ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

DESIGN
MOD 1

SAFETY ASPECTS OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM DESIGN

1. Proper function of an electrical system is to be safely

assured for the use intended by the designer
2. Provide safety to persons, live stocks and property against
dangers that may arise in the use of electrical installations.
Every electrical installation exposes two major types of risks
to the end user. The first one is an electric shock and the
second one is very high temperature due to sparking and
likely to cause burns, fire etc..
Therefore the system designer has to incorporate adequate
protection measures in the system to provide the following.
Protection against direct contact
Protection against indirect contact
Protection against thermal effects
Protection against over currents
Protection against fault currents
Protection against over/under voltage

Protection against direct contact:

The primary aim of this type of

protection is to prevent persons and
live stock coming in to contact with
the live parts of the installation. This
can be achieved by preventing a
current from passing through the
body of any person or live stock or by
limiting the magnitude of the current
which pass through the body to a
value lower than the perceptible
shock limit.

Protection against indirect contact:

In this case a person and live stock are

protected against the possible
dangers from a contact with the
exposed conductive parts of the
electrical installation. The protection
against indirect contact can be
achieved by providing an automatic
disconnection of the supply on the
occurrence of a fault along with
protections provided above.

Protection against thermal effects:

The electrical installation must be so

designed that there is no risk of
ignition of flammable materials due
to the high temperature of the
conductive parts or due to an electric
arc.

Protection against over currents:

Over loading and thereby an over

current cannot be eliminated from an
electrical system. However, persons
and live stock has to be protected
from the harmful effects of over
currents by limiting the maximum
value of the over current to a safe
value and duration, in addition to
automatic disconnection of the
supply on the occurrence of an over
current before it reaches a dangerous
value.

Protection against fault currents:

Faults are likely events in an electrical
power system and therefore
adequate measures shall be taken to
see that all conducting parts other
than live conductors shall be capable
of carrying the fault currents without
causing excessive temperature.

Protection against over/under voltage:

There are several instances when the

system experiences an over voltage.
Lightning, switching or faults
between live parts etc., can cause
over voltage in the system There
shall be measures incorporated in
the design to protect persons from
the harmful effects of over voltage.

EARTHING

Earthing means connecting the neutral

point of the supply system or the non
current carrying parts of the
electrical apparatus to the general
mass of the earth. This is to keep
them at zero potential at all time,
avoiding any possible shock. Earthing
is provided to contain any conductor
in the system within the designed
insulation level, to avoid electrical
shock and to prevent fire risk due to
currents in an unwanted path.

-contd-

If the exposed metallic part of an

electrical installation come in contact
with any internal live parts due to the
failure of insulation or otherwise, a
person touching the body gets a
severe shock. But if the body is
properly earthed, such a situation
will bring in a heavy current to the
earth, which will blow off the fuse or
trip the MCB of the circuit concerned
and provides safety.

-contd-

Distance of earth from building: The

earthing electrode shall not be situated
within a distance of 1.5 M from the building
whose installation is to be protected.
Size of earth continuity conductor: The
conductor used to connect the metallic
body to the earth is called the earth
continuity conductor. Earth continuity can
be ensured by metal conduit, metal
sheathing of the cable or a dedicated earth
continuity conductor. The size of ECC should
not be less than half the size of the phase
conductor with a minimum of 14SWG.

-contd-

Resistance of earth: Earth resistance

should be as low as possible to cause
flow of fault current to operate the
protective device or blow fuse. Earth
resistance varies with weather. The
maximum values are, 0.5 for large
power stations, 1.0 for major
stations, 2.0 for small substations.
In all other cases it is 5. Resistance
of the ECC, ie the resistance from the
earth electrode to any earthed part
in the installation 1 .

-contd-

The earth wire and the earth

electrode should be of the same
material.
The earth wire should be protected
against mechanical damage for a
minimum of 30 cm above and below
ground level with GI pipe.
All the earth wires run along the sub
circuits to be terminated at the main
distribution board. Earth electrode is
connected to this point.
The earth electrode should always be

-contd-

Fabricated steel transmission line

towers, tubular steel or rail poles
carrying overhead conductors should
be earthed. A continuous earth wire
is provided for this purpose and it is
connected to earth at every 400m.
Further, the metallic line supports are
to be independently earthed.
Stay wires for overhead lines should
be earthed by connecting at least
one strand to the earth wire.

TYPES OF SYSTEM EARTHINGS

Wiring regulations use a series of letter
designations to precisely define the
relationships between the source of supply
(usually the secondary of the distribution
transformer) including the neutral, the
exposed conductive parts and the earth.
The first letter denotes the earthing
arrangements of the source of energy. They
are:
T = (terra) Direct connection to one or more
points to earth
I = (isolation) All active parts isolated from
earth or one point connected to earth
through an impedance.

-contd-

The second letter denotes the relationship of

the exposed conductive parts of the
installation to earth. These letters are,
T- direct electrical connection of the exposed
conductive parts to earth independently of
the earthing of any point of the source of
energy.
N- direct electrical connection of the exposed
conductive parts to earth point of the
source of energy, which for ac system, is
the neutral point of the supply transformer.
The remaining letters describe the
arrangement of neutral conductor and the
positive conductor.

-contd-

S- conductor which is separated from

the neutral or earthed conductor.
(in DC system this is the +ve or ve
earthed conductor).
C- neutral conductor and protective
function combined in a single
conductor(PEN conductor)
PE-protective earth conductor & Nneutral conductor.
The main dist. Systems are (1) TT
system, (2) TN system, (3) IT
system

TT system of earthing

In TT system of earthing, one point of

the source is directly earthed and the
exposed conductive parts of the
installation are connected to the earth
which is electrically independent of the
earth electrode of the power source. All
exposed conductive parts collectively
protected by the same protective device
shall be connected, together with the
protective conductor to an earth
electrode common to all those parts.
The neutral points or if it does not exist,
a phase conductor equipment shall be

TN system of earthing
TN system of earthing requires providing of
earth electrodes at regular intervals throughout
the installation. The effectiveness of protective
devices should be analyzed at the design stage
and should be confirmed by mandatory
measurements to confirm the effectiveness.
The TN-C system
The TN-C system may appear to be less
expensive because of the absence of as
separate protective conductor. The TN-S can
be used even with flexible conductors. They
also provide a clean PE conductor because of
the separation of neutral & PE conductor. They
are ideal for computer systems &similar loads.

IT System of earthing
IT System of earthing offers the best
continuity of service during operation. The
insulation monitoring devices provide
indication of the first insulation failure and
is followed by mandatory locating and
clearing. This ensures systematic
prevention of supply outages.
This system is generally suitable for
installation with private transformers and
with high levels of insulation in the network.
IT systems are usually applied in hospitals,
ships, rail vehicles, because they provide
higher operational safety and advance
information about a possible failure.

TYPES OF EARTHING
Usual methods of earthing are Strip or wire earthing,
Rod earthing, Pipe earthing, & Plate earthing.
Strip or wire earthing. In strip earthing, copper
strip of a minimum of 25 mm x 1.6 mm or
galvanized iron strip of 25 mm x 4 mm is laid
horizontally in trenches with a minimum depth of
500 mm. If circular conductors are used, then
minimum size is 3 mm2 for copper and 6 mm2 for GI
wire. The length of the wire or strip used should be
sufficient to provide the required value for earth
resistance. It shall however be not less than fifteen
meters. The trenches can be distributed over a
larger area in a circular fashion or several radial
trenches around the main earth pit. This type of
earthing is preferred in rocky areas where deep
excavation for earth pit is difficult.

Rod earthing
In this system of earthing, solid copper rods 12 mm
dia. are driven vertically down in to the soil and
the main earth lead is connected to the top end
of the rod. Resistance values can be improved by
adding more rods screwing one above the other
and driving successively. Copper clad iron rods
are also used which are economical as well as
efficient in harder soil conditions. Situations may
arise when one such earth pit is insufficient to
provide the required resistance. More earth rods
are then driven in nearby locations conveniently;
keeping the distance between them is more than
their length. These rods are connected by direct
buried bare conductors for improved resistance
values.

Pipe earthing
Pipe earthing or Plate earthing is preferred when the
expected earth current is larger and the protection required
in more precise. Pipe earthing is the best way of earthing
and it is cheaper. In this method, a cast iron pipe 100 mm
dia,2.5 M long or a galvanized and perforated iron pipe is
installed vertically in permanently wet ground. The standard
size of the GI pipe is usually 38 mm or 50 mm in dia. and
2.5 M in length. The earth pit is filled with alternate layers of
salt and coke for a minimum diameter of 400mm. to provide
an efficient and moist interface between the pipe and the
soil. A funnel is fixed on the top of the pipe to facilitate
watering at regular intervals. The pipe head is provided with
a terminal clamp welded to the pipe which accommodates
the system earth leads. The terminal clamp and funnel are
protected by a concrete block with a concrete cover.
Improvement of earth resistance using parallel earthings is
done similar to the rod earthing keeping a minimum of 2
meter between them.

Plate earthing
The figure shows a plate earthing using a cast
iron plate. The plate is of the size
1200x1200x12 mm which is covered with a
minimum thickness of 150 mm of charcoal and
salt mixture on both sides. Earth plates are
always installed with its face vertical with one or
two leads of copper strips leading to the earth
pit vertically above the plate. The earth pit is a
concrete block with provisions for a funnel for
watering in to the earth electrode and entry of
earth leads from the system earth point. All
under ground bolted connections are punched
to avoid loose contacts and covered with
bituminous compound. The electrical
connections in the earth pit are firmly braced.

-contd Copper plates (1200x1200x3.15 mm) or

Galvanized iron plates 1200x1200x6.30 mm
are also used for earthing according to the
site requirements. Improvement of earth
resistance using parallel earthings is done
similar to the other form of earthings keeping
a minimum of 2 metre between them.
Earthing for Domestic Installations.
Earthing for domestic installations is to be
carried out as specified in IS 3043. One pipe
earthing for single phase and two pipe
earthings for three phase service connection
is mandatory. A detailed earthing design is
not necessary for domestic buildings.

NEUTRAL AND EARTH WIRES

Neutral Wire
Distribution transformer which
receives power at 11kV is fed
through its delta connected primary.
The secondary winding is star
connected and the output is star
connected for 230/400 V three phase
four wire system. All the four
conductors, three phases and the
neutral, are run on insulators all
along the LT feeder, though the
neutral of the transformer is directly
earthed.

Earth wire

In addition to the four wires, ie, R, Y, B,

and Neutral, a fifth wire is also taken
along with the feeder, called earth
wire and it is denoted by E. The earth
wire originates from a solidly earthed
point at the transformer station as
stipulated by IE rule 33 that the
consumer is entitled to have an earth
terminal, provided by the supplier at
his premises. The earth conductor so
provided is not insulated from the
cross arm and poles. The earth
conductor is provided for protection

Difference between Neutral & Earth wires

1. The neutral wire is connected to the

neutral point of the transformer which is
directly earthed at the transformer station
only. The earth wire originates from a
solidly earthed point at the transformer
station and is earthed at not less than four
equally spaced points during every 1.6 KM
run of the distribution line.
2. The neutral wire carries the same
current in single phase loads till it is
counteracted by the neutral currents on
other single phase loads. In three phase
loads, it carries the current due to any
unbalance in that load.

-contd-

The earth wire under normal

conditions carries no current. Once
there is an earth fault, it carries
heavy current which will attribute to
operation of fuse of the faulty phase
or activate the protective relays in
the system.
3. Sometimes when the neutral wire
is not available or if it is broken, one
is tempted to connect a single phase
load between a phase wire and the
earth wire. This practice can be
dangerous because by doing so the

FUSES
Fuses are the simplest form of
protective element in an electrical
system. Fuses break a circuit by
controlled melting of the fuse
element when the current exceeds a
given value for a corresponding
period of time. Each type of fuse has
a current time relationship presented
in the form of a performance
characteristic.

SWITCH & FUSE COMBINATIONS

There are two basic types of combination of switch

and fuse. In one case a non-automatic switch is
associated with a set of fuse in a common
enclosure. Such a combination can be either a
switch-fuse or a fuse-switch unit. A switch-fuse
unit generally consists of a switch with double
break per pole on the upstream side of the fixed
fuse base. The fuse carriers are inserted into the
fixed fuse base. A fuse switch consists of switch
blades for each pole with a double break per
pole. The switch blades carry the fuse unit and
when the switch unit is in the OFF position, the
switch blade carrying the fuse are isolated from
the upstream as well as the downstream
connections.

LOAD BREAK SWITCHES

The load break switch is functionally identical to
isolators and is designed to operate manually.
Sometimes it is provided with electrically
operated tripping mechanism for the convenience
of operation. It is again a non automatic ON-OFF
switching device. The basic difference is that load
break switches are designed for operation on
loaded circuits, under normal operating
conditions. Load break switches do not provide
any form of protection to the circuit or the
equipment. The basic specifications (IEC-60947-3)
include:
600 open/close operations/hour
Mechanical and electrical endurance capacity
Making and breaking current ratings for normal
and infrequent operations

CONTACTORS
A contactor is a solenoid operated switch which is held
closed by a current through a solenoid. Contactors
are designed to carry out numerous open/close
operations are commonly controlled locally or
remotely by ON OFF push buttons. The basic
properties of contactors as per IEC 60947-4-1 are:
1 the operating duration( eg 8 hrs, uninterrupted,
intermittent, temporary of 3,10, 30, 60 and 90
minutes)
2 Utilization category; (eg. AC3 for starting and
stopping of induction motors)
3 Start stop cycle: (eg. 1 to1200 cycles per hour)
4 Mechanical endurance: number of offload operations.
5 Electrical endurance: number of on load operations.
6 Rated making and breaking operations

CIRCUIT BREAKERS

Circuit breaker is the only switchgear component

capable of simultaneously satisfying all the basic
functions necessary in all electrical installations.
It can also provide by means of auxiliary units a
wide range of functions such as indications
(ON/OFF/TRIPPED), under voltage tripping,
remote operations, diagnosis, communication,
monitoring etc. The functions performed by a
circuit breaker can be summarized as follows.
Isolation
Control (functional, emergency switching,
switching for maintenance)
Protection (overload, short circuit, insulation
failure, under voltage, residual current)

-contd

The important basic parameters of a circuit breaker are:

Rated operational voltage: this is the voltage at which the
circuit breaker is designed to operate under normal conditions.
Rated current: this is the maximum value of current that a
circuit breaker can carry indefinitely under ambient conditions
as stated by the manufacturer without exceeding the specified
temperature limits on the current carrying parts.
Overload trip current setting: this trip current setting of the
CB is the current above which the CB will trip. It also represent
the maximum current the CB can carry safely.
Short circuit trip current setting: this trip current setting of
the CB is specified by IEC 60898, IEC 60947-2 etc. for domestic
CBs, the standard setting is 5 to 10 times the rated current.
Rated short circuit breaking capacity: it is the highest
prospector value of current the CB is capable of breaking
without being damaged.
Other important specifications of the breaker are, rated
insulation voltage, rated impulse withstand voltage,
rated making capacity etc.

AIR CIRCUIT BREAKER

Air Circuit Breaker

This type of circuit breaker operates in air at
atmospheric pressure. The working is rather
different from those in any other types of circuit
breakers. The main aim of all kinds of circuit
breakers is to prevent the reestablishment of
arcing after current zero by creating a situation
where in the contact gap will withstand the
system recovery voltage. The air circuit
breaker does the same but in different manner.
For interrupting arc it creates an arc voltage in
excess of the supply voltage. Arc voltage is
defined as the minimum voltage required
maintaining the arc. This circuit breaker
increases the arc voltage by mainly three
different ways,

-contdIt may increase the arc voltage by cooling the arc

plasma. As the temperature of arc plasma is
decreased, the mobility of the particle in arc
plasma is reduced; hence more voltage gradient
is required to maintain the arc.
It may increase the arc voltage by lengthening
the arc path. As the length of arc path is
increased, the resistance of the path is
increased, and hence to maintain the same arc
current more voltage is required to be applied
across the arc path. That means arc voltage is
increased.
Splitting up the arc into a number of series arcs
also increases the arc voltage.
There is mainly two types of ACBs 1) Plain air
circuit breaker 2) Air Blast Circuit Breaker.

Operation of ACB

The first objective is usually achieved by

forcing the arc into contact with as large an
area as possible of insulating material. Every
air circuit breaker is fitted with a chamber
surrounding the contact. This chamber is
called 'arc chute'. The arc is driven into it. If
inside of the arc chute is suitably shaped, and
if the arc can be made conform to the shape,
the arc chute wall will help to achieve cooling.
This type of arc chute should be made from
some kind of refractory material. High
temperature plastics reinforced with glass
fiber and ceramics are preferable materials
for making arc chute.

-contdThe second objective, the lengthening of the arc path

is achieved concurrently with the first objective. If
the inner wall of the arc chute is shaped in such a
way that the arc is not only forced in to close
proximity with it but also driven in to a serpentine
channel provided in the arc chute wall. Lengthening
of the arc path increases the arc resistance.
The third technique is achieved by using metal arc
slitter inside the arc chute. The main arc chute is
divided in to number of small compartments bu
using these metallic separation plates. They are
actually arc splitters and each of the small
compartments will behave like a mini arc chute.
The individual split arc voltage becomes high. The
overall arc voltage is made much higher than the
system voltage.

Oil Circuit Breaker

Mineral oil has better insulating property than
air. In oil circuit breaker the fixed contact
and moving contact are immerged inside the
insulating oil. Whenever there is a separation
of current carrying contacts in the oil, the arc is
initialized at the moment of separation of
contacts, and due to this arc the oil is
vaporized and decomposed in mostly hydrogen
gas and ultimately creates a hydrogen bubble
around the arc. This highly compressed gas
bubble around the arc prevents re-striking of
the arc after current reaches zero crossing of
the cycle. The Oil Circuit Breaker is the one
of the oldest type of circuit breakers.

-contdWhen the current carrying contacts in the oil are

separated an arc is established in between the
separated contacts.
Actually, when separation of contacts has just
started, distance between the current contacts is
small as a result the voltage gradient between
contacts becomes high. This high voltage
gradient between the contacts ionized the oil
and consequently initiates arcing between the
contacts. This arc will produce a large amount of
heat in surrounding oil and vaporizes the oil and
decomposes the oil in mostly hydrogen and a
small amount of methane, ethylene and
acetylene. The hydrogen gas cannot remain in
molecular form and is broken into its atomic
form releasing lot of heat.

-contd The arc temperature may reach up to 5000 oK. Due

to this high temperature the gas is liberated very
rapidly and forms an excessively fast growing gas
bubble around the arc. If this growing gas bubble
around the arc is compressed by any means then
rate of de ionization process of ionized gaseous
media in between the contacts will accelerate
which rapidly increase the dielectric strength
between the contacts and consequently the arc
will be quenched at zero crossing of the current
cycle. This is the basic operation of oil circuit
breaker. In addition to that cooling effect of
hydrogen gas surround the arc path also helps,
the quick arc quenching in oil circuit breaker.

There are mainly two types of oil circuit breakers

Bulk Oil Circuit Breaker or BOCB and

Minimum Oil Circuit Breaker or MOCB
In BOCB oil is used as arc
quenching media as well as
insulating media between current
carrying contacts and earthed parts
of the breaker. The oil used here is
same as transformer insulating oil. In
MOCB, oil is available only in the
interrupting chamber which reduces
the requirement of oil.

Vacuum Circuit Breaker

Vacuum Circuit Breaker

A vacuum circuit breaker is such kind of circuit

breaker where the arc quenching takes place in
vacuum. The technology is suitable for mainly
medium voltage application. For higher voltage
Vacuum technology has been developed but not
commercially viable. The operation of opening
and closing of current carrying contacts and
associated arc interruption take place in a
vacuum chamber in the breaker which is called
vacuum interrupter. The vacuum interrupter
consists of a steel arc chamber in the centre
symmetrically arranged ceramic insulators. The
vacuum pressure inside a vacuum interrupter is
normally maintained at 10 - 6 bar.

-contd-

The material used for current carrying

contacts plays an important role in
the performance of the vacuum
circuit breaker. CuCr is the most
ideal material to make VCB contacts.
The vacuum circuit breaker is
today recognized as most reliable
current interruption technology for
medium voltage system. It requires
minimum maintenance compared to
other circuit breaker technologies.

Advantages of VCB

Service life of Vacuum Circuit Breaker

is much longer than other types of
circuit breakers. There is no chance
of fire hazard as oil circuit breaker. It
is much environment friendly than
SF6 Circuit breaker. Besides the VCB
is much user friendly. Replacement of
Vacuum Interrupter is much
convenient.

Operation of Vacuum Circuit Breaker

The main aim of any circuit breaker is to quench arc

during current zero crossing, by establishing high
dielectric strength in between the contacts so that
reestablishment of arc after current zero becomes
impossible. The dielectric strength of vacuum is
eight times greater than that of air and four times
greater than that of SF6 gas. This high dielectric
strength makes it possible to quench a vacuum arc
within very small contact gap. For short contact
gap, low contact mass and no compression of
medium the drive energy required in vacuum
circuit breaker is minimum. When two face to face
contact areas are just being separated to each
other, they do not be separated instantly, contact
area on the contact face is being reduced and
ultimately comes to a point and then they are
finally de-touched.

-contdAlthough this happens in a fraction of micro second but it

is the fact. At this instant of de-touching of contacts in a
vacuum, the current through the contacts concentrated
on that last contact point on the contact surface and
makes a hot spot. As it is vacuum, the metal on the
contact surface is easily vaporized due to that hot spot
and create a conducting media for arc path. Then the
arc will be initiated and continued until the next current
zero. At current zero this vacuum arc is extinguished
and the conducting metal vapour is re-condensed on
the contact surface. At this point, the contacts are
already separated hence there is no question of revaporization of contact surface, for next cycle of
current. That means, the arc cannot be reestablished
again. In this way vacuum circuit breaker prevents the
reestablishment of arc by producing high dielectric
strength in the contact gap after current zero.

MINIATURE CIRCUIT BREAKERS (MCBs)

Nowadays, Miniature Circuit

Breaker or MCB are preferred in low
voltage electrical network instead of
fuse. The MCB has some advantages
compared to fuse.
1. It automatically switches off the
electrical circuit during abnormal
condition of the network means in
over load condition as well as faulty
condition. The fuse does sense but
Miniature Circuit Breaker does it
in a more reliable way. MCB is much

-contd2. Another advantage is, as the switch operating knob

comes at its off/trip position during tripping, the
faulty zone of the electrical circuit can easily be
identified. In case of fuse, fuse wire should be
checked by removing cutout from fuse base, for
confirming the blow of fuse wire. We therefore
interrupt other circuits inadvertently.
3. Quick restoration of supply is not possible in case
of fuse because fuses have to be rewired or
replaced for restoring the supply. But in the case of
MCB, quick restoration is possible by just switching
on operation(should there is no persisting fault).
4. Handling MCB is more electrically safe than fuse.
Only one disadvantage of MCB over fuse is that this
system is costlier than fuse unit system.

MCB

MOULDED CASE CIRCUIT BREAKERS

MCBs are with optimum protection facilities of

over current only. These are manufactured
for fault level of up to 10KA only with
operating current range of 0.5 to 63 Amps.
These are used for smaller loads -electronic
circuits, house wiring etc.
MCCBs are with protection facilities of over
current & earth fault. It has a variable range
of 50% to 100% operating current. They can
be wired for remote as well as local
operation. They are manufactured for fault
levels of 16KA to 50KA and operating
current range of 25A to 1600Amps.They are
used for larger power requirements.

Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker

ELCB (Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker)Characteristics
Phase (line) and Neutral connected through ELCB.
Working of ELCB is based on Earth leakage current.
Operating Time of ELCB:
The safest limit of Current which Human Body can withstand is
30ma sec.
Suppose Human Body Resistance is 500 and Voltage to ground
is 230 Volt.
The Body current will be 500/230 =460mA.
Hence ELCB must be operated in 30maSec/460mA = 0.65msec.
Earth leakage circuit breakers are of two types, the
current operated or voltage operated ones. Voltage
operated ELCBs are rarely used. Current operated
devices works on the detection of residual current in
the circuit.
They are therefore called
RCCBs

Residual Current Device

.

-contd-

both Phase (line) and Neutral wires are connected

through RCD.
The amount of current flows through the phase (line)
should return through neutral.
It trips the circuit when there is earth fault current.
It sense any mismatch between two currents flowing
through phase and neutral, detected by RCD, trips the
circuit within 30 milliseconds.
RCDs are extremely effective forms of shock protection
The most widely used are 30 mA and 100 mA devices.
A current flow of 30 mA is sufficiently small that it is
very difficult to receive a shock. Even 100 mA is a
relatively small figure for a human body to sense a
severe shock. A 300/500 mA RCCB device may be
used where only fire protection is required where the
risk of electric shock is small.

SERVICE CONNECTION
The electric supply authority provides electricity
to the consumer at a convenient location on
the outside wall of the house. The supply
authority will have an energy meter and a cut
out as a part of their outlet. The line bringing
electric power from the suppliers distribution
system up to the energy meter installed at the
consumers premises is called the service
connection. Service connection may be by
means of overhead bare conductors, insulated
cables called weather proof wires or by
underground cables. The consumer has to
arrange his own main switch, a distribution
box and necessary wiring in the house as
stipulated by the regulations in force.

-contd-

Service connection to domestic

consumers is effected in single phase
or three phase depending on the load
requirements as LT supply
(230/400V). Large consumers like
flats and housing complexes may be
fed at 11kV. Industrial consumers are
fed with any voltage likewise from
230V to 110kV or higher according to
the load requirements.

WIRING OF SMALL RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

The types of internal wiring usually

employed in a small residential
building of late is Conduit wiring
either Surface (open) type or
Recessed (concealed) type. In this
system of wiring steel tubes known as
conduits are installed on the surface
of walls by means of saddles or pipe
hooks or buried under plaster and VIR
or PVC cables are drawn in,
afterwards. A number of inspection
fittings are provided in order to

-contdPVC conduits are preferred for small house

wirings. Conduit size is stated in terms of its
diameter. Usual sizes are 16 and 19 mm
Higher sizes varies from 25 to 63cms.
Conduits are run from main switch to DB,
from DB to SBs and from SBs to the ceiling
roses along the wall/roof connecting all
ceiling roses to their respective SBs and the
preceding circuit elements. Conduit run on
walls are done closer to the roof or at a
convenient height of 2.5M above floor level.

-contd The cables used for wiring is stranded copper

conductors with PVC insulation. Standard sizes
are 1, 1.5, 2.5 & 4q.mm which can carry
5A,10A,15A &20A respectively. The voltage
grading for cables of house wiring is 650V.
All conduits should carry an earth wire, a
bare copper conductor (14SWG minimum)
which connects every article in the system to a
common earth point which is linked to the
suppliers earth wire and an independent
earthing provided by the consumer.

-contd-

The main switch to which the supply

authority delivers power through their
metering device, is an iron clad double pole
linked switch. The main switch should be
capable of providing total isolation of the
consumers installation from the suppliers
system.
A distribution box is provided just after the
main switch and close to it. The DB receives
power from the main switch and distributes it
among the different sub circuits. This is also
of metal clad construction. The sub circuits
are originated through miniature circuit
breakers (MCBs) in the distribution box.

-contdThe switch boards are usually installed at

a height of 1.3M above floor level.
Switches of all equipment in a room are
usually accommodated in one or two SBs
in the room in an accessible location. The
SBs are metallic boxes or wooden boxes of
standard dimensions usually concealed
even if the conduits are surface mount.
Switches and socket outlets are fixed in
the switch boards. Flush type switches
and plug points are used now a day.
Switches for light and fans are to be of 6A
rating whereas those of power points are
of 16A rating.

-contd-

Socket Outlets are to be three pin types.

The Phase is to be controlled by a switch and
the neutral is looped together as usual. The
earth lead should invariably be connected to
the earth bus. No socket outlet to be provided
within 23 cm from floor level. The socket
outlets at lower levels should be tamper proof
considering the safety of children.
Ceiling rose. Light points and fan points are
connected to the system through ceiling
roses. They provide the termination of the
flexible cables in which pendent lamp
holders/fans are connected.

Ratings of equipment in house wiring

No

Equipment

Power
rating(watts)

Incandescent lamps

60

Fluorescent lamps

60

Ceiling/table fan

100

Socket outlet(ordinary)

100

Socket outlet(power)

1000

-contd The total load in the system is estimated

according to the requirement of the consumer.
The location of main switch, DB, switch boards
etc. are decided considering his needs and the
regulations as well. Size of main switch, DB,
switch boards, cables and conduits are then
decided. Detailed estimate is worked out for
the wiring. Before commencing the wiring, the
following points are to be kept in mind.
Electrical wiring: in any installation should
be carried out by a wireman licensed for the
type of work, issued by a competent authority.

-contd Earthing: The earthing in an electrical

system is of prime importance as far as
safety is concerned. A pipe earthing with a
maximum value of 5ohms will suffice for
house hold installations but a better
performance is always sought with a lesser
value of earth resistance.
Testing: After the completion, all wirings
should be tested in accordance with the
relevant standards for the insulation
values. The values are to be recorded for
verification and comparison after periodic
inspections.

Regulations on house wiring

1.Total load in a sub circuit

800W for lighting and 2000W for
power.
2.Every fitting or appliance should be
controlled by a switch.
3.Every socket outlet should be
controlled by a switch.
4.The switch should always be on the
line(phase) conductor.
5.The height above the floor level
2.5m for lamps and 2.75m for

-contd 6.Power wiring should be separated

from the lighting circuits.
7.Every sub circuit should have a
separate distribution fuse/MCB.
8.The switches and starters are to be
at readily accessible locations.
9.All metal coverings, frames etc.
are to be properly earthed.