press the test button. It will shut off the electricity to that outlet and whatever circuit it controls. You can then find out what circuit that GFI controls and make a note of it for the future.

You should also know that if the GFI is tripped (shut off) it can also trip the breaker in your breaker panel that supplies power to that outlet. So if you reset the GFI and the power does not come back on, check your main breaker panel for a tripped breaker switch.

Knowing the basics of your home’s electrical system will keep you safe as well as save you time and money.

If you have questions about your DIY projects, just ask your personal DIY consultant. I’m here to help you succeed with speed.