| Part 1 | The Basics: Out of the Dark Ages | 1 |
| 1 | Fear of Frying | 3 |
| A Wired World | 4 |
| Do It Yourself or Hire It Out? | 6 |
| System Checkup | 9 |
| Confused About Fuses? | 11 |
| Circuit Breakers | 12 |
| More Power to the People | 12 |
| 2 | What Is Electricity Anyway? | 15 |
| Go with the Flow | 16 |
| Staying Current | 17 |
| Voltage Provides the Push | 19 |
| Watt's That? | 21 |
| Resistance Isn't Futile | 22 |
| 3 | History Lessons | 27 |
| An International Effort | 28 |
| The Pioneers | 28 |
| Edison, Mega-Inventor | 31 |
| Tesla Needed a Lawyer | 33 |
| Early Safety Measures | 34 |
| The Standards Change | 35 |
| Knob-and-Tube Wiring | 36 |
| Wiring Evolves | 36 |
| Creeping Home Power Demands | 37 |
| 4 | If Your Walls Could Talk | 39 |
| The National Electrical Code | 40 |
| Are You Up-to-Date? | 44 |
| Circuit Breakers vs. Fuses | 46 |
| The More Power the Better | 49 |
| 5 | More Wall Talk | 53 |
| Branching Out to Break Up the Load | 54 |
| GFCIs--Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters | 58 |
| Wire Systems Old and New | 60 |
| Do You Need to Replace? | 61 |
| Location, Location | 64 |
| Your Checklist | 64 |
| 6 | When You Buy a House | 67 |
| Caveat Emptor or Buyer Beware! | 68 |
| Aluminum Wiring | 72 |
| The Great Outdoors | 77 |
| Attic Insulation Problems | 77 |
| A Breath of Fresh Air | 78 |
| More Testing | 78 |
| Some Final Points | 79 |
| Part 2 | Safety, Tools, and Contractors | 81 |
| 7 | Caution Signs and Safety Concerns | 83 |
| Shocks Galore | 84 |
| Know Your First Aid | 86 |
| Quiz #1 | 87 |
| Safe Work Practices | 89 |
| Some Statistics | 93 |
| Electro Kindling | 94 |
| New Service Doesn't Let You Off the Hook | 95 |
| More Information | 95 |
| 8 | Call Me Sparky | 97 |
| An Electrician's Mindset | 98 |
| Permits | 100 |
| Tools of the Trade | 102 |
| UL-Approved Parts for Yo | 109 |
| Home-Improvement Stores vs. Electrical Wholesalers | 109 |
| 9 | Extension Cords and Multiple Strips | 111 |
| Extension-Cord Protocol | 112 |
| Multiple-Outlet Devices | 116 |
| Surge-Suppression Devices | 118 |
| 10 | Electing for Electricians | 125 |
| Hiring It Out | 126 |
| Plans and Specifications--Always! | 129 |
| About Those Contracts | 131 |
| Cleanup and Wall-Repair Woes | 133 |
| Part 3 | Components and Simple Repairs | 135 |
| 11 | Switches and Receptacles | 137 |
| There's One for Every Purpose | 138 |
| Switches | 139 |
| Receptacles Galore | 142 |
| Don't Forget the Boxes | 143 |
| Cover 'Em Up | 146 |
| 12 | Replacing Old Switches and Receptacles | 149 |
| Probing the Problem | 150 |
| Checking the Devices | 151 |
| Continuity Coming Up | 153 |
| Disreputable Receptacles | 162 |
| Test for Grounding | 164 |
| 13 | Lighting Up | 171 |
| How Illuminating | 172 |
| Measuring Your Lighting Needs | 173 |
| What's Your Type? | 181 |
| Other Considerations | 185 |
| 14 | Light Fixes | 187 |
| Inspect First | 188 |
| Fluorescent Fun | 194 |
| Lamps | 199 |
| A Dose of Reality | 202 |
| 15 | Working Around Existing Wiring | 205 |
| The Dangers of Overextending Yourself | 206 |
| Leave Dedicated Circuits Alone | 208 |
| Uh-Oh, Old Wiring | 209 |
| Walls Everywhere | 211 |
| Boxes and the Code | 215 |
| The Finish Work | 219 |
| Fitting All Those Wires In | 219 |
| 16 | Trouble, Troubleshooting, and Safety | 223 |
| The Rules Once More | 224 |
| Warning Signs | 225 |
| General Precautions | 230 |
| Power Outages | 231 |
| Part 4 | Power Hungry | 233 |
| 17 | Service with an Attitude | 235 |
| One New Service Coming Up | 236 |
| Overhead and Exposed | 236 |
| Anatomy of a Panel | 240 |
| Grounding Your Panel | 242 |
| 18 | Adding New Circuits | 247 |
| Write Up a Plan | 248 |
| Power Everywhere | 248 |
| Roping the House | 250 |
| Keeping the Inspections in Mind | 250 |
| 19 | Kitchen Power | 251 |
| The Well-Wired Kitchen | 252 |
| Keep or Replace Your Appliances? | 258 |
| Lighting the Way | 258 |
| Ventilation | 260 |
| Wiring Concerns | 262 |
| 20 | Bathroom Wiring | 263 |
| GFCI Is a Must | 264 |
| Installing the Fan | 265 |
| It's Cold in Here | 267 |
| Incandescent Fixtures | 270 |
| 21 | The Great Outdoors | 275 |
| Light Up the Night | 276 |
| Draw Up a Plan | 282 |
| Skip the Digging | 282 |
| 22 | Electric Heat and Air Conditioning | 287 |
| Electric Furnaces | 288 |
| Heat Pumps | 292 |
| Whole-House Ventilation | 293 |
| Hot-Water Heaters, Big and Small | 295 |
| Part 5 | Refinements | 299 |
| 23 | Workshops, Offices, and Generators | 301 |
| Workshops | 302 |
| Home Offices | 305 |
| An Outside Job: Raceways | 308 |
| Generators | 310 |
| The Mechanics of a Generator | 311 |
| 24 | Your Own Hi-Tech Revolution | 317 |
| A Wealth of Possibilities | 319 |
| Decisions, Decisions | 321 |
| Mixing and Matching | 322 |
| Speed Demons and Slowpokes | 322 |
| Hedging Your Wiring Bets | 325 |
| The Installation | 328 |
| 25 | Alarms, Detectors, and Security | 333 |
| A Class 2 Act | 334 |
| Alarm Systems | 334 |
| Smoke Detectors | 341 |
| What About Carbon Monoxide? | 344 |
| 26 | More Low-Voltage Wiring | 349 |
| No Escaping Mom with an Intercom | 350 |
| Thermostats | 355 |
| The Wired World at Home | 357 |
| 27 | A Few Alternatives | 359 |
| Conserve and Save | 360 |
| Watts Add Up, Doc | 360 |
| Heating | 362 |
| Thermostats | 362 |
| Air-Conditioning Alternatives | 363 |
| Cool Your Hot-Water Costs | 366 |
| Keeping the Outdoors Outdoors | 367 |
| Here Comes the Sun | 368 |
| Is It Worth It? | 369 |
| Resources | 370 |
| 28 | Putting It All Together | 373 |
| How Far Do You Go? | 374 |
| Estimating the Job | 376 |
| A Realistic Time Frame | 378 |
| Sample Jobs | 378 |
| Hiring an Electrician | 382 |
| A | Resources | 385 |
| B | Glossary | 387 |
| Index | 391 |
