Electrical
Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians: Volts to Multimeter to Drawings
Learn the electrical basics a technician uses every day, from Ohm's law and three-phase power to multimeters and safe isolation.
Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians: Volts to Multimeter to Drawings is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for new maintenance technicians, apprentice electricians and PLC beginners worldwide. It has 14 modules and takes about 14.3 hours, with written notes, a practice task per module, a practical project and a final assessment of 15 questions (pass mark 60%). Learning costs nothing and needs only a free account. The optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code, is a one-off US$23.99 for you; it is not a vendor credential. Updated 1 November 2026.
- Free
- Beginner
- 14.3 hours
- Self-paced
- Certificate optional
- Lab practice in your browser
No card, no trial. The course is free for good. Certificate US$23.99, optional.
- Who it is for
- New maintenance technicians, apprentice electricians and PLC beginners worldwide
- Jobs
- Roles that use this skill: electrical design engineer, panel designer, electrical technician and maintenance engineer. No course guarantees a job.
- Tools
- None. A calculator, and a spreadsheet if you like one for the energy and cable exercises. Hardware: none required. A multimeter rated CAT III 600 V or better, a battery and a few resistors make the practice tasks more real; never use it on mains circuits until you have been trained and are supervised.
- Updated
After this course you can
By the end you will be able to:
- Solve circuits with Ohm's and Kirchhoff's laws
- Calculate power, energy and power factor
- Use a multimeter safely and choose one by its CAT rating
- Read IEC and NEMA schematics
- Follow a safe isolation procedure and find a fault logically
Who it is for, and what you need first
Who it is for
New maintenance technicians, apprentice electricians and PLC beginners worldwide.
Level: Beginner. Beginner. For new technicians, apprentice electricians, maintenance staff and PLC beginners. Arithmetic with a calculator is enough; no electrical experience is needed.
What you need
Software: None. A calculator, and a spreadsheet if you like one for the energy and cable exercises..
Hardware: None required. A multimeter rated CAT III 600 V or better, a battery and a few resistors make the practice tasks more real; never use it on mains circuits until you have been trained and are supervised.. What to download, and how.
How this course works
Watch the lessons
Short video lessons, one module at a time, at your own pace.
Read the notes
Open the Reading tab for the written notes and diagrams of the module.
Practise in the 3D labOptional
Try the module in the free 3D lab, in your browser.
Check yourself
Answer the questions to see what stuck before you move on.
Final assessment
Pass the final once you have been through the modules.
Certificate, if you want oneOptional
Optional, with a page anyone can use to verify it.
What you learn
14 modules in order, at your own pace. 14.3 hours of video lessons, with written notes and a practice task in each module.
- 1What electricity is: charge, voltage and current33m
- 2Resistance, Ohm's law, series and parallel circuits1h 6m
- 3Kirchhoff's laws and voltage dividers35m
- 4Power, energy and efficiency22m
- 5AC and DC, and single-phase supplies29m
- 6Three-phase power and power factor50m
- 7The multimeter: volts, amps, ohms, continuity and CAT ratings1h 9m
- 8Cables, fuses and circuit breakers24m
Show the other 6 modules
- 9Earthing, earth faults and RCDs43m
- 10Symbols and reading schematics: IEC and NEMA, with lab practice: 45m
- 11Relays, contactors and motors in brief, with lab practice: 55m
- 12Safe isolation: lock out, tag and prove dead, with lab practice: 18m
- 13Fault-finding walkthrough, with lab practice: 46m
- 14Final Assessment
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
Nothing to install
A calculator is enough; a spreadsheet (Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc) helps with the energy and cable exercises.
Show what to download (1 tool)
Optional
Useful, not needed to finish the course.
- 01Free
LibreOffice
The Document Foundation
- Runs on
- Windows 10 or 11, macOS 11 or newer (Intel or Apple silicon), Linux
- Account
- None needed
- Size
- up to 1.5 GB of disk space on Windows
LibreOffice is free, open-source software under the Mozilla Public License 2.0, for any use including business. Calc is its spreadsheet.
Steps
- 1.Open the LibreOffice download page.
- 2.Check the page has picked your operating system, then select Download.
- 3.Run the installer (administrator rights are needed on Windows).
- 4.Start LibreOffice Calc for spreadsheet work.
- 5.Save as .xlsx if you need to share files with Excel users.
- Choose the latest main version unless your organisation asks for the older, more conservative release.
Official download pagelibreoffice.org
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
Practise in the 3D lab
Read a single-line diagram, isolate a motor bucket the safe way and find a fault from your readings, the habits every technician needs.
- Read the single-line diagramSubstation and MCC labOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Read the single-line diagram
- Safe isolation of an MCC bucketSubstation and MCC labOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Safe isolation of an MCC bucket
- Find a fault in the MCCSubstation and MCC labOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Find a fault in the MCC
- Motor start/stop with overloadPLC lab, about 45 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Motor start/stop with overload
Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.
Course project, about 8 hours
Electrical survey of a small workshop: load list, cable check, safe isolation procedure, test record and fault report
Act as the new maintenance technician at a small packaging workshop. List its loads and currents, check each circuit's cable and protection, and write the safe isolation procedure for the conveyor. Then complete a test record after a motor change and write up a fault on the conveyor. The sample pack shows each document for a workshop of this kind.
- 5documents in the pack
- 5steps to follow
- Laboptional: in the 3D lab
- 6things to hand in
- 8 hof work, at your pace
- Load listElectrical load list: workshop distribution board DB-1
- Cable scheduleCable schedule with voltage drop and protection check: DB-1 final circuits
- ProcedureSafe isolation procedure: conveyor drive motor M1
- Test reportTest record: conveyor circuit C-02 after replacement of motor M1
- ReportFault report: conveyor M1 stopping during the shift
Do it in the lab: 4 steps.
The project is optional practice. The certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
After the course, your next step
Show what you can do, then keep going in the same field.
A certificate you can verify
Finish the modules and pass the final assessment (15 questions, pass mark 60%) and you can add a certificate with a public verification page. One-off, US$23.99 for you. It is not a vendor credential.
Want a free certificate? Do the matching Free internship: 4 weeks, nothing to buy, with a free certificate of completion.
Electrical Design
Eight short weeks of single-line diagrams, load schedules, cable sizing and protection: notes, diagrams, a few videos and self-checking design exercises. Finish weeks 1 to 4 and the final, then claim a free Internship Completion Certificate with your real dates and study hours, and a QR code anyone can scan to verify it. Training, not employment.
See the internshipPart of a learning path
Courses in a planned order, so each one builds on the last.
More free courses
Roles that use this skill
- Electrical design engineer
- Panel designer
- Electrical technician
- Maintenance engineer
These are the kinds of roles where the skill is used. We make no promise of a job or an interview.
Plain notes
- Free: the whole course, the notes, the practice tasks, the final assessment and support from practising engineers.
- Paid, and optional: the course certificate, and the Engineer-verified internship (the Free internship costs nothing).
- No job promise: the course teaches a skill. It does not place you in a job.
- Lessons by: The Engineering Mindset, Chris Guyatt, RealPars, ElectroBOOM, eFIXX, GSH Electrical. Independent creators; the lessons stream from their own channels. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, practice tasks and assessments.
The Engineering Mindset · Chris Guyatt · RealPars · ElectroBOOM · The Organic Chemistry Tutor · ALL ABOUT ELECTRONICS · Techquickie · Fluke Corporation · Electrician U · Craig Michaud- Electrical Instructor · Gaurav J - TheElectricalGuy · eFIXX · The Maintenance Factory · betechnical.ca · Safelyio · Martindale Electric · GSH Electrical. If you are one of these creators and want a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@edwartens.com.
Practise what you learn in the free 3D lab
Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.
- Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
- The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
- Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.
Why learn with EDWartens
What you get with this course, and what comes after it.
- Free from the first lesson to the final assessment.
- Practice in a free 3D lab in your browser, with nothing to install.
- Video lessons with written notes and a project.
- An optional certificate that anyone can verify online.
- Free internships to keep practising afterwards.
Common questions
Who is the Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians course for?
New maintenance technicians, apprentice electricians, PLC beginners and anyone starting work around electrical equipment. No electrical experience is needed; arithmetic with a calculator is enough.
Is this an electrician's licence or a recognised electrical qualification?
No. It teaches the fundamentals and leads to an EDWartens Certificate of Completion. It is not an electrician's licence or a regulated qualification, and it does not authorise installation work. Local wiring rules, such as BS 7671 in the UK, the NEC (NFPA 70) in the United States and IS 732 in India, and the licensing rules where you work, govern who may do real installation work and how.
Does it follow British, American or Indian practice?
The physics is the same everywhere. The notes use 230/400 V, 50 Hz values with the North American 120/240 V and 60 Hz equivalents beside them, and teach both IEC and NEMA drawing symbols, so the course is useful worldwide. Always learn the rules of the country you work in.
Do I need a multimeter or any equipment?
No. Every practice task can be done with a calculator, rating plates and drawings. A multimeter, a battery and a few resistors make the meter exercises more real; never use a meter on mains circuits until you have been trained and are supervised.
Is the Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians course really free?
Yes. Every module, the notes, the project and the final assessment. The only paid item is the certificate, if you want it.
What certificate does the Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians course give?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a number anyone can verify on our site. It is not an electrician's licence or a regulated qualification.
How long does the Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians course take?
About 14 hours of video lessons, notes and practice questions, taken at your own pace. The first module is a short, friendly start. The optional project takes about 8 hours more.
What is the project in the Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians course?
You survey a small packaging workshop as its new maintenance technician: a load list with currents, a cable and protection check with voltage drop, a safe isolation procedure for the conveyor, a test record after a motor change, and a fault report on a conveyor that keeps stopping. A complete sample pack shows each document.
What should I take next?
Industrial Motor Control, then Control Panel Design and Building, and then a PLC course such as Siemens TIA Portal.
Do I have to use the lab?
No. The lab is optional practice. You can skip it whenever you like, and it never blocks your progress, the final assessment or your certificate.
Is the lab free?
Yes. Every lab level for this course opens in your browser, free, with nothing to install.
What topics does the Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians course cover, module by module?
The Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians course has 14 modules. It opens with "What electricity is: charge, voltage and current", goes through "Resistance, Ohm's law, series and parallel circuits", "Three-phase power and power factor", "Earthing, earth faults and RCDs" and "Fault-finding walkthrough" and ends with "Final Assessment". The full list with minutes is under "What you learn" on this page.
What can I do after the Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians course?
After the Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians course: Explain voltage, current, resistance and charge, and use Ohm's law; Solve series and parallel circuits and check readings with Kirchhoff's laws; Work with AC, RMS, single-phase and three-phase supplies. These are the practical outcomes the course is written around, and the final assessment of 15 questions checks them.
What software and hardware do I need for the Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians course, and does it cost anything?
For the Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians course, software: None. A calculator, and a spreadsheet if you like one for the energy and cable exercises. Hardware: none required. A multimeter rated CAT III 600 V or better, a battery and a few resistors make the practice tasks more real; never use it on mains circuits until you have been trained and are supervised. The course itself is free.
Is the Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians course suitable for me, and what level is it?
Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians is rated beginner. Beginner. For new technicians, apprentice electricians, maintenance staff and PLC beginners. Arithmetic with a calculator is enough; no electrical experience is needed. It is written for new maintenance technicians, apprentice electricians and PLC beginners worldwide, and takes about 14.3 hours at your own pace.
Which jobs use the skills from the Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians course?
Skills from the Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians course (for example: explain voltage, current, resistance and charge, and use Ohm's law) are used in roles such as electrical design engineer, panel designer, electrical technician and maintenance engineer, and in electrical technician work. The course gives you practical evidence of the skill; it does not promise a job, and employers decide on experience and interview.
Start free today
Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians: Volts to Multimeter to Drawings, at your own pace. Add the certificate only if you want one.