How to Wire a Tool Shed

Familiarize yourself with all of the necessary background information. This is no small task that will be undertaken; you will be connecting your tool shed to household voltages, which, no matter the source, will be potentially lethal if a mistake is made. Make sure that you will not only perform a mistake-free job, but that you also will be compliant under your homeowner's association, municipal, city, state and federal ordinances when it comes to performing the remodeling. If necessary, hire a contractor to do this task or consult one to be sure that you are doing a proper job.
You should also consult your utility provider if you intend to connect your shed to your home's power line.

Determine your power needs, current and future. Before you can wire your shed, you need to know what your power requirements are. This will involve taking note of the power draw and current draw of every electrical device you will use. The more current that a device will draw, the thicker the wires that are needed. After you have a complete list, take the largest current draw and multiply that by 10. You should buy wire that is thick enough to be capable of handling that level of current. The factor of 10 takes into consideration the potential for many devices plugged into a single outlet, as well as current spikes.
You should also use this consideration in determining the size power breaker and the individual circuit breakers you will use. If, for example, you will be using a band saw, air conditioning and table saw, it would be beneficial for each to have its own circuit breaker, rated for around one and a half to two times their rated current draw. Do not go too much higher, as the purpose of a circuit breaker is to limit the current in the case of a short.

Lay out the locations of each outlet and device before doing any work. This will give you an opportunity to position the power breaker in a location that will minimize the amount of wire you will need to use. You should also determine the paths that the wire will take, giving preference to feeding the wires through as few holes in the supporting framework as possible.
It is also highly recommended that your plan be discussed with a professional in the field of electrical wiring. A pro will not only have the knowledge and experience that comes with making this work his life calling, but he will also be up to date on laws and regulations. It is worth the cost of consultation rather than having to spend the money to repair or redo work later.

Begin installation after the plan is complete. It is best to start with the power breaker and feed the wires to their respective destinations. Using tape to label the two ends of each wire will help to avoid confusion. You should also bundle wires in their respective triples of green, white and black, which represent ground neutral and hot wires, respectively.
When you install switches, outlets, lighting fixtures and such, practice careful and precise craftsmanship in stripping and installing the wires. A mistake may make an exposed screw electrically lethal, cause a short that can start a fire or some other accident which at best will cost you only money.

Test the continuity of all of the circuits. this is typically done with a continuity tester. This will ensure that your circuit breakers are connected to their proper outlets and will act as a safety check before connecting your shed to mains power.

Connect your shed to an external power source. If you are intending to connect your shed to your main power line, you will have consulted your utility provider and it will have either provided installation instruction or will send someone who will connect the power to the shed.
An alternative is to use renewable sources of energy such as solar panels or windmills. Should your property be able to support such devices, install them following their manufacturer's instructions, and be sure that they will provide enough power to support your needs. Using these sources of power will also necessitate the use of a transformer in order to convert the voltage into the voltage you will need. It is a matter of connecting all of the components together in a proper manner.