Shedding Light on GFI Outlets

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.