Safety Sense > Outlets and Circuits

It's always a good idea to check the capacity of the circuits at your service panel. Fuses and breakers are marked with their capacity. Household circuits are typically rated at 15, 20, 30 and 50 amperes. Never replace these devices with ones of higher capacity without having a qualified electrician inspect the work.

Wiring should provide plenty of grounded outlets (protected by a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) on circuits of the right size for the tools or appliances you use.

A sure-fire way to overload a circuit is to use several tools or appliances whose combined wattage totals more than the circuit capacity, at the same time.

If the circuit isn't interrupted by a fuse or circuit breaker, the wires might eventually overheat and cause a fire.