Appliances are connected to your electricity by way of a split or multiple wire “hot” lead that brings electricity from the service line to the appliance.
Some appliances (sink faucets and the like) require a single hot lead. Most appliances, however, require three or more hot leads.
If you are wiring an older home, you’ll be working from a conventional three-wire, single hot lead service. A typical three-wire, single hot lead service has three hot leads on a large outside box with a back-to-back arrangement of three individual hots. The hot leads are connected to individual appliances.
If you are wiring a newer home, you’ll be working from a three-wire, multiple hot lead service, which has three or more hot leads on a large outside box with a back-to-back arrangement of individual hot leads. The hot leads are connected to individual appliances.
More than two hot leads on a service box require an additional neutral. This is a double-insulated, three-wire service.
In both cases, electrical service in Gastonia, NC you’ll connect the second and third hot leads from the service box to the neutral bus of the distribution panel. This bus is then connected to the same neutral bus of the building’s service.
Let’s examine how to wire an older home and a newer home.
A Three-Wire, Single Hot Lead
If you are working in a home that has a three-wire, single hot lead service, you’ll want to make sure your installer has an understanding of how your fixtures are wired. In many older homes, a hot lead is directly connected to a counter top sink. The hot lead is not connected to a water supply through a shut-off valve and an in-line hot lead.
If the service has a back-to-back arrangement of three individual hot leads, it is connected to a service valve that is installed at the water supply, either a pedestal or street-bound water main.
If the service has three hot leads on a single, large outside box, then it is connected to a service valve at the water supply, either a pedestal or street-bound water main.
The service valve is located either at or near the water supply. The service valve must be disconnected at the service.
