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Table of Contents

Electrical

The electrical components in your home work together to provide light and power to your home. Your electrical system comes with a two year warranty on the wiring, and a one year warranty on fixtures, and components. The following information is intended to familiarize you with each part of your electrical system. It can also be used to diagnose an electrical failure before submitting a warranty request for electrical repairs.

YOUR ELECTRICAL SYSTEM COMES WITH A TWO YEAR WARRANTY ON THE WIRING, AND A ONE YEAR WARRANTY ON FIXTURES, AND COMPONENTS.

Electrical Panel

The electrical panel, also called a breaker panel, is almost always located in the mechanical room of your home. In some EDGEHomes floor plans, it is located in the laundry room.

  • Breakers – The electrical panel consists of a set of breakers connected to different areas of your home, or a specific outlet in your home. The breakers allow power to be turned on or off to those areas or outlets without taking power away from other areas of your home. They can also shut off, or “trip” if the electrical circuit is overloaded. This can happen when too many items are plugged into one circuit, or if an appliance or electrical cord or wire is damaged or wet or unsafe.
  • Resetting a tripped breaker – When tripped, breakers can be reset by flipping the breaker all the way to the OFF position, and then back to ON. You can tell if a breaker has been tripped because it will be in between the on and off position.
  • Safety – Before resetting a tipped breaker, unplug the items on that circuit and check those items and the area for unsafe conditions or electrical hazards such as a damaged cord, wire, or appliance, a wet area, or any other abnormal or unsafe condition.

GFCI Outlets

GFCI outlets are installed in areas of your home where water may be present, such as the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry, garage, outside, and basement. These outlets give an additional layer of protection against electrocution or fire hazard.

  • Types of GFCI Outlets – Different types of GFCI outlets are used by our electrical contractors in your home. One type has a green light in the bottom corner of the outlet. This light is on all the time when the outlet is working. Another type has a red light in the center that is only on when the outlet is NOT working.
  • Both types of GFCI Outlets have 2 buttons in the center. One is a TEST button and the other is a RESET button. If the outlet has no power, or you lose power to a connected outlet, simply push the RESET button to turn the power back on after doing a safety check as described previously. If this does not provide power to the outlet, check the electrical panel for a tripped breaker and reset it following the instructions outlined on a previous page.
  • A third type of GFCI outlet has no lights or buttons. These will also be in one of the potentially wet areas of your home and will be connected to and controlled by one of the two types of GFCI outlets mentioned above which may be located on a different wall or in a different room. If the power goes out to one of these unmarked plugs, look for an outlet with the buttons and push the RESET button to restore power to all the plugs on that same circuit.
  • Bathrooms are often connected on one circuit.
  • Exterior outlets are typically connected to a GFCI in the mechanical room or near the front door or garage.
  • Occasionally, in single family homes the GFCI outlet that controls the kitchen island (dishwasher, disposal, and outlet) will be located in the mud room or the pantry.
  • The garage door motor is connected to the GFCI outlet in the garage.

Outside Electrical Meter

The electrical meter outside your home is where the power from the main line connects to your home. Its function is to record the number of kilowatt hours of electricity used by your home. It typically has a single breaker that will turn all the power to your home on or off. Sometimes there are other breakers inside this same panel that supply power to other items such as an air conditioner.

  • Single Family Homes – The exterior electrical meter is generally on the garage side of your home.
  • Townhomes & Condos – The exterior electrical meter is located on one side of the building and is clustered with meters for other homes in the building. Clusters of meters can be on one or both sides of the building. Each exterior electrical meter will be numbered with your house number for townhomes, or your unit number for condos.
  • To prevent a nefarious shut off, the main breaker panel on the exterior of the home can typically be secured with a padlock. As a homeowner, you may lock the panel that houses the breakers, however, do not lock the panel under the meter bubble.

Additional Information

  • Garbage Disposal
    • If the garbage disposal in your kitchen sink is jammed, it may overheat and trip a breaker on the motor. Unplug the power to the disposal, clear the jamb, and reset the breaker. The breaker reset button can be found on the bottom or side of the disposal.
    • The main breaker for both the disposal and the dishwasher can be found in the breaker panel.
  • Low Voltage Wires
    • Low-voltage wires terminate in the basement.
    • Ethernet wires may need connectors installed in addition to what your internet service provider will normally install.
    • Exposed low-voltage wires on the side of the house are used to connect internet and other services to your home.
    • Green grounding wire exposed at the back of townhomes is intended for internet service provider grounding, but is not always used or necessary.
  • Lighting and Fans
    • Trim lights do not have bulbs. The entire fixture pulls down from the ceiling and can be unplugged to replace. Flush mount light fixtures also do not have bulbs. If replacement is needed, turn off power to the breaker, twist off the plastic filter, unscrew the light plate, disconnect the wires, and install the new fixture. The switch behind the front door connects to the outlet in the front porch soffit (single family and townhomes only). This plug is intended for decorative lighting or it can be used for heat tape.
    • Master bedroom is pre-wired, and support is installed, for a future ceiling fan installation.
    • Continuous running bathroom fan is not connected to a switch and cannot be turned off (single family homes only).
  • Other Electrical Items
    • Ufer cover in the garage is used to access electrical ground wire and requires no maintenance.
    • Smoke detectors are hardwired together and have a battery backup in case of power outage. Change batteries once a year.
    • Dryer outlet is a 4 prong 220v receptacle. You may need to change out the plug on your dryer to fit.
    • A plastic box located in the bottom of the fireplace box allows you to add batteries that will allow the fireplace to light normally if the power to the entire home is off.

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