The General Electric items are what we use in our day-to-day life which is a necessity in today’s world without this survival would become an impossible task in our homes. The general electric items include the basic and the most important items of electric needed would be the wires, cables, switches, bulbs, lamps, etc. The market today is filled with various different types of a single item that it get difficult to decide which one to choose as one would not want to risk his life by using inappropriate items which are cheap or not of good quality.
Let’s take a look at what all features or specifications one needs to look for while buying the appropriate item for his/her home.
Wires: The wire a single electrical conductor’s size should be appropriate and the installation should meet the specifications for the desired appliances or else there could be a short circuit and you could risk your appliance . The wire needs to be of minimum of 10 gauges, lower than that would be risky to install. 14 gauges wire is what is recommended by National Electric Code (NEC) for a safe and hazard free home. There are various types available in the market but the basic needs are the wire should be in thermoplastic coating, fire resistant, heat resistant and should be impervious if the connection is outdoors. There is a specific color combination which is the black, red and blue color coated wires means hot wires. The white coated wire is a neutral one and the ground wires have green or bare copper color.Cables: Wires and cables are usually used as a common term but cable is a multiple electrical conductor whereas wire isn’t. The specifications usually required for a cable would be individual wires inside the cable starting from 10, 12 or 14 gauges. The most commonly used electric cable is NM-B cable which mean nonmetallic – B stands for heating capacity under the PVC sheathing. The different types of cable available in the market like the armored cable, metal clad cable and the Category 5e cables which specifically is an unshielded twisted pair of telephone cable. The word ‘Ground’ or letter ‘G’ indicates ground cable.
Bulbs: The market today has various different types of bulbs unlike in the olden times when there would be only zero watt bulbs for dim light or the brown bulb with variations in voltage. Today there are numerous types of bulbs like the incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, compact fluorescent, LED, etc. These types have their own advantages and disadvantages. The incandescent bulb, the least expensive throws warm light appealing to the eye and the brightness can be controlled with the help of a dimmer but is not an energy efficient option. The halogen bulb gives more brightness and a daylight effect but throws more heat with light and consumes more electricity. The Fluorescent bulb throws bluish eye straining light but last longer when compared to incandescent and halogen bulbs and is way cheaper in cost and available in different colors. The Compact Fluorescent Light or the CFL as commonly known has a 10 times longer life than other bulbs and is energy efficient and very importantly recyclable. The LED bulbs or the Light Emitting Diode have a long stock life and are extremely energy efficient but they are 5 to 6 times costlier than the CFL’s. Making the correct choice of bulbs will help you get a brighter throw of light as well as save your money.
Switch: The next important item is the switches which are used to operate the electrical appliances. There are many types of switches available apart from the traditional toggle switch, commonly used for door bells and the rocker switch. The single pole switch, with which only one item can be operated. The 3-way switch, one item can be operated from 2 different locations. The 4-way switch, one fixture can be operated from 3 different locations with the help of a 3-way switch in a 4-way circuit. The multi-location switch, one item can be operated from 3 or more locations.
Dimmers: The Dimmers now a day have been gaining popularity due to the special energy saving feature and people are using it more and more to give different lighting effects to their home with help of dimmers as the brightness can be controlled with it. The life of the bulb is also extended with the help of the dimmer. There are various items in the market like the motion sensors which switches the light on by sensing the motion in the designated field or the timers which control the switching on and off the appliances as per the settings configured.
