Your home’s electrical system is a complex design of breakers and circuits that generate electricity to your home and allows you to comfortably use the electrical appliances and devices around your home. Most components are out of sight, behind dry walls or in the unseen corners of your house. A brief outline to how your electrical system works can help you appreciate the complexity of this work and the electricians who design, install and repair them when necessary.

Electricity in most houses originates at the electrical company, which sends it through electric lines, draped on poles, to the swath of land where your house is located. A line connects to the meter, often installed outside the house. The meter serves as the entry point of electricity to the rest of your house and measures the electrical usage, which is used to calculate your monthly electrical bill.

A supply line from the meter leads to the main circuit breaker panel, which is usually a box inside your home with numerous switches inside it. Each switch represents a circuit, a set of wires that carry electricity to a part of your house or to specific appliances, such as your dining room or your air conditioner. These circuits were designed carefully by an electrician at the conception of the house to ensure their organized wiring within the walls of the house and their safety to the residents. Switching off the breakers cuts off electrical supply, and a finely installed home system will ensure this mechanism works during an electrical overload to reduce the risk of fire or personal damage.

In each room, the bundles of wires constituting the circuit lead to outlets and switches. You can flip on switches and connect plugs into outlets safely because of the safeness of the wiring and the devices installed into these structures. The Residual Current device (RCD) or breaker is a safety device installed in the outlet or switch to protect you from shock delivered by a faulty wire. A RCD, installed properly, cuts off electricity at a breaker or outlet within milliseconds of a person receiving a shock.

For you to be able to turn on a simple lamplight or use the microwave, much of the electrical system powering your house needs to be working. And when there is a noticeable problem in your house, the issue could stem from a variety places, such as at the supply line, the meter, the main breaker or at the many individual circuits and outlet points. A professional electrician can investigate and resolve the issue while not sacrificing the importance of safety.