18 Common Electrical Terms You Should Know

[Pinball wizard]

Good article for those of you who DYI.

18 Basic Electrical Terms You Should Know | Family Handyman (https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/common-electrical-terms/?_cmp=diytipshintsnl&_ebid=diytipshintsnl12162023&_mid=664146&ehid=f6209628f835a692eb1f35c28a834027d93382a9&_PermHash=a72a47d1c556762ba277659a576fc9a9ffab6969 9e95524867c21d82c91b81f2&tohMagStatus=NONE)

[Michael G.]

Good article for those of you who DYI.

18 Basic Electrical Terms You Should Know | Family Handyman (https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/common-electrical-terms/?_cmp=diytipshintsnl&_ebid=diytipshintsnl12162023&_mid=664146&ehid=f6209628f835a692eb1f35c28a834027d93382a9&_PermHash=a72a47d1c556762ba277659a576fc9a9ffab6969 9e95524867c21d82c91b81f2&tohMagStatus=NONE)

Thanks
The next time I hire a electrician, I'll quiz him as he comes through the door. :read:

[photo1902]

Thanks
The next time I hire a electrician, I'll quiz him as he comes through the door. :read:

They appreciate that :)

[retiredguy123]

They left out "electrocution".

[Marathon Man]

Uh, yea. If have to read a definition of 'voltage', then please do not attempt DIY electrical work.

[BobnBev]

Good article for those of you who DYI.

18 Basic Electrical Terms You Should Know | Family Handyman (https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/common-electrical-terms/?_cmp=diytipshintsnl&_ebid=diytipshintsnl12162023&_mid=664146&ehid=f6209628f835a692eb1f35c28a834027d93382a9&_PermHash=a72a47d1c556762ba277659a576fc9a9ffab6969 9e95524867c21d82c91b81f2&tohMagStatus=NONE)

Good info, thanks for posting it.

[La lamy]

Nice refresher. Thanks.

[mntlblok]

Good article for those of you who DYI.

18 Basic Electrical Terms You Should Know | Family Handyman (https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/common-electrical-terms/?_cmp=diytipshintsnl&_ebid=diytipshintsnl12162023&_mid=664146&ehid=f6209628f835a692eb1f35c28a834027d93382a9&_PermHash=a72a47d1c556762ba277659a576fc9a9ffab6969 9e95524867c21d82c91b81f2&tohMagStatus=NONE)

What a *wonderful* article. Thank you for sharing. Electricity shall always remain the equivalent of "magic" to me, no matter my attempts at understanding it - and, I've tried. Have had to settle for learning about the history of electricity. And *that* has also been wonderful. I can't even make an "alt+ code" work for the nabla symbol. . . ∇ - had to copy and paste it.

Both electricians and electrical engineers are held in the highest of esteems by me. Basically, magicians. . .

[NoMo50]

Somewhat curious that the article discusses the term "volts," but neglects to mention the term "amps." If someone fancies themselves a home electrical DIYer, they had better understand both.

Yes...voltage can be compared to the pressure of water running through a hose, but amperage equates to the volume of water through the hose. In an electrical shock scenario, it is not the voltage that can hurt/kill a person, but the amperage. That is why you can have a device such as a Taser, that can deliver a shock at 50,000 volts, but (generally) will not cause permanent damage...very low amperage. Using the water hose analogy again...compare the effects of being hit by a Water Pik versus a fire hose.

[dolphin]

Good article for those of you who DYI.

18 Basic Electrical Terms You Should Know | Family Handyman (https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/common-electrical-terms/?_cmp=diytipshintsnl&_ebid=diytipshintsnl12162023&_mid=664146&ehid=f6209628f835a692eb1f35c28a834027d93382a9&_PermHash=a72a47d1c556762ba277659a576fc9a9ffab6969 9e95524867c21d82c91b81f2&tohMagStatus=NONE)

Excellent. Information

[mntlblok]

Somewhat curious that the article discusses the term "volts," but neglects to mention the term "amps." If someone fancies themselves a home electrical DIYer, they had better understand both.

Yes...voltage can be compared to the pressure of water running through a hose, but amperage equates to the volume of water through the hose. In an electrical shock scenario, it is not the voltage that can hurt/kill a person, but the amperage. That is why you can have a device such as a Taser, that can deliver a shock at 50,000 volts, but (generally) will not cause permanent damage...very low amperage. Using the water hose analogy again...compare the effects of being hit by a Water Pik versus a fire hose.

They did, however, under "circuit breakers", bring up "ampacity". Definitely a new term for *me*. :-)

[Velvet]

Good article. Thank you for sharing.

[Ramone]

[Nothing much on DC here. Those of us using Electric Carts would like to understand it more. Fuse where, attaching an inverter to run AC products through cig lighter, running an air pump, etc.

[drstevens]

Good point, as I would definitely add that current is the flow of electricity measured in Amps, or milliAmps (mA). A word of caution: don’t ever use your multimeter on the amp or milliamp scale, unless you really understand, basic electricity, as you can damage the meter and possibly yourself.
Also, I would add the term “Power” to your vocabulary.
Power is voltage multiplied by amps, and is measured in watts. The power company charges you by the kiloWatt hours that you use. If you want to understand your electric bill, you need to understand Watts. And if you look at the label on most electrical equipment, you’ll see the term Watts and almost never Amps, except with motors.
Too much info to go into detail here, but if you want to contact me, I would be glad to elaborate.
I taught and directed the electrical/electronics technology program at Ohio University for 37 years, was also an electrical contractor, and had a journeyman wireman license out of local 134 of the IBEW in Chicago Illinois.
Stay safe!

[villagetinker]

[Nothing much on DC here. Those of us using Electric Carts would like to understand it more. Fuse where, attaching an inverter to run AC products through cig lighter, running an air pump, etc.

DC (direct current), in general (for most) 12 VDC (volts DC) the negative of the battery is grounded, and fuses are installed on the positive battery for each of the circuits. Now having stated this Yamaha gas golf carts have ONE fuse on the negative side I do not know why.

For an electric cart ( 36 VDC to 72 VDC) and adding auxiliary equipment you need to know the capability of the 12 VDC adapter supplied with your cart. These tend to be limited, and devices like an air pump may need more power than what the 12 VDC adapter can supply.

For example a typical 36/48 VDC to 12 VDC may be capable of 10 to 15 amps. This is used to power all of the lights and any other 12 VDC equipment on the cart, adding additional load could cause the converter to become overloaded, and shutdown or fail.

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other electrical questions. (Retired professional electrical engineer.)

[tophcfa]

A very commonly used electrical term in the Villages is “Oh $hit, I’m out of here”. It happens all the time on the golf course when a lightning bolt strikes nearby.

[Desiderata]

Good point, as I would definitely add that current is the flow of electricity measured in Amps, or milliAmps (mA). A word of caution: don’t ever use your multimeter on the amp or milliamp scale, unless you really understand, basic electricity, as you can damage the meter and possibly yourself.
Also, I would add the term “Power” to your vocabulary.
Power is voltage multiplied by amps, and is measured in watts. The power company charges you by the kiloWatt hours that you use. If you want to understand your electric bill, you need to understand Watts. And if you look at the label on most electrical equipment, you’ll see the term Watts and almost never Amps, except with motors.
Too much info to go into detail here, but if you want to contact me, I would be glad to elaborate.
I taught and directed the electrical/electronics technology program at Ohio University for 37 years, was also an electrical contractor, and had a journeyman wireman license out of local 134 of the IBEW in Chicago Illinois.
Stay safe!

Thank you!

[mntlblok]

(Retired professional electrical engineer.)

I *knew* it! One of those magician types. Giving any seminars on helping to make quaternions feel more "intuitive"?? :-)

Never mind. Googling to see if I'd spelt it right led me back to *another* one of my heroes, Grant Sanderson, who had already produced such a handy video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4EgbgTm0Bg :-)

[Altavia]

A few more tips for testing and resetting circuit breakers.

It's recommended to test GFI and Arc fault Breakers once a year.

https://youtu.be/-PwbLYd0TC8?si=qTq1qCFKgDtt3hsw

Resetting a tripped breaker.

https://youtu.be/14wS9VjxH3g?si=PFyDSqvwMPPEhL99

Maybe overkill but I also cycle each breaker off and on once a year.

[jimjamuser]

DC (direct current), in general (for most) 12 VDC (volts DC) the negative of the battery is grounded, and fuses are installed on the positive battery for each of the circuits. Now having stated this Yamaha gas golf carts have ONE fuse on the negative side I do not know why.

For an electric cart ( 36 VDC to 72 VDC) and adding auxiliary equipment you need to know the capability of the 12 VDC adapter supplied with your cart. These tend to be limited, and devices like an air pump may need more power than what the 12 VDC adapter can supply.

For example a typical 36/48 VDC to 12 VDC may be capable of 10 to 15 amps. This is used to power all of the lights and any other 12 VDC equipment on the cart, adding additional load could cause the converter to become overloaded, and shutdown or fail.

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other electrical questions. (Retired professional electrical engineer.)
Someone could discuss A/C frequency. The standard in the US is 60 cycles per second. It is different in Europe - 50 cycles per sec - (I believe ?). And may be something else in other countries. In the US, I suppose, that you could picture an A/C generator in a Power Station SPINNING at a speed of 60 rotations per second.

[jimjamuser]

DC (direct current), in general (for most) 12 VDC (volts DC) the negative of the battery is grounded, and fuses are installed on the positive battery for each of the circuits. Now having stated this Yamaha gas golf carts have ONE fuse on the negative side I do not know why.

For an electric cart ( 36 VDC to 72 VDC) and adding auxiliary equipment you need to know the capability of the 12 VDC adapter supplied with your cart. These tend to be limited, and devices like an air pump may need more power than what the 12 VDC adapter can supply.

For example a typical 36/48 VDC to 12 VDC may be capable of 10 to 15 amps. This is used to power all of the lights and any other 12 VDC equipment on the cart, adding additional load could cause the converter to become overloaded, and shutdown or fail.

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other electrical questions. (Retired professional electrical engineer.)
Maybe the one-handed method should be discussed ?????

[djlnc]

Maybe the one-handed method should be discussed ?????

Better yet...one hand and no feet.