How To Wire A New Wall Outlet – Eliminate unsightly and often dangerous stretch cords. If you already have an outlet on the other side of the wall, you can quickly and easily add a new plug without opening the wall. No extra holes. No messy patching and repainting. The procedure we show here allowed us to center our TV along a family room wall that didn’t have an outlet. Since there was already an electrical outlet on the other side of the same wall (on the side of the adjacent bedroom), we just added a new outlet in the family room, drawing power from the bedroom outlet.
This technique only works if you can use an electrical outlet as a power source that is opposite, or almost opposite, where you want your new wall outlet. Follow the checklist below to determine how to wire an outlet and whether you can safely use existing electrical outlets.
How To Wire A New Wall Outlet
Always confirm the required box size with your local building inspector. In most areas, you will need an electrical permit from your local building department for this work. This ensures a safe operation. Here are the 8 most common National Electrical Code violations.
Electrical Outlet Wire Connections
Before tackling any part of this project, turn off the power to the circuit in the main electrical panel by turning off the breaker or removing the fuse.
Before touching any bare wires or terminals on a switch or outlet, use a voltage tester on all wires to make sure the power is off. If you have old fabric insulated wires, call an electrician to advise a safe connection. With such outlet wiring, there is usually no ground wire and it is difficult to tell the hot wire from the neutral because they are both covered with black insulation.
Aluminum wires require special handling. If you have aluminum wiring, call a licensed professional who is certified to work with it. These wires are dull gray in color, not dull orange or copper.
We no longer support IE (Internet Explorer) as we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. There are a few methods for wiring outlet switches and half switches. Typically, the outlet will be wired as if it were a light installation. Note: Some text links below go to eligible products on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Alternatively, it is possible to have a split outlet where half of the outlet is switched and the other half is always flowing. Further below are two switch outlet wiring diagrams that illustrate split outlet wiring.
If yourintention is to replace an always hot switch outlet with an existing switch to control a ceiling fan or light, click here to read my blog post with pictures on how to do this. .
A switched outlet wiring diagram shows electrical power from the circuit breaker panel entering the switched electrical receptacle outlet box where a two-wire cable goes to the switch and a two-wire cable supplies power to the other outlet. Who lives forever.
The wiring diagram above shows how switch outlets are often wired. Although article 404.2 (C) of the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) requires that a wall switch that controls a light fixture also have a neutral conductor available, Switches that control outlets are exempt from necessity.
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A neutral conductor is needed for lighting when a standard wall switch needs to be converted to another type of control such as a smart home device or timer.
I think it is a good idea to add a neutral to the wall switch that controls the outlet both ways, because a normal wall switch can still be transformed into a smart home device to operate normally. A neutral conductor is necessary.
It has been a common practice among the non-initiated to use the ground wire of the appliance as a neutral when a neutral is not available. This is an unsafe practice and there may be a risk of shock.
When using white thread as hot or line, it is important to re-identify the white thread with another color. However, my experience working on older homes is that white wire almost never changes color when used as a line. As a result, it is not unusual that the white wire in the switch box is a line and not a neutral conductor. A non-contact voltage probe is good for checking which wires are hot.
Electrical Outlet Installation
Any outlet that children can reach, including kitchen counter outlets, must be tamper-resistant outlets. They prevent objects from being placed in the outlet slot as children are known to do. Section 406.12 details this code requirement.
Wiring diagram of a switched electrical receiver outlet and an unswitched electrical receiver outlet in which power comes to the switch outlet electrical box from the circuit breaker panel. A single-pole switch has a neutral conductor for future electronic controls such as timers or Wi-Fi switches.
The diagram below shows the power coming from the circuit breaker panel. The same wiring diagram can be used if the power comes from another outlet and is finally connected to one of the outlets shown in the photo.
Hot and neutral insert single pole switch box in wiring diagram above. From there, a 3-conductor cable is placed at the outlet of the switched electrical plug. A two-conductor cable is laid from the switched outlet to feed the always-on outlet. A two-conductor cable is run from the switch box to another duplex receptacle outlet which is also live at all times.
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The following two switch outlet wiring diagrams show how split or half switch outlets can be wired. The first method shows with the neutral conductor in the switch box. The drawing below shows how this is normally done.
Split outlets are standard duplex outlets with tabs cut to separate the top and bottom. In the drawing below, only the tab on the line side of the outlet is cut because the top and bottom use the same neutral.
A half-switch outlet wiring diagram shows electrical energy feeding into an electrical receptacle box and then going to a switch and another receptacle.
The outputs are divided by wires so that the upper half of the receptacle is live at all times and the lower half of the receptacle is controlled by a wall switch. The photo above shows the location of the breaker tab on the receptacle along with the neutral conductor in the switch box.
Wiring A Middle Of Run Electrical Outlet
The top outlet has a tab cut on the side of the hot wire to make it a split receptacle. A permanent hot wire can now be attached to one screw and a modified hot wire can go under the other screw.
If the top and bottom of the outlet are on the same circuit, it is not necessary to cut the tab on the neutral side. If there are two separate circuits, two neutrals may be required and the neutral tab will need to be cut. If youare using a multi-wire circuit, it is not necessary to cut the neutral tab.
A multiwire circuit consists of a three-wire cable with two line or hot wires and a neutral as well as an equipment ground conductor. It is connected to a two-pole circuit breaker.
Depending on the brand of electrical outlet, you can cut the tab between the top and bottom of the outlet using needle-nose pliers to bend the tab back and forth, or use small diagonal pliers to cut it.
How To Install An Electrical Outlet Receptacle
Three different duplex electrical receptacles on their side showing cut tabs to form a split receptacle.
The white wire that goes to the switch in the wiring diagram is used as the hot conductor, not the neutral. When using white wire as hot as a line, it must be re-identified with a color other than white, gray or green.
The switch leg controls the bottom of each split capacitor outlet. A three-conductor cable is used to bring the hot wire, switch leg, and neutral conductor to the right-hand outlet.
The required ground wire is not shown to keep the wiring diagram simple. However, all outlets and switches must have their green screw attached to the equipment ground conductor. Click here to see my post on how to ground or switch an outlet.
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Only one ground wire can go under the green screw. If you have several ground wires, they must be clipped together with a pigtail extension. The pigtail is attached to the bottom of the green screw.
Green wire connectors are available that have a hole that allows one long wire to act as a pigtail and other wires are twisted around it.
Switched Split Outlet Wiring Diagram to control two parts of a Duplex Electric Receptacle
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