Your home's electrical system begins with your electric utility company, which sends electrical power to your home through electrical lines overhead from a power pole or underground through buried pipes called “conduit.” At the point where the. Your home's electrical system begins with your electric utility company, which sends electrical power to your home through electrical lines overhead from a power pole or underground through buried pipes called “conduit.” At the point where the power enters your house, you'll usually find an electric meter and main service panel, as shown in the ill. Main panels come in scores of sizes and configurations. A panel might be mounted on the outside of the house, either separate from or combined with the electric meter, or on an inside wall, behind the meter. A contemporary main panel receives three incoming electrical service wires and routes smaller cables and wires to subpanels and circuits throu. The main panel also includes some type of mechanical device for disconnecting the house's electrical circuits from the incoming power. In most contemporary systems, this device is a circuit breaker or simply “breaker.” A circuit breaker is a switch that may be shut off manually or be tripped automatically by a failure in the electrical system—usual. Larger circuit breakers may also connect to secondary panels, called subpanels. Subpanels have their own set of circuit breakers and power specific appliances or areas of the house. A subpanels is often located in a different part of the house. You might, for example, find one near your home's air conditioner. The circuits that deliver electricity. Outdoor, kitchen, and bathroom electrical receptacles should be protected by a special ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) circuit breaker to guard against electrocution. Because it is highly sensitive to any short, this type of breaker may need resetting more frequently than standard breakers and should be tested periodically. If a home electr.