Ampere: Unit used in measuring intensity of flow of electricity. Its symbol is “I.”
Alternating Current (AC): Electric current that reverses its direction of flow at regular intervals. For example, a current in a 60-cycle system would alternate 60 times every second. This type of current is commonly found in homes, apartment buildings, and businesses.
Bare Conductor: Wire or cable with no insulation or covering.
Current: Flow of electricity through a circuit; either AC or DC.
Circuit: Flow of electricity through two or more wires from the supply source to one or more outlets and back to the source.
Circuit Breaker: Safety device used to break the flow of electricity by opening the circuit automatically in the event of overloading; also used to open or close it manually.
Conductor: Any substance capable of conveying an electric current. In the home, copper wire is usually used.
Covered Conductor: Wire or cable covered with one or more layers of insulation.
Conductor Gauge: Numerical system used to label electric conductor sizes, stated as American Wire Gauge (AWG), with wire measured in square millimeters diameter.
Cable: Conductors insulated from one another.
Direct Current (DC): Electric current flowing in one direction. This type of current is commonly found in manufacturing industries. It’s also the type of current produced by solar panels, which is then converted by an inverter into usable alternating current.
Electricity: Energy used to run household appliances and industrial machinery; can produce light, sound, heat, and has many other uses.
Frequency: The number of periods per unit time stated in cycles per seconds, or Hertz. For alternating current power lines, the most widely used frequencies are 60 and 50 Hertz.
Fuse: Safety device that cuts off the flow of electricity when the current flowing through exceeds the fuse’s rated capacity.
Ground: To connect with the earth, as in grounding an electric wire directly to the earth or indirectly through a water pipe or some other conductor. Usually, a green-colored wire is used for grounding the whole electrical system to the earth. A white wire is usually used to ground individual electrical components.
Impedance: A measure of the complex resistive and reactive attributes of a component in an alternating current circuit.
Insulator: Material that will not permit the passage of electricity.
Inverter: An electric devise that converts direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC).
Neutral Wire: The third wire in a three wire distribution circuit. It’s usually white or light gray and is connected indirectly to the ground.
Resistance: Restricts the flow of current; the unit of resistance is called an “Ohm.” The more the resistance in Ohms, the less the current will flow.
Service: Conductor plus the equipment needed to deliver energy from the electricity supply system to the wiring system of the home or premises.
Service Drop: Overhead service connectors from the last pole connecting to the service conductors at the building or other electricity consumption destination.
Service Panel: Main panel or cabinet through which electricity is brought into a house or building and distributed. It contains the main disconnect switch and fuses or circuit breakers.
Short Circuit: Break in the flow of electricity due to excessive current, resulting from a fault or negligible impedance between live conductors having a difference in potential under normal operating conditions.
Voltage Drop: Voltage loss when wires carry current. The longer the cable or chord, the greater the voltage drop.
Volt: Unit for measuring electrical pressure or force, known as electromotive force. The symbol for volt is “E” or “V.”
Wires: Conductors carrying the electric current or power to the load; usually black or red.
Watts: Unit of electric power, calculated by multiplying volts by amperes.