Your electrical service panel is like the Grand Central Station of electrical operations in your home or business. It is where electricity has to go before it is allowed to pass through the circuits in the structure. It is also what shuts down when a problem exists as to prevent electrical fires and the destruction of the items plugged into outlets.

Of course when a problem exists with your electrical panel, there are certain tasks that you can perform without the help of a Mahtomedi electrical contractor. For instance, if the breaker trips, then you can unplug all appliances from the circuit, then reset the breaker by turning it all the way to off, then to the on position. If you are using a fuse box, you would simply replace the fuse. If you need to turn the power off to the entire structure, then you would turn the main circuit breaker to the off position, and the branch circuits in the panel should be de-energized.

Anatomy Of A Service Panel

It is good for you to know the anatomy of a service panel so that you know what you can and cannot do for the sake of safety. So when you open the door, you will see all of the circuit breakers or fuses. Usually, the main circuit breaker allows electricity to the other breakers, but there are times in which a split buss panel may be present. In this case there could be up to six main circuit breakers to de-energize the house.

Main Circuit Breaker
In most cases you’ll see a double pole circuit breaker at the very top or bottom of the panel and it should be clearly labled “main”, or “service disconnect”. The main is what you will shut off if you need to cut of electricity to every area at once. In a fuse box, you may have a fuse block main which needs to be pulled out, but the overall purpose is the same.

This is more or less the point where you can stop because taking off the panel by removing the four screws can be dangerous. If there is a problem within the panel, you risk electrocution, so it is ideal to have an electrician take care of the task.

Adding A Circuit

There are times in which a circuit will need to be added. A Mahtomedi electrical contractor is the ideal person to take care of this task due to the fact that it is a dangerous one. Adding a whole new circuit means providing power to a possibly large area and it will need to be done correctly to ensure proper electrical flow.

So this means that the electrician is the one to be concerned with hot bus bars, neutral bars, ground bars, ground wires, and all of those components that should not be touched by the inexperienced for the sake of safety.

The Circuit Breaker

It is helpful to know that the circuit breaker is the weak link in your electrical system, which is good because it means it fails in a safe way. The circuit breaker acts as an overcurrent safety device so that too much current isn’t allowed to flow along the circuit. In fact, there are a number of safety features integrated into a circuit breaker to prevent devastating electrical fires. However, there are times in which issues can occur in the circuitry itself that have nothing to do with the circuit breaker, so it is best to have regular inspections and maintenance performed by a Mahtomedi electrical contractor on your electrical system.

Contact A Mahtomedi Electricial Contractor

Your service panel is very important, so it needs to be taken care of. This means calling on the experience and expertise of an electrician to perform tests and maintenance to ensure its proper operation. With the help of an electrician, you can have additional circuits and other components installed so that you can have a highly functional electrical system. To schedule service or request an estimate, call Edison Electric Inc. at 651-587-5512 for service or to request an estimate, or fill out the form on this page and someone will contact you as soon as possible.