how do i find out how many amps are incoming to my house when it don't give me any visual indication and i don't have an amp meter or any other meter, and i don't know the size of the wire? is there a calculation?
2006-08-24 13:42:49 · 10 answers · asked by tie003uk 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Depends on the age of the house. When fuse boxes were standard instead of breakers, 60 amp service was the norm. Some older houses have been upgraded to breakers, but power at the service head may not have been changed. So it is possible to have 60 amp service even though the breaker box says 100.
An electrician can look at the meter and cables coming into it and tell you what you have.
2006-08-24 13:59:25 · answer #1 · answered by Gitchy gitchy ya ya da da 3 · 0⤊ 4⤋
Amps is a measure of current. If you have nothing turned on in your house then you are drawing zero amps. The size of the wire coming to your house determines the maximum current that can enter you house on a sustained basis.
The fuse box inside you house is rated by how many amps it can handle, a 200 amp service means the breaker box can handle circuits that can add up to as much as 200 Amps.
2006-08-24 21:00:14 · answer #2 · answered by michael d 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Your breaker box should have a main breaker in it (100, 200, 120, etc... [but always in the 100+ range]amp) this limits the amperes entering your house. If you try to use more amps than the main breaker, it trips,shutting off all of the electricity entering the house.
I hope that helps.
2006-08-24 20:52:45 · answer #3 · answered by Back Porch Willy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it is a single family dwelling there is a 100 amp service. I have no way of knowing the size of the main breaker which was installed. You will need to open the cover of your electrical panel ( the breaker box ) the main breaker is the top most breaker. You can read the handle.
2006-08-24 20:50:42 · answer #4 · answered by popeye 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
.if you have a circuit breaker box with a main breaker in it look at the end of the movable handle and it will have a number on it in amps that is the size of the panel and the house should be wired for that amperage
2006-08-24 20:53:19 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah, confusing isn't it? If there is a main circuit breaker, the number of amperes will be imprinted on the handle. If it's fuses, the amperes will be imprinted on the fuse. Unless it's a very unusual situation, there will be 240 volts to the house. You don't add those together to get the size of the service (that's the term for the incoming electricity).
2006-08-24 20:50:46 · answer #6 · answered by DelK 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hi there.
The current is limited by the branch circuit breaker.(Usually 15amp for lighting and 20amp for plugs.)The overall current is determined by the main circuit breaker,usually 100 or 2oo amp for residential in California.
2006-08-24 21:20:44 · answer #7 · answered by Rosebaybob 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
all the houses i build have 200 amp breaker box..some 400, but standard is 200 amp.....look on the main breaker at the top and it will have a number on it, should say 200..
lic. gen. contractor
2006-08-24 20:54:55 · answer #8 · answered by bigg_dogg44 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Call an Electrician
Or the only Calculation you will have is how injured you will get from messing around with something that could KILL YOU that you KNOW NOTHING about at all.
Signed Tim
2006-08-25 14:13:33 · answer #9 · answered by ssshoebox67 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your breaker box should have a rating on it. Or, add up the numbers on all the breakers. That will give you what you have available.
2006-08-24 20:45:29 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋