Electrical Meter Loop Essay, Research Paper

How do you hook up an electrical Meter loop?

How do you hook up an electric meter loop? An electric meter loop is the service entrance where the electricity feeds the home from the transformer on the pole. Therefore it is one of the most important necessities to the home. For example, in a new home you need to find out how much juice your home is going to need. If the house is a fairly big, more than likely you??re going to go with a 200 amp service to accommodate the appliances like the air conditioner, water heater, dryer, and range.

All of these appliances are going to have a 220 circuit, which means that they are going to take up two spaces on the circuit breaker box. These appliances are going to use two hot??s (black and red wires) a neutral (white) a ground (bare wire) instead of the 120 circuit that only uses one hot (black) a neutral and a ground in an electrical box. From here you choose an electrical service breaker box. Depending where you live you can have two mains. A main is the electrical box that distributes the electricity throughout the home. That??s something you have to check with the city code. Usually people have two mains, one outside, and one inside their homes.

The reason you may want two boxes is for safety. Say something goes wrong with the main breaker box inside. Then you can turn off the main outside, so this way all power is cut off to your home. Another issue is the type of wire you want to use for the service: entrance copper or aluminum. Copper is the better conductor of these two, because after a period of years aluminum starts to corrode if not properly maintained with a special kind of cream. The aluminum may carrode so badly that the box may catch on fire. The supplies that are needed for this job are conduits (pvc), if the wire is going to be buried, and rigid conduit or EMT conduit for the riser, depending on the code of the city or county.

Next thing would be to choose a breaker box; there are several brands that you can go with like Square-D, General electric, and several others. Once you choose a box, make sure the box has enough spaces so that if in the future, you decide to add on to your home or build a work shed you will have enough breakers.

From here you need to measure how much electrical wire you??re going to need for the job ( 2/0 ) . Two Ought (2/0) is the size of the wire that is usually needed for a bigger home. Remember to count the feet needed for the riser as well. The riser is where the wire comes out through the top of the conduit through the weather head. This is where the Service Company comes and connects the electricity, only if it passes their standards. This means if the electrical boxes are securely fasten to the wall or post. They also inspect the wires coming down the riser to make sure that they are securely fastened to their lugs on the meter can and on the breaker box. The meter can is the box that goes on top of the breaker box on the exterior of the home. You also need a 5/8 grounding rod that will measure about 8 ft, which you have to drive into the ground, and a 5/8 grounding clamp to run a ground wire from the rod to the breaker box. This way the box is properly grounded. Next a nipple is needed to connect both the meter can and the breaker box. Breakers are also going to be used. Bedrooms usually have about 3-4 outlets and 1-2 light fixtures which require a 20-amp breaker. A kitchen, the living room and the family room may use two or three single breakers due to the appliances. Once all the breakers are hooked up to the wires from the house to the breaker box and pass the inspection from the Service Company, then the electrical company can hook you up.

These are just some of the basics to install a 200amp meter loop. There is still a great deal which has not been discussed. Remember, if you don??t have any experience in this kind of electrical work and need it, please consult with a licensed electrician and your local codes to make sure the job is done correctly the first time around. Once the job is done correctly, chances are that you will never have to deal with the electrical system for a very long time.