Service panel
Your home's breaker box — where electricity is split into circuits.
Also called the breaker box or load center, the service panel is where power from the utility is divided into the circuits that feed your home. Each breaker protects one circuit and trips when it's overloaded. Know where yours is and how to reset a tripped breaker. Older panels (especially certain 1960s–80s brands) and aluminum branch wiring are worth an electrician's inspection.