139

How do I turn off power to the whole house? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by akilou@sh.itjust.works to c/electricians@lemmy.world

54 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I need to replace a faulty breaker. Here's a picture of my main breaker box. There's no master switch that I can see that shuts off power to all of the breakers.

Following the line up and out of the box, it runs along the basement ceiling and out through a hole in the foundation.

Let me know if you need to see something else.

Edit. Resolved! I found a master switch on the outside of the house in a panel adjacent to the meter. Weird that anyone can just walk up to my house and turn all of the power off.

top 50 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[-] troyunrau@lemmy.ca 86 points 2 weeks ago

This is really strange that there is no master switch. Are you sure this isn't a sub-panel which is wired into another breaker box somewhere else in the building? I'd go hunting, following the main wire.

There's less than half of the number of breakers on here that I'd expect in a house.

[-] earphone843@sh.itjust.works 21 points 2 weeks ago

My house is like that too. No master shutoff anywhere, so I'd have to call the power delivery company out to shut it off at the meter.

[-] troyunrau@lemmy.ca 23 points 2 weeks ago

That would never pass inspection here... Might depend on where you live I guess

[-] glimse@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago

I toured a house that still had TL fuses and cloth-wrapped electrical...No inspection needed in 2025 if it passed in 1940 and was never updated!

[-] AA5B@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

That’s normal. It’s meant to be that way. You only have to get up to current code when making major changes, and only for what you’re changing. If you always had to be up to date, no one could afford to maintain a house: you’d be making changes every year.

[-] glimse@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, I was just giving an example that inspections aren't required. A less extreme example would be asbestos tiles/insulation but that's not dangerous unless you damage it

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

Lots of houses haven't had an inspection since they were built, and code was almost always more relaxed.

My parents built their house in the 70s, like my dad was a mason and he did all the brick, and any contractors for the rest was friends and family. And in a small county they all knew the inspector too.

I'm sure lots of stuff was overlooked because it was "good enough" and when it was sold 5ish years ago it was "as is" because a ceiling fan on a dimmer wouldn't have passed inspection.

Like it wasn't a lemon, everything was good.

But the buyers couldn't have known for sure because they waived inspection.

Tldr:

Lots of homes in America won't/can't pass inspection, and with the market someone is always willing to roll the dice to buy anyways.

[-] bluGill@fedia.io 1 points 2 weeks ago

even if it wat built in 2015 it probably would fail inspection for something today even though that sonething still works like new.

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

I mean, I helped wire a house at 14 just because my dad thought it would be good to learn, but I'm not a real electrician.

So others probably know more, but to my knowledge that stuff moves slow so not a lot would have changed since 2015...

That being said, new homes are built to meet bare minimum standards and corners are cut everywhere they can be. So it might fail inspection because things are breaking, but not for things that work but have become against code.

[-] bluGill@fedia.io 1 points 2 weeks ago

https://www.nahb.org/-/media/NAHB/advocacy/docs/top-priorities/codes/code-adoption/2023-national-electrical-code-significant-changes.pdf there are a few things in there that could hit any house. Gfci to non counter kitchen outlets for example.

[-] ikidd@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

Have you looked at the meter box? Around here there will be a cover you can flip up under the meter head and turn off the breaker you find under it.

[-] AA5B@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

I recently found out this is code now where I live: you must have a master breaker outside with the meter. While I can understand the benefits from a safety and service point of view, this seems mostly like an invitation for “pranks”.

My electrician had to go through contortions to explain how one approach let him just make the change I needed whereas the other may have seemed cleaner but would require him to redo the service entrance to add an outside main breaker

[-] HybridSarcasm@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Ugh. Cost-prohibitive to replace the panel with a main breaker ?

[-] earphone843@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 weeks ago

Last I looked it was like $1500

[-] akilou@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 weeks ago

There is a subpanel that this one feeds. See the 70 amp breaker? That's goes upstairs to another panel there.

[-] Alexstarfire@lemmy.world 25 points 2 weeks ago

Check on the other side of that wall and see if the main breaker is there. I know it's code now to have the main breaker on the outside of the house. I think it's so power can be turned off when needed even if the homeowner isn't home.

[-] akilou@sh.itjust.works 17 points 2 weeks ago

The other side of this wall is dirt. This is on an outside foundation wall

[-] Alexstarfire@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

🤷That's all I had.

[-] akilou@sh.itjust.works 15 points 2 weeks ago

You were kind of right. Check out my edit to the original post

[-] Alexstarfire@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Interesting. When I had my panel upgraded they had to put the main breaker right behind the panel. Guess they've got leeway if that's not actually possible.

[-] Sprocketfree@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

Probably depends on your locality. Got a new service 4 years ago and the only main breaker is in the service. The city can it it from the meter I suppose if they need to.

load more comments (1 replies)

[-] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 19 points 2 weeks ago

I’m no expert, but that doesn’t look up to code.

[-] Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca 10 points 2 weeks ago

Was fine when it was put in, but code updated and old installations usually aren't required to upgrade to meet new codes unless you try to change them substantially.

[-] BlazarNGC@lemm.ee 18 points 2 weeks ago

I think you’re needing to search for the main breaker. This is looking like a sub panel.

[-] cactusupyourbutt@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

I dont know, but your breaker box has eyes

[-] Xeroxchasechase@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Hypnotic eyes!

[-] Jode@midwest.social 7 points 2 weeks ago

If you can't find a master breaker between this box and the meter, you can just yank the meter to kill power to the house. Be safe, wear insulated gloves etc etc.

[-] Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca 12 points 2 weeks ago

Most places I've lived, you're not permitted to remove the meter. You've gotta call in your electrical companies lineman for that. (or face some pretty substantial fines when they find the broken seal)

[-] yesman@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

If the power company went after everyone who cut those seals, they would employ more lawyers than linemen. Nobody gives a shit if you pull the meter just so long as you don't self-immolate or steal electricity.

The main thing is to make sure there's no load on the panel (turn all appliances or fuses off). Loads can cause dangerous arcing, especially on reconnect.

Rubber gloves under leathers are standard PPE for meter work. Eye protection is non-negotiable. Anybody who's comfortable opening a panel is ready to pull a meter. You don't think the power company hires electricians to pull meters do you?

[-] apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

This. But contact a local electrician before doing so.

[-] Anticorp@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

Man, that's one nasty looking breaker box! Glad you found the master switch.

[-] SoftTeeth@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

Bucket of water

[-] muzzle@lemm.ee 6 points 2 weeks ago

Lick it.

[-] SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 weeks ago

Take out big samurai sword and chop thru those cables like it's the Gordian Knot

[-] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

The other poster is correct in that the master breaker may be elsewhere. It will be on the path of the two big wires coming put of the top there, wherever it is they go in your house. Probably right on the other side of where the incoming line goes through the wall.

But I actually came here to say I have never once in my life shut off the master to replace a breaker. Remove the hot wire from the dud breaker first and then that circuit is dead. Just don't touch the bus bar in the back of the box and you'll be fine.

If you suspect shenenegans re: things being hot that shouldn't be, you can verify with your multimeter or voltage probe before touching anything.

[-] pack@sh.itjust.works 25 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Osha always talks about how its not the first mistake that kills you, and I think in the case of home electrical, leaving a panel energized while your hands are in it, would count as number 1.

[-] bluGill@fedia.io 1 points 2 weeks ago

Hands is the mistaje there. Always use one hand only when working on live wires. The hand that you are not loojing at gets into trouple. plus your shoes probably are insulated enough to make shocks annoying but not harmful.

[-] miss_demeanour@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 2 weeks ago

I have never....shut off the master...

I knew two electricians who used to say this kind of stuff.

[-] JoeyHarrington@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 weeks ago

"knew"

load more comments (1 replies)

[-] ikidd@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Your getting downvoted, but you have to be trying pretty hard to electrocute yourself by swapping a breaker.

[-] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

To wit, I haven't managed it yet.

The rub is, it's inevitable you have to mess with the damn thing when the rest of the household is thoroughly active. Interrupting power to every other circuit and appliance in the place is often simply not an option. Especially once the obligatory hardware store trip to get the new breaker -- bringing the old one with you to match it up -- enters the equation.

When you remove the hot wire from the breaker the wiring is by definition dead unless you have transient voltages from elsewhere that should not be there. If you do, you have deeper problems. Plus, you should do so with the breaker in question off anyway (and if you have a dud one, the only reason you knew about it was because it failed open circuit in the first place, so it's already off). The breaker's casing is extremely well insulated, and no part of the operation requires touching anything except insulated wire or the plasic breaker casing itself.

People also thoroughly overestimate the danger as if there are magically somehow different volts inside the panel than out of it. Yes, you can theoretically touch 240v if you manage to grab both bus bars at the same time. Otherwise, the shock you may deliver yourself is literally no different from mis-grabbing a normal plug via touching its prongs while it is partially inserted in an outlet, which is I'm sure something everyone has done at least once in their lives.

You should still know where your home's master breaker is located anyway, of course, in case there is some other catastropic emergency.

[-] Treczoks@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

This is your complete breaker box? No RCCB/RCD device? Wow. Here, any electrician would basically be forced by law to take this off the net until it is upgraded to code.

[-] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

To turn it off, throw some water in it. No idea, though, how to turn it back on.

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Nothing a good wad of C-4 can’t fix.

[-] CrayonRosary@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Weird that anyone can just walk up to my house and turn all of the power off.

That's the horror movie feature. Also, it's safer for murderers to flip a switch than cut a wire. Please think of the murderers.

load more comments

this post was submitted on 12 Jan 2025

139 points (98.6% liked)

Electricians

465 readers

2 users here now

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

puppymartini@lemmy.world