ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION NOTES

1. Classes of Electricians
2. Inspection and Testing
3. Earthing and Earthing resistance
4. Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB)
5. Circuit Protection
6. Lamps and Lighting
7. Contract Planning

CLASSES OF ELECTRICIANS
The law provides that only licensed electricians are allowed to do electrical installations. These licenses
are put in different classes as follows:

Class C-2. The holder is permitted to carry out electrical installation work for connection to a single
phase supply at low voltage to up to two storey residential and commercial buildings not used as factories
or places of public entertainment;
Class C-1, to carry out electrical installation work as in Class C-2, and for connection to a three phase
supply at low voltage to up to four storey buildings not used as factories or places of public entertainment;
Class B, to carry out electrical installation work as in Class C-1, but without limitation as to number of
storeys in the buildings and whether used as factories or places of public entertainment or otherwise, and
for connection to supply metered at voltages not exceeding medium;
Class A-1, to carry out all kinds of electrical installation work;
Class A-2, to carry out work specialized electrical installation work.

INSPECTION AND TESTING

IEE regulations require that every new installation must be inspected and tested before connecting power
to it. This is done by a licensed electrician who signs a certification form indicating his/her license
number. The Power company connects power to the building on the basis of the certificate.

INSPECTION
Inspection is a visual check done to ensure that the installation has been done according to regulations. It
is to ensure that all joints are firm and that colour codes are followed (Live = Red, Neutral = Black,
Earth=Green/Yellow for single phase, Live=Red, Yellow & Blue, Neutral=Black, Earth=Green/Yellow).
It is done using eyes and hands.

TESTING
All new completed electrical installation should be tested before connection to the supply, to ensure that
the installation is technically sound and free from any possible short circuits, etc. Testing is done to detect
faults before dangerous situations arise. It is done using measuring instruments (Ohmeters, Insulation
resistance Testers etc.)

The tests should be made on a new electrical installation before it is switched on to the mains are as
under:

1. Insulation resistance test between installation and earth.

2. Insulation resistance test between conductors.
3. Testing of polarity.
4. Testing of earth continuity paths.
5. Earth resistance test.
 1. INSULATION RESISTANCE TEST BETWEEN INSTALLATION AND EARTH

This test is performed to know the standard of insulation of wires and cables used in the installation.

It also ensures that the insulation is sufficient enough to avoid any possible leakage of current to earth.

The leakage of the current to earth should not exceed 0.02% of the full load current.

Before performing insulation resistance test between installation and earth the conditions to be fulfilled
for the position of the main switch, fuses, switches, and other points should be as under:-

 main switch in OFF position,

 fuses beyond the main switch should be in position,
 all switches in ON position.
 all lamps and other equipment should be in their position.

For testing the whole installation, the test is conducted on the main switch. A testing set known
as megger is used for the test. It is a special form of the ohmmeter.

To perform this test, the phase and the neutral is short-circuited temporarily at any suitable point as
shown in Figure.

The ‘L’ (line terminal) of the megger is connected to the short circuit point in the main switch and the
earth terminal marked (E) is connected to earth continuity conductor or some good earth point near-by.

The handle of the tester is turned at a high speed so that sufficient testing voltage is produced. The reading
on the dial of the megger is noted.
The insulation resistance thus measured should not be less than 0.5 MΩ on a firm, sound and fixed
wiring. If the insulation resistance is below this value, the wiring section giving that value should be
rewired or checked thoroughly until the required value is obtained.

2. INSULATION RESISTANCE TEST BETWEEN WIRING CONDUCTORS

To ensure that the insulation of the cables or wires is not damaged and there is no leakage between them,
this test is performed.
Before performing this test, the position of the main switch, fuses, switches, etc. should be as under:

 main switch in OFF position,

 all switches in ON position,
 all lamps and other appliances should be removed,
 fuses beyond the main switch should be in position.

The line terminal of the megger is connected to phase terminal of the installation and the earth terminal of
megger is connected to neutral wire.

The insulation resistance so measured should not be less than 0.5 MΩ and not more than 1 MΩ.

POLARITY TEST IN HOUSE WIRING

In a low voltage installation, this test is performed to verify that all single pole switches have been
connected to phase wire throughout the installation.

It is very necessary to place all switches on phase so that when a switch is made OFF, the connected
appliance is quite dead.

If the switch is connected to the neutral wire then the connected appliance will be live even if the
switch is in OFF position and remain alive.

There is absolutely no difference in the functioning of the switch in either case, but from the safety point
of view to avoid shock, etc. the phase should always be given through the switch and neutral direct to the
point.

The simple method of conducting the polarity test is by using a test lamp.

Before performing this test the position of the main switch, fuses, switches, etc. should be as under:

 main switch in ON position,

 all switches in OFF position,
 all lamps and other appliances should be removed.
One end of the test lamp is connected to earth wire and the other end to the incoming terminal of the
switch.

If the lamp lights, it indicates that the switch is connected to phase wire, otherwise to neutral wire.

EARTH CONTINUITY TEST OF ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION

To perform this test with the help of megger, the main switch is opened, the main fuses are withdrawn, all
the switches are made ON and all the lamps are put in position.

The ‘L’ (line terminal) of the megger is connected to the phase conductor in the main switch and ‘E’
(earth terminal) of the megger is connected to an earth point. In this test, megger should indicate a
resistance value between 0.5 and 1 mega ohm.

In this case, if earthing of all the metallic parts and the earth wire will be in good condition, a sufficient
amount of current will flow through test circuit and megger will show a reading up to 1 MΩ.
If it will be in bad condition then it will offer high resistance to the current. As a result, a very low
quantity of current will flow and megger will show a reading more than 1 MΩ .

Therefore, if the megger shows a high reading (more than 1 MΩ), it means that the main switch or
conduit is not properly earthed or the earth wire is broken somewhere requiring correction.
EARTHING AND EARTH RESISTANCE

The provision of earthing for an electrical installation is very significant due to the following reasons:
All the parts of electrical equipment, like the casing of machines, the casing of circuit breakers, tanks of
transformers must be connected to an earth electrode. It is done to protect the various parts of the
installation as well as the persons working against damage in case the insulation of a system fails at any
point.
 By connecting these parts to an earthed electrode, a continuous low resistance path is available for
leakage currents to flow to earth. This current operates the protective devices and thus the faulty
circuit is isolated if a fault occurs.
 The earth electrode ensures that in the event of overvoltage on the system due to lightning
discharges or other system faults, those parts of equipment which are normally dead, do not attain
dangerously high potentials.
 In a three-phase circuit the neutral of the system is earthed in order to stabilize the potential of the
circuit with respect to earth.
An earth electrode will only be effective so long it has a low resistance to the earth and carry
large currents without deteriorating.

Since the amount of current which an earth electrode will carry is difficult to measure, the resistance value
of earth resistance is taken as sufficiently reliable indication of its effectiveness. The resistance of the
earth electrode should be to give good protection and it must be measured.

The main factors on which the resistance of any earthing system depends are:
 Shape and material of earth electrode of electrodes used.
 Depth in the soil at which the electrodes are buried.
 The specific resistance of soil and in the neighborhood of electrodes.
The specific resistance of the soil is not constant but varies from one type of soil to another. The amount
of moisture present in the soil effects its specific resistance of earth electrode is not a constant factor but
suffers seasonal variations. This calls for periodic testing that the earthing system remains reasonably
effective.

EARTH LEAKAGE CIRCUIT BREAKER.

Used where the earth resistance is high.

L
O
SUPPLY
Current A
D

Current from the supply passes through the upper main coil to the load, then through the lower main coil
back to the supply. The magnetic fields created by the two coils are equal and in opposite directions,
hence their resultant is zero. When there is current leakage to earth, there will be more current passing
through one coil compared to the other. There will be a resultant magnetic field which will energize the
auxiliary coil, which in turn will pull the plunger and open the circuit to cut off the supply.
 CIRCUIT PROTECTION
Circuit protection is the intentional addition of a ‘weak link’ in an electrical circuit. This link will
be broken in the event of a fault – whether that’s high temperature, excessive current or a short
circuit in a conductor, thus protecting the electrical circuit it’s part of from damage.

Protective devices ensure that under fault conditions, a high fault current cannot flow. This As well
protects the installation and ensures that consumers are not injured or killed as a result of an electrical
fault.

Overcurrent protection is provided by circuit breakers or fuses which operate within specific limits,
disconnecting the supply automatically when there is an overload or fault current (short circuit or earth
fault).

Overcurrent is a current above the design current of a circuit. It arises from overloads or short circuits.

An overload is a result of a faulty item, or too many items being connected to a circuit.

A short circuit occurs when a live conductor comes into contact with an exposed conductive part, or
another conductor in the circuit where is low or negligible impedance. This can be due to incorrectly
connected wiring or damage to cables.

Earth faults are similar to short circuits and occur when a live conductor comes into contact with an
earthed conductor, exposed or extraneous conductive part. There does not need to be a high current flow
in an earth fault.
It is essential that the appropriate circuit protection is installed ensure an electrical installation is safe.

Fuse
A fuse contains a piece of wire that melts easily. If the current going through the fuse is too great, the wire
heats up until it melts and breaks the circuit.
There are several different types of fuses:

 Rewirable fuses

These are used in domestic circuit protection and are cheap, easily repaired and easily checked to see if
they’ve blown. However, they are not precise, can be abused by fitting incorrect fuse wire, and can
contain dangerously hot metal.

 Cartridge fuses – used in plug tops and distributions, cartridge fuses are fairly accurate, have a low fusing
factor, are easily replaced and have no external arcing. However, they are more expensive than rewirable
fuses, and it’s not possible to see by looking at them whether they’ve blown.
 High Breaking Capacity Fuses (HBC) – these are used in industrial installations and motor circuits. They
are fast operating, easily replaced, fairly accurate and have no external arcing. They are very expensive to
replace.
Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB)

A Miniature Circuit Breaker is an electromechanical device designed to protect an electric circuit from
overcurrent. MCBs are reusable where fuses are not..
A circuit breaker acts as a switch, and opens when excessive current flows in a circuit. It can be reset
without damage and the main contacts are held closed by a latching mechanism.

Current rating is the maximum current that a fuse can carry without breaking down
Fusing current is the maximum current that a fuse can carry indefinitely without melting.
Fusing factor = Fusing current/current rating.
Typical fusing factors: Rewirable fuse = 1.5 to 2.0. Cartridge fuse = 1.0 to 1.4
Example
A fuse has a Current rating of 20A and fusing factor of 1.2. Calculate the fusing current.
FF=FC/CR, hence 1.2=FC/20 and FC = 20x1.2 = 24A
Thus, a fuse rated 20A with FF of 1.2 will met if 24 A pass through it.
DISCRIMINATION
Ability of a circuit to cut off a fault circuit, leaving healthy circuits intact.

LAMPS AND LIGHTING

An electric lamp is a conventional light emitting component used in different circuits, mainly for lighting
and indicating purposes. The construction of lamp is quite simple, it has one filament surrounding which,
a transparent glass made spherical cover is provided. The filament of the lamp is mainly made of tungsten
as it has high melting point temperature. A lamp emits light energy as the thin small tungsten filament of
lamp glows without being melted, while current flows through it.

Rating of Electric Lamps

There are mainly three things that must be known before selecting a lamp for a specific purpose.

1. Voltage across which the lamp to be connected for getting normal brightness of light.
2. Power Rating. When an electric lamp is connected across its rated voltage, its filament will carry
current depending upon the electrical resistance offered by the lamp. The filament of the lamp is
so designed, that it must give most optimized brightness for that current.
3. Light output in Lumens (or Lumens per watt).

Types of Electric Lamps

Edison Screw type Lamps
The main feature of this type of lamp is that it has one contact in the base and other contact on the
metallic body of the lamp. This metallic body of the lamp is of screw shaped.
Bayonet Cap BC
It has bayonet style fitting but has both contacts on the base of the lamp, hence there is no electrical
connection with the body of the lamp. It may have horizontal as well as vertical filament arrangements.
The power rating of the bulb can be up to 150 watts.
Fluorescent Lamp
The tube is coated inside with a material that glows when electric charges come in contact with it.
WORKING OF A FLUORESCENT LAMP FITTING
The starter switch is made of a bi-metallic strip. When power is switched on, current jumps across the
switch, heating it up. The strip closes and allows free flow of current, which heats up the tube elements.
Since there is no more sparking, the strip cools down and opens. This interrupts current in the choke
which induces a high voltage across the tube terminals. Electrons are therefore made to move across the
tube, causing it to glow. Current continues to flow thru the tube, but not thru the starter.

starter switch

Fluorescent tube

pf correction capacitor
choke

Lamps give out light. Lamps are rated in Volts, Watts and Lumens.
Watts represent the power consumed by the lamp.
Lumens represent the amount of light output from the lamp.
The amount of light emmited by a lamp is given in Lumens. The total light falling on a surface is
measured in lumens per meter2 = Lux. Different rooms require different levels of illumination.

Maintenance Factor:
It is ratio of the lamp lumen output after a particular interval of time as compared to when it was
new. The lumen output of a light fitting decreases with time because of aging of many of its
components by internal (saturation of elements) or external factors (dust deposition).
Typical values used for the lighting calculation are:
 0.8 – For offices/classroom
 0.7 – For clean Industry
 0.6 – For dirty Industry

Utilization Factor
Utilization factor (UF) is the ratio of effective luminous flux to the total luminous flux of light
sources. It is the measure of the effectiveness of the lighting scheme.

Example
It is proposed to illuminate an electronic workshop of dimensions 9 x 8 m to an illuminance of 550 lx at
the bench level. Fluorescent tubes with an output of 3700 lumens are used. Determine the number of
fluorescent fittings required for this installation when the UF and MF are 0.9 and 0.8, respectively.
 Total Lumens requiredxarea
The number of fittings required (N)=
Lumens per fitting xUFxMF
550 x 9 x 8
And N= = 14.86 =15 fittings
3700 x .0 .9 x 0.8
Therefore 15 fittings will be required to illuminate this workshop to a level of 550 lx.

CONTRACT PLANNING (ESTIMATING AND TENDERING)

For large installation works, tenders are advertised. An interested electrician or electrical contractor
applies for the tender to carry out installation works.
For a contract to valid, the following must be present:
i. Offer (the person applying for the tender makes the offer)
ii. Acceptance (The building owner accepts. Acceptance must not be conditional)
iii. Consideration (form of payment or compensation)

Measured work applies where bills of quantities are prepared and the contractor’s job is to cost the
quantities and add labour and other charges to come up with the total cost of the contract.
The advantage of this type of contract is that the contractor’s work (of quantifying the project) is reduced.
Also since the quantities are transparently shown, it is easier for the contractor to ask for more
funds if the cost of the quantities change drastically. This may also be a disadvantage to the client.

Lump sum contract applies where a contractor is presented with the drawings of the project, without a bill
of quantities. The contractor’s job is to quantify and cost the materials, labour etc and present a lump sum
amount required to complete the project to the client. This is suitable especially to small projects. The
client does not have to incur extra expenses to prepare a bill of quantities. The disadvantage is that it
becomes difficult for the contractor to justify an increase in costs if prices go up, since there is no
itemization of the quantities.
The contract contains what has been agreed on as well as the conditions under which it can be revoked.
A contact can end when
1. All parties fulfill their obligations (Complete performance)
2. There is mutual agreement
3. Default (when one party defaults. Consequences are spelt out in the contract)
4. Force majeure is a contract clause that removes liability for
catastrophic events, such as natural disasters and warfare.