What would be a parallel circuit in your house?

Answer 1

== == A Parallel circuit is one where the current flows in several circuits (or 'branches') at the same time.

In the house, the Main Breaker box (or fuse panel) is connected to the city's power lines. The current flows through the main circuit breaker and is then split into 2 or more circuits each of which is protected by its own circuit breaker.

Envision a water pipe that is mounted horizontally in the attic. The pipe has 10 one inch holes cut into it, into these holes are fitted 10 one inch pipes that let water flow through each one as required (such as when the toilet is flushed, or the kitchen sink faucet is turned on).

So, coming out of the Main Breaker box are several cables (each protected by its own smaller breaker), each going to a separate room, or area (outdoor patio, or detached garage).

The reason for parallel electrical circuits is to limit the amount of current in each cable. If there was only one cable for the entire house, all of the current for every electrical device in the house would have to flow through the same cable, as opposed to each room (or area) having its own cable and only using as much current as is required for that room.

I hope this helps, if so, please 'Recommend Contributor', and reply to this answer for more info, or a more detailed explanation.

Answer 2

Your house wiring, Christmas lights (usually ~50 are in series, so if you have a string of 200, you have 4 parallel groups of 50 series lights), sound systems using multiple speakers on a single channel (usually wired in parallel, but could be in series depending on speaker and amp spec).

Answer 3

My first thought was regarding the electrical outlets in the wall. However, those are connected end-to-end, in series, until each side comes to the breaker and the main input lines. At this point, lets say we have 2 loops, each with a different breaker and each is connected to the house's main input line - that is a parallel circuit.

The toaster would be another fine example (although I'm not about to take mine apart to see yet.

Answer 4

Wall sockets are examples of parallel circuits, as are lighting circuits in a classroom. In general, power circuits are parallel.