GFCI receptacles are required in kitchens, bathrooms, and any outdoor power locations and they are designed to keep you safe from electrical shocks. The GFI comes in either a receptacle or a breaker.
Depending on your particular power situation when installing a GFCI receptacle you may have one or more NM cables or romex in the outlet box. The power in to the box and the power leaving it going to the next outlet down the line. You will notice on the back of the GFCI receptacle the words Line and Load.
The Line is the power in and the Load is the power leaving. You will need to check the wires with a voltage tester or meter to determine which one is “hot”. To do this just set your voltage meter to AC 600 volts and touch one lead to the black wire and touch the other lead to the white wire in the outlet box. The pair that reads 120 volts will go to the Line side of the GFCI receptacle. After you determine which romex is the power in or the Line, then turn the breaker off to the circuit before continuing.
The black wire will hook to the brass colored screw and the white will hook to the silver colored screw. The bare ground will hook to the green colored screw on the outlet. If you have a second romex in the box and you want the outlet that it feeds to be GFI protected also then that romex will tie to the Load side of the GFCI receptacle. If you do not want that outlet to be under GFI protection then you would also tie it to the Line side along with the other romex.
Tighten the connections on the GFCI receptacle and attach it to the outlet box with the two 6/32 screws and install the outlet cover. Turn the power to the circuit back on and check for the proper voltage.
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