Home Electrical Wire and Components

Romex Electrical Wire
Wire Load Ampacities

Stapling & Safety Plates
Wirenuts & Wire Connectors

Grounding Methods

Romex Electrical Wire The NEC Code requires home electrical wire to be protected and enclosed when devices such as receptacles, fixtures and switches are being installed. Sometimes it is necessary to junction or splice wires. When splicing wires, an accessible junction box is necessary to enclose the spliced wires. This list shows various home electrical wire and displays the wire name and the typical application.

The most common type of home electrical wire that is installed for general purpose electrical circuits is Romex, also known as Type NM or Non-Metallic sheathed cable made up of at least one pair of insulated wire conductors and one bare wire used for the ground conductor. The ground conductor is bonded throughout the home to maintain a contiguous grounded system which originates back at the Main Service Panel.

The installation of the Romex style home electrical wire is accomplished by drilling holes using approved methods which protects the wire and maintains structural integrity for the home. Methods are available to protect wiring which becomes vulnerable to damage which could occur during the installation of sheet rock or other wall coverings. This protection is provided by Safety Plates, as shown in the table below.

Wire Ampacities The insulated Romex wiring conductors are rated for temperature. This rating limits the current flow in amperage thereby preventing the wire from overheating and causing a fire. Using the properly sized wire will ensure safe circuit performance

This table shows the Amperage Rating for wire sizes:

THHN - COPPER ELECTRICAL WIRE	AMPERAGE
# 14	15
# 12	20
# 10	30
# 8	40
# 6	60

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Lets take a look at some common home electrical wire, components, and typical uses.

Romex Wire	Name & Amps	Typical Use
		Receptacles and Lighting
		Lighting - 3-Way Switches and Smoke Detectors
		Receptacles
		3-Wire Circuits - Kitchen / Garage
		Water Heaters - Small A/C
		Dryers 4-Wire Receptacle
		Small Ovens
WIRE PROTECTION	DESCRIPTION	PURPOSE
	Romex Staple Fasten cables to wood structure every 4-1/2' and within 8 " of boxes.	7/16 - #14 Romex 9/16 - #12 & #10 Romex 1 - Inch for Larger Cables
	Safety Plate	Protect the wires in vulnerable areas [See How]
WIRENUTS & CONNECTORS	DESCRIPTION	CAPACITY
	Large Blue Wirenut	#14 thru #6 AWG Min. 3 #12 Max. 2 #6 w/ 1 #12
	Large Gray Wirenut	#18 to #6 AWG Min. 2 #12 Max. 6 #12
	Red Wirenut	#18 thru #8 AWG Min. 2 #18 Max. 4 #10
	Yellow Wirenut	#18 thru #10 AWG Min. 2 #18 Max. 3 #12
	Orange Wirenut	#22 to #14 AWG Min. 1 #18 w/ 1 #20 Max. 4 #16 w/ 1 #20
GROUND BONDING	DESCRIPTION	PURPOSE
	Crimp Sleeve	Joining two or three #14 or #12 bare ground wires to form a "tail" for bonding plugs & switches
	Green Grounding Screw	Bond the ground wire using tapped ground access #14 and #12 wires
	Grounding Clip	For older metal boxes without a ground screw access #14 and #12 wire
	Ground Lug	Bonding larger wires various sizes for wires