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uk
HOW- TO HOW-TO UNDERSTAND
YOUR ELECTRICITY SUPPLY

F9

Before embarking upon any domestic electrical work, you should be aware of your electrical supply,
its distribution and the safety devices built into the system
This How-To guide explains the components of your electricity supply and why you need the
safety devices.

MATERIALS

• Fuse wire: 5 amp, 15 amp, 20 amp, 30 amp for rewireable fuses

• Cartridge fuses: 5 amp, 15 amp, 20 amp, 30 amp, 45 amp for consumer units
• Cartridge fuses: 3 amp, 5 amp, 13 amp for fused plugs
• Roll of PVC insulating tape

TOOLS YOU MAY NEED

• Insulated wire cutters

• Insulated screwdrivers: 3mm and 5mm flat tipped
• Nos 1 and 2 Pozidrive screwdrivers
• Insulated square-nosed pliers
• Insulated wire strippers
• Craft knife
• Torch with spare batteries

T H E W I R I N G R E G U L AT I O N S
In England and Wales, all electrical work must comply with the Institution of Electrical Engineers Wiring
Regulations. The current (16th) edition has been in force since 1991 and became the British Standard (BS7671)
in 1992. In Scotland, electrical installation is covered by the Scottish Building Regulations.

Electricity supply companies have a right to test any electrical installation. They may refuse to supply electricity,
deeming the installation unsafe, if it does not comply with the relevant regulations

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 F1 F2

HOW ELECTRICITY WORKS

Electricity must pass, via a line or live cable, through a circuit. Only when a circuit is completed can the current
flow and produce energy. In (F1), when the switch is closed, the circuit is completed and the bulb will light.

All domestic electrical supplies rely on circuits. The final stage of these circuits is that the current is returned to
'earth' (see above) via the neutral conductor at the local transformer or power station (F2).

H O U S E H O L D E L E C T R I C I T Y S U P P LY
Power is supplied to households via underground or overhead cables. The supply is standardised at 230 volts.
There is a permitted tolerance of +10% to - 6%. This will not affect the operation of your house wiring or any
appliances connected to it.

The rate at which the current is supplied will be marked on the company fuse (part of the sealed electrical
service head) found just after the supply cable enters the premises (F3, 4 and 5).

The job of the company fuse is to protect the supply cable. If the property demands more electrical current than
the cable can supply, the fuse will blow (break) to prevent the cable from overheating. Modern dwellings will have
either an 80 amp or 100 amp intake supply. Most electricity suppliers consider this adequate for normal house-
hold requirements, including a standard-size electric cooker and one shower. Older properties may only have
a 60 amp supply. In some areas, the supply might be inadequate. When you turn on a heavy load (such as a
cooker or a shower), if the light flickers, you might have a problem. Consult an electrician or your local electricity
supply company.

From the company fuse or service fuse head, run two heavy single-core cables, one red sheathed (live or line)
and one black (neutral) to the electricity meter (F3, 4 and 5).
Some homes are wired to make use of cheap night-tariff electricity, mainly to run storage and water heaters. In
this case, there will be a dual-rate meter controlled by a time switch. This allows the meter to record electricity
consumption at different rates for pre-set times.

The equipment, up to and including the meter, is the property of the electrical supply company. All the equipment
is sealed and it is an offence to tamper with it.

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 F3

F4

From the meter, two or more single-core cables (meter tails) run to the consumer unit, often called a fuse
board (F3 and F4). This contains the main isolating switch, as well as safety devices serving the various
household electrical circuits. Note: in F3 and F4, most cables and terminations are omitted for clarity.

If a dual- or cheap-rate meter has been installed, there will be a second consumer unit. Often the two consumer
units are combined.

NOTE
Older properties often have several small fuse units controlled by a separate fused main switch. This is a good
indication that the whole wiring system needs replacing.

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 F5

EARTHING
Earthing is an important safety measure. It not only protects the installation and appliances, but also reduces the
likelihood of electric shocks.

If, for example, a fault occurs in an appliance, the current will flow along the earth conductor rather than through
the higher resistance of the person in contact with the appliance. The circuit made between the live conductor
and earth will cause a fuse to blow or the circuit breaker to trip (turn off).

Modern systems are earthed to the supply cables' neutral conductor via a block connected to the electrical serv-
ice head (F3). From this point a green and yellow sheathed single-core cable connects into the consumer unit
earth strip. This is called the primary earth bond. Older houses make use of the metal protective sheath on the
mains supply cable (F4).

Properties in rural areas with an overhead power supply rarely have an earth connection via the overhead supply.
Instead, the primary earth bond is connected to a metal rod (earth electrode) driven into the ground. The system
is usually protected by a sensitive safety device on the electrical supply. Called a residual current device (RCD),
this protects all the circuits. Most commonly, it is rated at 30 milliamps (F5).

NOTE
It was once common practice to use the mains water pipe or gas pipe as the earth terminal, but these pipes are
now largely plastic and are incapable of conducting electricity, so this practice is no longer allowed.

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 F6 F7

CIRCUIT EARTHING
All the circuits (cables) supplying lighting, power sockets, oven, shower and so on incorporate an earth
continuity conductor (F6). This connects all the equipment, such as power sockets or switches, to the
earth terminal in the consumer unit. F7 shows the earth conductor in a typical domestic distribution cable.

Most appliances, whether fixed or portable, need to be earthed. This protects the user should the appliance
become faulty, either due to wear or misuse.

The exceptions to this are for appliances supplied with a twin core flex and which carry the ‘?’ symbol or the
words 'double insulated'. Plastic light fittings and bulb holders also only require twin core (live and neutral) flexes.

MAIN BONDING CONDUCTORS

Further safety requirements need earth bonding between the main earthing terminal and the metal pipe-work of
the gas and water service pipes (F3, F4 and F5).

Pipe-work to electric showers must be bonded using 10mm2 cable. Green and yellow sheathed 10mm earth
bonding cable is clamped to the rising main water inlet pipe, as close as possible to its point of entry. If the rising
main is plastic, the connection must be made immediately after the stop valve and before any junctions.

Bonding to the gas supply must be made within 600mm of the meter on the consumer's side.

In older properties, waste pipes were made of lead, copper or iron, while soil pipes were iron. All these should be
connected to the main earth terminal using 10mm2 bonding cable.

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 F8 F9

S U P P L E M E N TA R Y B O N D I N G
Any metalwork or pipe-work that, through a fault, may possibly come into contact with the wiring system must be
supplementary bonded in case it should become live. This includes metal kitchen sinks, all pipe-work in
kitchens and bathrooms, metal baths and central heating pipe-work (F8).

Supplementary bonding cables should be 6mm2. All bonding cables are attached using special clamps (F4) and a
plate saying 'ELECTRICAL CONNECTION, DO NOT REMOVE'.

THE CONSUMER UNIT

The consumer unit, formerly know as the fuse board, is the main distribution point for electrical circuits through-
out the premises. It contains the main control switch and one or more of a range of devices to protect people
and the distribution circuits from electric shock and fire caused by electrical faults.

Fire may be caused if a circuit becomes overloaded, when it is asked to supply more current than its designed
capacity. This causes the cables to overheat, with subsequent breakdown of the insulation resulting in fire. A
second cause of fire is when a short circuit occurs, allowing one live conductor to come into contact either with
a metal body or another live conductor, causing sparks.

Electric shock occurs when a person comes into contact with a live part of the system. The bigger the current
(amperage) is, the greater the risk of injury or death.

Fuses and circuit breakers are weak links in a circuit. They are designed to blow or trip at about the maximum
designed loading of the circuit, when there is an electrical fault or the circuit becomes overloaded. It is therefore
essential that all circuits and appliances are protected by the correctly-rated fuse or circuit breaker.

Older consumer units will be fitted with either rewireable semi-enclosed fuse carriers or enclosed cartridge fuse
carriers (F9).

Modern consumer units are fitted with miniature circuit breakers (MCBs) (F9). These are more sensitive than the
older fuses and give greater protection. MCBs trip when a fault occurs. Once the fault is found and rectified, the
flip of a switch or the press of a button on the MCB reinstates the circuit.

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 F10

These safety devices give reasonable protection from shock, providing the earth continuity conductors are
adequate. The best protection against shock is via a residual current device (RCD) (F3 and F4). These can
protect all or part of the system and trip in a fraction of a second as soon as an earth fault current is detected.
They won't stop the shock, but they will stop someone from getting badly injured or killed.

Old fuse board consumer units will be fitted with a simple double-pole (both live and neutral) switch (F5).

Modern consumer units are controlled by an RCD with a rating of 80 amp or 100 amp and covering the whole
house (F4). Both will trip at 100 milliamps.

The drawback of this system is that if there is a fault in, say, the ring power current that causes the RCD to trip,
all the power in the house fails, including the lighting. This problem can be overcome by having a split-load
consumer unit. In this system, you can have a simple two-pole isolating switch for the whole house, plus
lighting circuit MCBs.

The most vulnerable circuits - power, cooker, shower and immersion heater - are protected by an RCD and
MCBs.

A better, but more expensive installation would have two RCDs. One is to act as a main isolating switch, with
100 milliamp sensitivity to protect the whole house, and the other with 30 milliamp sensitivity to protect the more
vulnerable circuits (F10). In this case, to prevent the isolating RCD tripping at the same time as the split load
RCD trips, a time-delay switch is incorporated into the main 100 milliamp RCD. F10 shows the cable terminta-
tions inside a typical modern domestic consumer board.

The use of RCDs is expensive, but discretionary. However, to meet the IEE Regulation requirements, an RCD
should be used to protect a circuit where the fuse or MCB may not break or trip, such as with an electric shower.
Also, any circuit feeding sockets likely to be used with any electrical equipment outside the house should be
served by an RCD.

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Fuse and MCB ratings and cable sizes for domestic dwellings

Fuse MCB Cable size

Fixed lighting circuits 5amp 6amp 1mm2 or, if very long, 1.5mm2
Smoke alarm circuits
5amp 6amp 1mm2
Ring power circuits
30amp 32amp 2.5mm2
Modern radial power circuits
Control unit for cooker up to 20amp 22amp 2.5mm2 for floor area up to 50m2
12kw rating
Immersion heater 30amp 32amp 4.0mm2 for floor area up to 75m2
Shower* 30amp 32amp 6.0mm2
Garages/Greenhouses** 15amp 16amp 2.5mm2
Garages/Greenhouses** 20amp 22amp 2.5mm2

* see How-To: Replace an Electric Shower

** both of these must be via an RCD in a consumer unit in an out-building

P L U G F U S E S F O R P O R TA B L E A P P L I A N C E S
Appliances up to 700 Watts take a red 3 amp fuse, while appliances between 700 and 3000 watts (3 kilowatts)
take a brown 13 amp fuse. Some television sets require a grey 5 amp fuse.

amps (a) = watts (w) divided by volts (v). For example, 1000w / 230v = 4.348a
watts = volts (v) x amps (a). For example: 230v x 10a = 2300w
1000 watts = 1 kilowatt

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