How to Wire a Refrigerator Circuit

New refrigerators or refrigerators that are delivered to new homes must have their own
electrical circuits. Unlike other electrical outlets in a kitchen, the refrigerator outlet doesn't
require a ground-fault interrupter outlet installed. The amount of power a refrigerator
usually draws will cause the GFI outlet circuit breaker to trip, which can result in long
periods of loss of refrigeration and loss of food. By installing a GFI outlet on your
refrigerator circuit, you can keep your food safe to eat. Plan the Wiring
Visit the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection website to find out if you need to get
a permit to wire a refrigerator circuit in your home. Examine your home to plan where you are
going to route the new electrical cable for the refrigerator circuit. The cable will need to run from
the circuit breaker box to the kitchen. You might have to drill access holes through walls and
floor joists for the cable route. Draw a map of your house and make note of where you want the
cable to go. For safety, avoid water pipelines and heating ducts as you make the route.
Circuit Breaker
Turn off the main power to the house at the circuit breaker box. Remove the screws holding the
cover on the circuit breaker box, then remove the cover. As you work take care not to touch the
large black electrical wires that enter the panel from the top as they still have an electrical current
running through them. Touch one lead of a neon tester to the neutral bus bar on the circuit
breaker box, which is a metal bar with terminal screws and touch the other lead to the setscrews
of a double-pole breaker, which looks like two small circuit breakers put together. If the power is
off, the neon tester will not light up, and it is safe to work. Check the circuit breaker panel's
amperage rating -- it will be located on the main circuit breaker. This is the total current of the
two columns of house circuit breakers. Add up the amperage rating of all of the circuit breakers
currently in use, then add the 15 amperage rating of the new refrigerator circuit breaker to the
total. If the total is under the total current of the house circuit breakers, it is safe to install the new
circuit breaker for the refrigerator.
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Cut and Drill
Measure 3 feet up from the floor if the refrigerator plug is located near the bottom of the device
or 77 inches up from the floor if the refrigerator plug is located near the top of the device, and
make a mark with a pencil. Measure 4 inches in from the wall corner and make a mark with a
pencil near the first mark you made. Place the electrical box on the wall centered between the 4
inch mark and the side wall. Hold the box against the wall and then trace around it with a pencil.
Cut out the hole for the electrical box with a key hole saw. Mark on the floor joists and walls
where you need to drill a hole for the electrical wire. Position the marks in a straight line, or line
them up as much as possible for ease of installation. Some areas of the route can have the cable
stapled to the floor joists if a drilling space is not easily acceptable. Check with local building

codes to ensure that this is permissible in your area before planning to affix the cable in this
manner. Drill holes through the wall and floor joists on the marks.
Run Electrical Cable
Route the electrical cable through the house, starting at the electrical box hole. Have a helper
assist you by pulling the cable through wall or floor openings with fish tape. Attach the electrical
cable to the center of floor joists or wall studs with insulated electrical wire grade staples and a
staple gun. Be sure to position the staple's legs around the cable so they do not puncture or tear
the electrical cable before you depress the handle of the staple gun. Run the electrical cable all
the way to the circuit breaker. Cut the end of the electrical cable with wire cutters and leave 6
inches of cable hanging from the electrical box hole.
Wire the Outlet
Cut 6 inches of the outer insulating jacket off the electrical cable to reveal the wires. Attach the
electrical box to the wall with screws. Route the wires into the electrical box. Strip 3/4 inch of
insulation off the end of the black and white wires. Electrical outlets have screws located on the
side where the wires are attached. Wrap the black wire clockwise around the electrical outlet's
brass screw and tighten it with a screwdriver. Wrap the white wire clockwise around the
electrical outlet's silver screw terminal and tighten the screw. Wrap the bare copper wire
clockwise around the green grounding screw and tighten it. Gently press the wires into the
electrical box. Hold the electrical outlet into the box, align the screw holes of the outlet with the
electrical box screw holes and attach them with screws.
Wire Circuit Breaker
Punch out a knock-out hole located on the housing of the circuit breaker box with a screwdriver
and hammer. If the knock-out hole does not come out all the way, grasp it with pliers and twist it
off the housing. Push a cable clamp into the knockout hole. Strip 6 inches of the outer insulation
jacket from the electrical cable to reveal the two insulated wires and the bare grounding wire of
the cable. Route the wires through the cable clamp and tighten the clamp. Locate an unused or
"open" set-screw terminal on the circuit breaker box's grounding bus bar. Insert the bare copper
grounding wire into the hole and tighten the set-screw. If your circuit breaker does not have a
grounding bus bar, but a neutral bus bar with white and bare copper wires connected to it, attach
the grounding wire to a set-screw in the neutral bus bar. Place the white wire of the electrical
cable into an unused set-screw terminal on the neutral bus bar and tighten the set-screw. Insert
the end of the black wire into the screw terminal of the circuit breaker and tighten the screw. Slip
the circuit breaker into a free slot on the circuit breaker panel or column with the black wire
located beneath the tab of the hot or live bus bar of the circuit breaker box. Snap the other side in
place. When done correctly, the circuit breaker will be even or flush with the tops of other circuit
breakers. Knock out the rectangle of the circuit breaker cover so the new circuit breaker can be
exposed. Reinstall the circuit breaker box cover and screw it in place.

Finish Installation
Turn off all of the circuit breakers in the box. Turn on the main circuit breaker. Turn on the other
circuit breakers individually. Write on the number-coded label of the circuit breaker box the
name of the new circuit, such as "refrigerator," or use a label maker to print a plastic label and
affix it to the circuit breaker box. Test the new refrigerator electrical outlet. Touch one end of the
neon tester to the top screw on the electrical box and the other end to the right slot of the outlet.
If it lights up, the refrigerator circuit is working properly. Set the electrical outlet face plate onto
the electrical outlet and attach it with the provided screws.