Common Electrical Outlet Configurations
Home Wiring Fixs Using Multimeters, Wire Connectors, and Strippers
Aug 24, 2009
There are good reasons why homebuilders must pull permits, know the local electrical building code, submit to municipal or city building inspections, and hire or contract licensed electricians. Running electrical wiring can look like a maze, and construction mistakes can cause fires.
However, with a bit of electrical theory understanding, an idea of the home circuit map, some basic tools, and a safety mindset, homeowners can make basic power component repairs, like replacing light switches and electrical outlets. Where to begin? With an overview of component and configuration concepts.
Basic Electrical Terms and Tools
- Wire connectors. These are also called wire screws and Scotch Locks (a 3M brand name). These are basically small plastic cones, closed on one end, with female screw threads inside that taper down. Two bare wire ends are twisted together and inserted into the connector, and then screwed in.
- Wire strippers. This is a tool shaped kind of like pliers designed to strip the insulation off wire ends. The jaws have notches for different gauge (diameter) wires.
- Electrical testers. There are a variety of these. The handiest for determining if a circuit is hot is a non-contact voltage detector such as the Fluke VoltAlert. Analog or digital multimeters are more sophisticated and are handy for electrical troubleshooting tasks, such as continuity testing.
- Pigtail. This is simply a short length of wire connecting two others of the same gauge. The connection is made with wire connectors.
The Configuration of an Outlet on an Electrical Circuit
There are 3 common outlet configurations encountered in residential wiring. When replacing an outlet, it's best to make a drawing of the wiring so that the new one can installed the exact same way.
The terminal outlet is the final outlet on a circuit so the wiring is simple. Since there is only 1 incoming cable, the wires it contains are simply secured to the terminal screws.
The first or middle outlets on the circuit can be wired differently. Here are the 2 most common methods.
- Using pigtails. This method crowds the electrical box when making the connections. The incoming wires are connected to the outlet on one side with pigtails and the outgoing is connected to the other side with pigtails. The advantage is that if the outlet fails, there will continue to be power downstream.
- Using neutral and hot wires. With this method there are no pigtails. The incoming and outgoing cable wires connect directly to the outlet. The downside is that when the outlet fails, power downstream may be interrupted.
Switched Electric Outlets
Switched outlets are handy for things like floor lamps. The plug can be left in and the power can be controlled with a wall switch. In many areas, the electrical code actually specifies a few of these in new home construction. In some cases one socket is switched and the other is constant. In other cases, both sockets are switched.
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