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| The Basics: Out of the Dark Ages | |
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| Fear of Frying | |
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| A Wired World | |
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| Do It Yourself or Hire It Out? | |
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| System Checkup | |
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| Confused About Fuses? | |
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| Circuit Breakers | |
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| More Power to the People | |
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| What Is Electricity Anyway? | |
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| Go with the Flow | |
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| Staying Current | |
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| Voltage Provides the Push | |
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| Watt's That? | |
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| Resistance Isn't Futile | |
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| History Lessons | |
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| An International Effort | |
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| The Pioneers | |
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| Edison, Mega-Inventor | |
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| Tesla Needed a Lawyer | |
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| Early Safety Measures | |
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| The Standards Change | |
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| Knob-and-Tube Wiring | |
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| Wiring Evolves | |
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| Creeping Home Power Demands | |
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| If Your Walls Could Talk | |
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| The National Electrical Code | |
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| Are You Up-to-Date? | |
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| Circuit Breakers vs. Fuses | |
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| The More Power the Better | |
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| More Wall Talk | |
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| Branching Out to Break Up the Load | |
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| GFCIs--Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters | |
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| Wire Systems Old and New | |
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| Do You Need to Replace? | |
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| Location, Location | |
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| Your Checklist | |
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| When You Buy a House | |
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| Caveat Emptor or Buyer Beware! | |
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| Aluminum Wiring | |
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| The Great Outdoors | |
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| Attic Insulation Problems | |
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| A Breath of Fresh Air | |
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| More Testing | |
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| Some Final Points | |
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| Safety, Tools, and Contractors | |
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| Caution Signs and Safety Concerns | |
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| Shocks Galore | |
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| Know Your First Aid | |
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| Quiz #1 | |
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| Safe Work Practices | |
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| Some Statistics | |
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| Electro Kindling | |
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| New Service Doesn't Let You Off the Hook | |
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| More Information | |
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| Call Me Sparky | |
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| An Electrician's Mindset | |
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| Permits | |
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| Tools of the Trade | |
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| UL-Approved Parts for Yo | |
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| Home-Improvement Stores vs. Electrical Wholesalers | |
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| Extension Cords and Multiple Strips | |
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| Extension-Cord Protocol | |
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| Multiple-Outlet Devices | |
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| Surge-Suppression Devices | |
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| Electing for Electricians | |
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| Hiring It Out | |
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| Plans and Specifications--Always! | |
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| About Those Contracts | |
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| Cleanup and Wall-Repair Woes | |
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| Components and Simple Repairs | |
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| Switches and Receptacles | |
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| There's One for Every Purpose | |
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| Switches | |
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| Receptacles Galore | |
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| Don't Forget the Boxes | |
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| Cover 'Em Up | |
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| Replacing Old Switches and Receptacles | |
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| Probing the Problem | |
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| Checking the Devices | |
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| Continuity Coming Up | |
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| Disreputable Receptacles | |
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| Test for Grounding | |
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| Lighting Up | |
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| How Illuminating | |
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| Measuring Your Lighting Needs | |
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| What's Your Type? | |
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| Other Considerations | |
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| Light Fixes | |
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| Inspect First | |
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| Fluorescent Fun | |
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| Lamps | |
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| A Dose of Reality | |
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| Working Around Existing Wiring | |
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| The Dangers of Overextending Yourself | |
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| Leave Dedicated Circuits Alone | |
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| Uh-Oh, Old Wiring | |
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| Walls Everywhere | |
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| Boxes and the Code | |
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| The Finish Work | |
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| Fitting All Those Wires In | |
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| Trouble, Troubleshooting, and Safety | |
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| The Rules Once More | |
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| Warning Signs | |
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| General Precautions | |
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| Power Outages | |
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| Power Hungry | |
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| Service with an Attitude | |
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| One New Service Coming Up | |
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| Overhead and Exposed | |
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| Anatomy of a Panel | |
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| Grounding Your Panel | |
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| Adding New Circuits | |
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| Write Up a Plan | |
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| Power Everywhere | |
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| Roping the House | |
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| Keeping the Inspections in Mind | |
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| Kitchen Power | |
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| The Well-Wired Kitchen | |
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| Keep or Replace Your Appliances? | |
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| Lighting the Way | |
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| Ventilation | |
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| Wiring Concerns | |
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| Bathroom Wiring | |
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| GFCI Is a Must | |
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| Installing the Fan | |
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| It's Cold in Here | |
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| Incandescent Fixtures | |
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| The Great Outdoors | |
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| Light Up the Night | |
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| Draw Up a Plan | |
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| Skip the Digging | |
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| Electric Heat and Air Conditioning | |
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| Electric Furnaces | |
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| Heat Pumps | |
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| Whole-House Ventilation | |
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| Hot-Water Heaters, Big and Small | |
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| Refinements | |
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| Workshops, Offices, and Generators | |
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| Workshops | |
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| Home Offices | |
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| An Outside Job: Raceways | |
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| Generators | |
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| The Mechanics of a Generator | |
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| Your Own Hi-Tech Revolution | |
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| A Wealth of Possibilities | |
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| Decisions, Decisions | |
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| Mixing and Matching | |
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| Speed Demons and Slowpokes | |
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| Hedging Your Wiring Bets | |
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| The Installation | |
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| Alarms, Detectors, and Security | |
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| A Class 2 Act | |
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| Alarm Systems | |
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| Smoke Detectors | |
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| What About Carbon Monoxide? | |
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| More Low-Voltage Wiring | |
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| No Escaping Mom with an Intercom | |
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| Thermostats | |
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| The Wired World at Home | |
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| A Few Alternatives | |
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| Conserve and Save | |
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| Watts Add Up, Doc | |
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| Heating | |
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| Thermostats | |
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| Air-Conditioning Alternatives | |
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| Cool Your Hot-Water Costs | |
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| Keeping the Outdoors Outdoors | |
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| Here Comes the Sun | |
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| Is It Worth It? | |
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| Resources | |
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| Putting It All Together | |
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| How Far Do You Go? | |
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| Estimating the Job | |
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| A Realistic Time Frame | |
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| Sample Jobs | |
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| Hiring an Electrician | |
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| Resources | |
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| Glossary | |
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| Index | |