Electric meters are normally mounted on the side of your house or on a utility pole. You may have looked at the electric meter while reading the meter or when the lights went out.

The utility company brings power to your home from the power lines, usually overhead, and feeds the service mast via the meter piping and weather head. The feeder wires connect in the meter box and from there, the utility company keeps track of the power you use in kilowatts. The electric meter keeps track of your usage and displays the reading on its face. That's easy enough to understand, but what is underneath this curious device? How are the electrical wires connected and does it matter which wire goes where?

Read on to learn more.

Photo: Timothy Thiele

These remarkable devices also have been known to keep down medical bills. Placing switches near entrance doors so that you don't have to cross a room in the dark prevents accidents. Many injuries around the home are caused by poor lighting, mainly because most people stub their toes and run into things in the dark, not with the lights on.

Each switch has its own name and they all do different things, with the exception of turning on and off lighting or other devices. Single-pole switches, three-way switches, and dimmer switches are among the most common switches used in homes. With a flip of a switch or a turn of a knob, the lights come on and you can see the light. Do you know what each of these switch types do?

Photo: Timothy Thiele

Have you ever looked at wire in junction boxes or electrical panels and wondered why there were different thicknesses of wire? What could that mean? Actually, the thickness of the wire is rated by the term wire gauge. The smaller the wire gauge number, the larger the wire diameter. Knowing what gauge wire to use on a specific installation and the amperage each specific wire can handle will help you easily install the proper wires. Are you ready to gauge wire sizes?

OK, you've heard the term fish tape, but what in the world is that? Is it a piece of tape that smells like fish? Maybe it's duct tape shaped like fish? No! That's ridiculous, but funny. Really, it's a great tool that electricians use to pull wire through electrical piping. A fish tape is a thin piece of wire in a flat style that is coiled in predetermined lengths and is referred to as tape. That explains part of the name, but what about the fish part?

Photo: Timothy Thiele