This is why: My father was an Electrical Contractor and had me work with him and paid me for it starting summers when I was 12 years old until I was 17 and then I worked with him for about 8 months as an Electrician's helper in the greater Los Angeles area (Los Angeles County) also when I was 21. So, as a result I learned many many things about modifying and installing electrical wiring, appliances, lights and everything else you might imagine in homes, apartments and in commercial settings. However, I also should tell you that I was shocked by 110 hundreds maybe thousands of times before I was 15 years old during the summers I worked for my dad because in some situations. So, I have installed plugs, switches and often many appliances "Hot" which means while the electricity was in the wires from the main panel. Sometimes this is necessary because other people's businesses or lives require other things to be on on that circuit. So, getting shock a lot with 110 is something most electricians deal with all or most of the time, except maybe in new housing, new commercial or sometimes add-ons. But, if you are repairing things, replacing plugs or switches often you have to do this "hot". So, as long as you know the circuit is "hot" you can compensate as an electrician by not getting your wires crossed, not going temporarily blind during an "unexpected Arc weld of two wires or wires against a metal box or wire against a metal box or other metal object in the room they are in.
So, if you are a novice and don't want to go temporarily blind, get metal spattered on your face and hands from the arc welding of copper or aluminum wires, I suggest you make sure you turn off those circuits(circuit breakers) at the main panel or sub panel depending upon how your home is wired. Many houses have main panels in the garage or outside the home and sub panels in places like hallways, closets or sometimes more remote bathroom walls. So, usually the breaker you want in a sub panel will be near the circuit you are working on. Also, often several plugs(receptacles) that you plug things into will be on the same circuit. So when you turn the breaker off many plugs might go off at the same time. So, make sure you don't need those plugs for appliances presently being used right now as you are doing this. For example, you really don't want to unplug or shut of the plug circuit for your refrigerator for hours at a time unless you want to have to pay hundreds of dollars to restock it.
220 AC Single Phase
This is what is coming into most homes in California and for that matter throughout the U.S. This is three large wires that usually come from a telephone poll outside. There are two "Hot" or positive wires and one neutral wire. This usually is broken down to 220 from 1000 volts coming in on a telephone poll or underground to the house. It is broken down by a Transformer that transforms 1000 volts to 220 volts Single Phase for homes.
You might ask, "How do we get 110 Volts for most items in your home that take electricity?" The answer actually is very simple on a mechanical electrical level. Since 3 wires come into your home or apartment or other residence 220 becomes 110 by taking only one "Hot" or positive wire and one neutral wire to make the 110. So, 220 is for some washers and electric stoves and some hot tubs (Jacuzzis) and all the rest of the appliances in your house are 110 usually, with very few exceptions. Then Cell phones, computers and other things like IPads etc. have little transformers in their cords to bring the 110 AC single phase down into something like 6 to 12 volts or less so it can become a charger for those batteries on those devices.
So, mostly what people want to do themselves is to change a plug receptacle or a switch or something like that themselves. If this is all you are doing then all you really need to do is to plug a light into the plug or receptacle you want to change and have someone else flip circuit breakers at the main or sub panel until the light goes off. If it is a light switch you want to change, if you can turn the light on and then have someone watch the light and to tell you when it turns off from the breaker. Also, if you are alone you can do this as well, it just takes more time. Because when you are alone you have to try each breaker one at a time off and each time you go and look if the light or (lights) are off by yourself but this is very time consuming. Also, I would not recommend doing anything electrical by yourself simply because if you get shocked and go unconscious or something else bad happens you want to have someone there to call for help.
Another good idea is to look up what you want to do at Youtube.com and watch different installation electrical home videos there. I hope this was useful.
Here is a lady who has been an electrician for 20 years demonstrating how to change a plug. Though there are many different ways to test a plug to see if it is hot, most people have a small lamp that they can plug in and turn on to see which breaker it is to turn it off to safely change the plug.
Small bits of content which are explained in details, helps me understand the topic, thank you!
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