Best Electrical Wiring Books for Beginners: Top 10

For a long time, the best advice seemed to be “hire a professional and get it done right.” Depending on the task contemplated and the individual’s level of expertise, this notion may or may not be valid. You have to assess the situation and decide what will work for you. Even if you hire out all the work, electrical knowledge and expertise will be of value in completing your building project and maintaining it in the future.

It is a fact that nowadays homeowners are far more active in their construction projects, whether new buildings or remodeling. If professionals are hired, the owners still may play a prominent role in planning and moving forward with the job. Often the homeowner is the builder. In some cases, though, a professional is hired as a designer-advisor and, in jurisdictions where there is oversight, interfaces with the inspector and, if necessary, signs off on the job.

All of this is especially true in the area of electrical work. Some home crafters draw a line in the sawdust, avoiding electrical work altogether. Others set the boxes, drill studs, and pull the cable, leaving all terminations to the electrician. The extreme case is to do everything including the service without hiring a professional at all. This approach will maximize the monetary savings for the homeowner, and of course, there is immense satisfaction in doing it all. If this is too great a leap into the unknown at this time, it might be something to aim for down the road.

For this reason, we think it would be beneficial for you to have knowledge about electrical wiring. The following books will increase your knowledge level about the subject.

Best Electrical Wiring Books for Beginners

The top electrical wiring books for beginners are the following:

1. Ultimate Guide: Wiring

“Ultimate Guide: Wiring” demystifies residential electrical systems with easy-to-understand language, step-by-step photography, and detailed illustrations. It’s a book by Editors of Creative Homeowner.

Learn how to:

• Make common electrical repairs
• Add new switches and receptacles
• Install lighting fixtures, appliances, & outdoor lighting
• Run wiring from room to room
• Add new circuits & service panels

As a homeowner, you’ll learn how your house’s electrical system works and how to complete installations and repairs. This project-based book shows how to select the right cable, wires, and other equipment, and how to run wiring through walls and between floors. Projects guide you through installing switches, outlet receptacles, electrical appliances, and lighting systems.

You’ll also learn how outdoor lighting, including security and low-voltage systems, can help improve and illuminate the exterior areas around your home.

2. Black & Decker The Complete Photo Guide to Wiring

In everything from food preparation to climate control, from entertainment to work, electricity plays a critical role in our lives. Knowing about your electrical system and how it works will allow you to make sensible, effective, and economical decisions for your home’s functionality, convenience, and safety.

This edition of the top-selling ” The Complete Photo Guide to Wiring” by Black&Decker is a comprehensive tour of electrical wiring. With easy-to-understand definitions, step-by-step instructions, and clear color photos, you will recognize that most electrical work around your home, from basic repairs to advanced wiring projects, is work you yourself can easily accomplish.

3. How Your House Works

“How Your House Works” by Charlie Wing offers a unique approach to home improvement, maintenance, and repair. It describes how virtually everything in a house is put together, and how each item functions.

The key to the book is the easy-to-understand, see-through drawings. Each one is backed up by clear, brief explanations from a nationally-known home improvement expert. It’s a formula for a quick understanding of what you are dealing with when troubleshooting a problem, talking to your repairman, or planning your new home.

If you would like the confidence of knowing more about how your house works and what to do if something breaks down, read this book. It just may change your life.

4. Wiring Complete

“Wiring Complete” by Michael Litchfield covers everything homeowners need to know about practically any wiring scenario imaginable, from simple switches to outdoor lighting. This is as close to the bible of home wiring as you can get and is a key book for any renovator or builder.

Get your wiring project done right the first time with site-tested advice from the pros. The most comprehensive reference for homeowners available updated to the latest electrical code, Wiring Complete is filled with trade secrets only a pro would know, as well as detailed instructions and over 875 photos and drawings that show every step.

5. Wiring a House

Since it was first published in 1996, Wiring a House has become the standard reference on residential wiring. Updated to the latest National Electrical Code, this fourth edition features revised information on backup generators, AFCIs, GFCIs, tools, and room-by-room wiring. An indispensable reference for keeping pros up-to-date, Wiring a House also gives apprentices and homeowners the most current and accurate information in the most accessible form.

“Wiring a House” by Rex Cauldwell takes into consideration all of the latest code changes. If you haven’t wired a house in a decade or two, there are a few code changes you should be aware of.

6. Electrical Wiring Industrial

Electrical Wiring Industrial by Stephen L. Herman is intended for use in industrial wiring courses at two-year community and technical colleges. The text walks the reader step by step through an industrial building, providing the basics of installing industrial wiring systems. An accompanying set of plans at the back of the book allows the student to proceed step by step through the wiring process by applying concepts learned in each chapter to an actual industrial building, in order to understand and meet requirements set forth by the National Electrical Code.

7. Electrical Wiring Residential

Master the latest industry standards and procedures with the longtime market leader “Electrical Wiring Residential”. In addition to comprehensive, authoritative coverage of the 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC), this trusted text will give you a thorough grounding in essential electrical theory and applications. Drawing on decades of industry and classroom experience, the authors guide you step-by-step through the critical tasks and responsibilities you can expect as a professional electrician in both new construction and existing homes.

Ray Mullin, the coauthor of this book, has often stated, “The cost of education is small when compared to the price paid for ignorance.” All too often, we, the citizens, pay the price for others’ ignorance—ignorance of the codes, ignorance of proper wiring methods, ignorance of proper installation procedures, ignorance of design requirements and ignorance of product evaluations. This price becomes dear when our friends and family lose health or life or when our homes are destroyed.

8. Ultimate Guide to Home Repair and Improvement

The most complete home improvement manual on the market, this book offers more than 2,300 photos, 800 drawings, and understandable, practical text. Inside this book, you will find essential instructions on plumbing and electrical repairs, heating and cooling, roofing and siding, cabinets and countertops, and more.

9. Residential Construction Academy: House Wiring

A home is an essential part of life. It provides protection, security, and privacy to the occupants. It is often viewed as the single most important thing a family can own. This book is written for students who want to learn how to wire a home.

House Wiring covers the basic electrical wiring principles and practices, with National Electrical Code® references, used in the installation of residential electrical wiring systems. Wiring practices that are commonly used in today’s residential electrical market are discussed in detail and presented in a way that not only tells what needs to be done but also shows how to do it. Both general safety and electrical safety are stressed throughout the textbook.

This textbook provides a resource for the areas in residential wiring that are required of an entry-level electrician, including the basic “hands-on” skills, as well as more advanced theoretical knowledge needed to gain job proficiency.

10. Practical Electrical Wiring: Residential, Farm, Commercial, and Industrial

The art of electrical installations has become immensely more complicated in recent years due to the electronic revolution. The incorporation of electronic components into electrical devices has opened up entirely new concepts of control and operation of electrical circuits. Current practices are well covered in this new edition of “Practical Electrical Wiring”.