First Inspection Coming Soon

My first inspection is probably 2 weeks away.  Today, I am again checking my inventory to ensure that I can get everything installed and ready to go.

There are a total of 3 inspections that will need to take place.  The first inspection is to ensure that the power company can safely bring electricity to the house.  The following things will need to be buttoned up in order to pass this inspection and the go-ahead given to the power company:

  • Electrical meter on the wall
  • A main breaker panel connected to the meter.
  • The breaker panel needs to be properly bonded and grounded.
A typical installation would then be 3 copper wires connecting the load side of the meter to an electrical panel on the other side of the wall.  The meter on the outside, the panel on the inside.  That is what has been done, but my house is a bit different.

The distance between my meter and my panel is going to be over 40 feet.  This is by choice, to keep costs down.  The meter will hang on the south east corner of the house, which is the garage.  If I were to put the panel on the other side, then every single circuit would need to run across the ceiling of the garage.  That is a lot of copper.




Instead, I decided to bring the whole load of juice across the garage once, and then branch out from there.

In order to do that, I need to introduce a disconnect switch next to the meter.  In essence, that disconnect becomes the main panel, and the panel which will hold all of the breakers becomes a sub panel.

The disconnect I have chosen has some spaces for breakers (expanding on the idea that that is the *main* panel).  I intend to quickly install an outlet right there on a breaker.  That way, the sub contractors (including me) can have electricity to do their jobs.  And then I can wire the sub panel while it is completely disconnected.  Good for a novice to keep himself safe.

The meter is actually provided by the electrical company.  Which is nice, because I cannot choose incorrectly.  For my house, the electrical source is going to come in underground.  I need to provide a tube (conduit) into the meter to protect the wire when it is above ground.

Lastly, there is bonding and grounding.  Grounding ensures that lightning strikes and short circuits have a place to dump extra electricity.  Without grounding, metal items in the system can remain charged.  Bonding refers to how the metal parts of the system are attached to the ground

For grounding, I will have 2 galvanized 8 foot grounding rods.  Additionally, a ground wire is attached to the rebar in the footing of the house.  This is known as an "Ufer" ground.  The two rods and the Ufer will be connected together and to the disconnect panel.  At the disconnect, the white wire (known as the neutral) will be connected to the ground system, the metal box housing the disconnect panel, and the house ground wire.  Tying all these things together is the bonding aspect.

It all sounds complex, but, once the right way is determined, setting it all up is easy.

We'll see if I am right when inspection happens.

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