Greetings,
I was reading about wiring in a British encyclopedia and it seems
that house wiring is done differently here in the USA.
In the USA the mains power enters the house via a "load center".
The load center has one main circuit breaker that feeds several more
smaller breakers. The breakers fed by the main breaker each feed a
separate circuit that is open ended. Each of these circuits can then
be wired to receptacles and/or appliances such as lamps or bathroom
fans. If a receptacle has a breaker built in it will be a ground fault
interrupter. If an appliance has a breaker it will be there only to
protect the appliance, not the circuit it is wired to.
In Britain it seems that the wiring is closed, forming a loop or a
ring, and there is no load center filled with breakers to protect each
circuit. Instead, each receptacle has a breaker that protects the
wiring.
Is this correct? If not, then how are houses actually wired? And
what are the advantages ?
Thank You,
Eric R Snow