Installing A Circuit Breaker In An Existing Panel

Plan to work during the daytime as you will need to shut off all power in your home during most of the project.

Installing a circuit breaker in an existing panel.

The national electric code nec includes the minimum standards for installing a circuit breaker panel box. Loosen the screw over the breaker s connection terminal insert the wires into the appropriate terminal locations then tighten the screw until snug. A subpanel connects to the main service panel with a thick three wire cable. Turn the afci breaker handle to the off position.

Loosen the two breaker terminal screws. If you re installing a breaker on a sub panel place the neutral and ground on separate bus bars. Tighten the clamp to secure the wires. The b phase feeds the second row breakers three and four and so on down the panel.

Route the afci neutral pigtail and ground wires to empty screws on the neutral bus and tighten. After making sure the circuit breaker is still in the off position connect the white neutral wire and the black hot wire to the breaker. Install the breaker first. On afci or gfci breakers this circuit wire will be attached to the terminal marked load power or black finally for afci or gfci breakers attach the breaker s coiled white pigtail wire to the neutral bus bar in the panel.

The a phase feeds breakers one and two the top row. Connect the white circuit wire not the coiled white wire to the breaker terminal labeled panel neutral or white connect the black circuit wire to the breaker terminal labeled load power or black. 100 amp service upgrade how to wire install an electrical service hello we hope you enjoy and learn from out how to videos. Connect any new circuits to the subpanel attaching the hot wire to a circuit breaker and the other wires to their respective buses.

If the service panel does not have room for new circuit breakers and you cannot use tandem breakers a subpanel may be the answer. To install a new circuit you will need an open slot in your breaker panel for a new circuit breaker. Three of these standards concern the box location clearance and space around the box and box height. Measure the room or rooms where you ll be installing the circuit and draw a detailed accurate floor plan.

These standards set the minimum safety standards for panel boxes. Snap the breaker into place by clipping it to the hot bus bar. The feeder breaker in the main panel acts as the main disconnect for the subpanel. With all circuit wires connected the circuit breaker can be snapped into place into its panel slot.

Snapping the circuit breaker into place is the easiest part of the job but it s important to take some safety precautions before you begin the installation.