Imagine we are living a century ago when Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla were only starting their discoveries on AC and DC.
We would have a hard time adjusting. We would only be using candles and fires for light. We would have to chop woods to cook for food.We would have to spend hours just doing our home chores since appliances since we would not have appliances and electrical machines doing the jobs for us.We are really lucky today to receive all the benefits of the hardwork of our scientists before.
Now, with only one click on the switch, we have our lights on. With one press on remote control, we have our TV shows displayed in front of us. With one push on electric fans switch, we have automatic fan running to fight the heat and with only few settings for washing machine, we have all our laundries done without any effort.Our power supply comes very convenient to us nowadays and is one of the everyday necessities we have. In this regard, it is also important to at least be able to recognize the components of our electrical system. Aside from the series of wires on mind, being aware of its other components is also important and can be very helpful during emergencies.
- Electric meters - From the pole where our transformers are, the wiring are then connected to a an electric meter located near our homes for the power consumption monitoring. Our Electric Cooperative staff usually has to seal this meter to prevent any illegal connection such as inserting jumper wire so that the meter will be bypassed. In the Philippines, electric meter is located just before Service Entrance. However, in other countries like US, it is usually common to see the Service Entrance first on the top before the meter.
- Service Entrance - This should also be familiar to a homeowner. This serves as the Connection and Disconnection point of electricity from electric company to the houses. We can see service entrance as joint for two wires from the transformer going to our Electric panel. If we are not able to pay electrical bills, then Electric Cooperative staff will just have to locate it and disconnect power from there.
- Electrical Panel Board - We rarely think about this one until power goes out in the kitchen because we turned on our water heater or until our house has all circuits tripped just after turning on an AC Unit. Once or twice a year, we visit our home's panel board because of emergencies. All of a sudden, it becomes important. Oftentimes it is also either poorly marked or there is no directory at all. If it is the Main breaker that goes off, the electrician or the person in charge has to shut down and reset the breakers one at a time during troubleshooting.
- In some residential designs, we have Isolator Circuit breaker in an Enclosure for convenience. Then the electrician just makes use of main lugs in the panel board so that the cable can be connected to the circuit breakers through the busbars. There is also a Ground bus or Ground Screw for the grounding wire. Panel boards have also a deadfront, a GI sheet, to cover wires and protect users from any electrical conductors.
- Outlets - These are where we insert of appliances' plugs. They can come as two-prong or three-prong type latter is also referred to as Ground Circuit Fault Interrupter (GFCI). It can also be indoor or outdoor type. Outdoor type or weatherproof outlets have enclosures. In our electrical standard, a circuit can have up to 10 - 12 circuit depending on the design. Our electrical code states that there should be at least 12 feet distance between outlets. However, in common homes, 6 feet is already an average distance.
