This enclosure houses the main electrical feed and distributes it to individual branch circuits through screw-in or cartridge fuses. When a circuit draws too much current, the internal wire of the fuse melts and breaks the connection. While largely replaced by breaker panels in newer construction, these boxes remain common in older residential properties and industrial disconnects.
The customer has an old Edison-base fuse box in the basement that needs a heavy-up before we can add the AC circuit.
Finding a penny screwed in behind a blown glass fuse is a classic sign of dangerous homeowner tampering.
Also heard as
- Fuse panel
Do not mix it up with
- Circuit breaker: A fuse box uses one-time consumable fuses that melt, while a circuit breaker panel uses mechanical switches that can be reset.
Related terms
Circuit breaker
An automatic, resettable switch that protects an electrical circuit from damage caused by excess current.
Tub
Empty panel enclosure, the steel back box that goes in at rough-in before the interior and cover arrive.
Fuse
A sacrificial safety device that melts to break an electrical circuit when too much current flows.
Meter can
Meter socket enclosure where the utility revenue meter plugs in, mounted between the service drop and panel.