As important as it is regarding the safety of your home, most homeowners do not make it a practice to label their electrical panels. They either don’t understand just how crucial it is or they are not entirely sure about the process. Now, before our professional electrical team provide you with some simple, but practical steps any homeowner can take, let’s talk about why you would want to label your electrical panel in the first place.

Your Fuse Box

An electrical panel, also known as a “fuse panel,” “fuse box” or a “circuit breaker panel,” is a piece of equipment that safely distributes electricity throughout your home and also helps to prevent electrical issues. Most homeowners install it in the garage or basement.

Electrical codes require homeowners to label the electrical layout of their homes before selling them. It guarantees a level of safety to future homeowners, technicians or any other individual who might have to touch the electrical panel. Even if you don’t plan on selling your home any time soon, it’s still a good safety practice.

Also, labeling your electrical panels proves useful while installing new devices and appliances. Should you face any flooding or fire, it can also help an electrical technician to do his/her work more effectively, as it will show the circuit breaker that’s defective.

Labeling your Electric Panel

The primary challenge in labeling electrical panels is to identify which fixtures and outlets connect to a specific circuit breaker. Don’t worry; you are not the only homeowner facing this issue. If you are clueless about labeling your electric panel, here are a few steps to follow:

Turn Off Circuit Breakers

The first step you should take while labeling your electrical panel is turning off all circuit breakers. Then, see which appliance or fixture turns on when you turn on the breakers one by one. You can also check the power outlets by plugging in an alarm clock or lamp or using a voltage tester. Now, the entire process may take some time; however, it would be worth the effort for the safety of your home.

Label your Appliances

Heavy and large electrical appliances like air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators, and dryers tend to consume a lot of electricity. For this reason, it is recommended to provide them with electrical panels of their own. Some even give them two fuse box slots. You can label each appliance according to the circuit breaker it connects to or the amperage rating, making it easy to identify defects when something disrupts electricity to these appliances.

Label your Breaker Box

It is recommended to label your breaker box as well. Even though there are no specific guidelines in the electrical codes, you can do it with the help of already-numbered slots. You can make a diagram of your own if you want a detailed map of the entire electrical layout.

Approach a Professional Electrician

Lastly, if you are facing any trouble while labeling your electrical panel, you should consider taking the help of a professional. Electrical panel labeling is not easy. There are many safety issues involved in it. Hence, approaching a professional, who can simplify the process for you, would be the smart move here.