Electrical Inspection

• How do you tell the exact size of an electric service?

  • The size of the electric service is dictated by the smallest of the following three items.
  • Rating of the service cable
  • Size of the main disconnect
  • Rating of the panel      Example: If the cable is rated 100 amps, the disconnect is 150 amps and the panel is rated 150 amps, then the size of the electric service is 100 amps (the smallest of the three qualifying items).
  • Learn more about electrical systems.

• How does a ground fault circuit interruptor (GFCI) work?
  
  • A GFCI senses the balance of current in the circuit. As long as the same amount of current that leaves the circuit breaker or supply buss returns to the neutral, the GFCI will remain closed. If there is any current leakage in the circuit for any reason, the GFCI will sense the difference and open the circuit. A typical GFCI will open if there is .5 miliampere of current loss. (A miliampere is 1/1000 of an amp.) Electricity moves at the speed of light (186,000 mps). This allows approximately 1/40 of a second for the GFCI to react.
  • Learn more about electrical systems.

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<p><ul> <li> <p><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">How do you tell the exact size of an electric service?</span> </strong></p> <ul> <li>The size of the electric service is dictated by the smallest of the following three items. </li> <li>Rating of the service cable </li> <li>Size of the main disconnect </li> <li>Rating of the panel      <strong>Example:</strong> If the cable is rated 100 amps, the disconnect is 150 amps and the panel is rated 150 amps, then the size of the electric service is 100 amps (the smallest of the three qualifying items). </li> <li>Learn more about <a href="/Electrical/Electrical.asp">electrical systems</a>.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <ul> <li><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">How does a ground fault circuit interruptor (GFCI) work?</span></strong> <strong> <br /> </strong> <ul> <li>A GFCI senses the balance of current in the circuit. As long as the same amount of current that leaves the circuit breaker or supply buss returns to the neutral, the GFCI will remain closed. If there is any current leakage in the circuit for any reason, the GFCI will sense the difference and open the circuit. A typical GFCI will open if there is .5 miliampere of current loss. (A miliampere is 1/1000 of an amp.) Electricity moves at the speed of light (186,000 mps). This allows approximately 1/40,000 of a second for the GFCI to react. </li> <li>Learn more about <a href="/Electrical/Electrical.asp">electrical systems</a>.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p>If you are a client and your question is not answered above, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><a href="/form/ask-inspector">click here to Ask the Inspector</a></span></span></p></p> Article published with permission from: <a href="http://www.usinspect.com">U.S. Inspect</a>