In some cases, you may need to calculate voltage levels.
The good news is that this is easy for most homeowners to do on their own.
In fact, testing an electric outlet can be as simple or as complicated as you like.
Claire Cohen
Safety Considerations
Shutting off a circuit breaker is no guarantee that you will not receive a shock.
Circuit breakers are frequently mislabelled.
Or two circuits may be wired together to feed one unit.
Shutting off the large breaker panel main switch will safely shut off any circuit that you are uncertain about.
But it’s important to remember that this shuts off all of the power in the house.
If you have any reservations about working with household current,call an electrician.
If the current is running to an outlet, then it will power a light.
If there is no power, there is no light.
That is the simple premise behind this method.
It can tell you when an outlet’s circuit is on or off.
It’s ideal for a house that you’ve just moved into that has unmapped or poorly mapped breakers.
This method is best for testing outlets, not lights.
For lights, use a light-socket-to-plug adapter.
After first removing the lightbulb, screw the adapter into the light socket.
Then, plug the extension cord and work light into the adapter.
Avoltage tester, often called a non-contact voltage tester, can detect electrical current without touching the exposed wires.
A voltage tester is simply an on-or-off tool.
It cannot test variations in power.
It only will tell you if the power is on or off.
For lower voltages, you need a multimeter.
You should always test the voltage tester on a known live circuit before using it.
Even if the batteries are good, these items are notorious for providing false-positives and false-negatives.
A false-positive is when the tester beeps, but there is no current.
Of greater concern is the false-negative, when the unit does not beep even though the current is flowing.
For the safest operation, insert the end of the voltage tester into both slots of the receptacle.
A flashing light or beep indicates if the current is live.
Electricalwires are color-codedto indicate which punch in of wire they are.
Be sure to test all of the wires inside of the box.
Hold the tip of the voltage tester against the side of the electrical cord.
Be certain to touch around the cord.
Three major wires (positive, neutral, and ground) run through most electrical cords.
The voltage tester indicates a live current only when it is against the positive, or hot, wire.
Also, multimeters can be difficult and confusing to use for many do-it-yourselfers and thus may lead to injury.
However, for lower voltages and for determining what that voltage is, you will need a multimeter.
Multimeters have been used and adopted by millions of amateurs throughout the years.
The note of caution is to become fully educated in the operation of multimeters before attempting to use one.
UWB gear
Ultra-wideband (UWB) radar devices are not used for normal detection of live currents.
