Electrical DIY tips | Best tricks and techniques in home wiring

For DIY electricians, there's a lot of jumbled up information of what you should or shouldn't do. Electricity is very dangerous and can easily lead to electrocution, so you need to call an emergency electrician for sensitive wiring cases. However, you are able to work on minor electrical wiring in your home provided you follow safety precautions. To make you better at wiring, here are some reliable tips and techniques you need to master. You'll be in a much better position to guard yourself and work more effectively.

Have an RCD

An RCD (residual current device) is one of the most important things to have in your circuits. It is placed on socket outlets or fuse boxes to stop electrocution in the case of a DIY blunder. RCDs are devices that are used to monitor the flow of current through a particular circuit, and they cut off the current whenever it flows through an unintended path. So if you accidentally touch a live wire, the RCD would detect the abnormal flow of the current and immediately switch off the circuit. This keeps both you and your family safe.

Use proper tools

Having the right tools at hand is another important aspect of electrical work. For instance, avoid using knives as opposed to strippers when stripping your wires. Knives may weaken the wire by notching the copper inside.

Go for linesman pliers as opposed to the ordinary slip-joint pliers when intending to twist wires. The ordinary pliers would give you a loose connection that may cause trouble in future. Also, ensure you've got a tester to test the voltage of the wires before and after working on them.

Watch your terminal connections

Terminal connections are the end points of wires, where a connection with an external circuit occurs. These are some of the most common connections, particularly if you're working with receptacles and switches. Terminal connections go through a lot of stress, and poor joints easily loosen up.

So here's the trick. When wrapping a wire around the terminal screw, do it in a clockwise direction. That way, the screw tightens the connection as it goes in. Also ensure that all the wire that's wrapped around the screw is stripped. In case there's a terminal slot, you need to be extra careful. Strip the wire just right such that no insulation goes underneath the slot, and no bare wire is left. Any faults here could cause the wire to touch the ground wire or box.