Electrical

Installation
Chapter Two:
ECEg4241
Wiring materials, Accessories, and
methods
Lecture 2:
 Electrical Power Cables
 Sockets, Plugs, &
Instructor: Switches
G/Tsadik Teklay
Assistant Professor in Electrical Power
Engineering, Adigrat University
E-mail: [email protected]
 Tel: +251 972 08 55 53
Office location: Block 60, Room 27
Introduction
• A power cable is an electrical cable, an assembly of one
or more electrical conductors, usually held together with
an overall sheath. It is used for transmission of 
electrical power.

• Power cables may be installed as permanent wiring within

buildings, buried in the ground, run overhead, or exposed.

• Types of power cables:

• Low Voltage Cables
• Medium Voltage Cables and
• High Voltage Cables
Cont’d

• Cables are manufactured in

single – core, 2-core, 3-
core, 4-core and 5-core.
Cont’d

• Cables with voltage ratings more than 1000 V must be

armoured according to IEC regulation.
• A high voltage cable armoured with steel wires and metal
tape (double armoured) is shown in the following figure.
Type of cables
• The type of cable depends on its insulation type.
• Generally, there are the following insulations used to
manufacture the cables:
– PVC: Insulating compound based on polyvinyl chloride or
copolymer of vinyl chloride.
– PE: Insulating compound based on thermo-plastic polyethylene
– Butyl Rubber: Insulating compound based on ethylene propylene
rubber or similar.
– EPR: Insulating compound based on ethylene propylene rubber or
similar (EPM or EPDM)
– XLPE: Insulating compound based on chemically cross-linked
polyethylene
– XLPO: Insulating compound based on chemically Cross-linked
polyolefin
– Paper: Paper-insulating cable.
Cont’d

• Each type of cable can operate in its own temperature

designed for. The following table 3.1 gives the limit or
maximum operating temperature for each type of cable.
Table 3.1
Cable Rating (Current carrying capacity)
• An important part of any electrical design is the
determination of the size of cables.
• The size of cable to be used in a given circuit is governed
by the current which the circuit has to carry, so the design
problem is to decide the size of cable needed to carry a
known current.
• Tables have been prepared and published which list the
maximum allowable current for each type and size of
cable.
• The tables give a current rating for each type and size of
cable for a particular method of installation and at a
particular ambient temperature.
Cont’d

• For these basic conditions a cable must be chosen the

rated current of which is at least equal to the working
current.

• For other methods of installation and ambient

temperatures the tables give various correction factors.

• The actual working current has to be divided by these to

give a nominal current and a cable then selected such
that its rated current is at least equal to this nominal
current.
Cont’d
• The size of a cable to be used for an installation
depends upon the following factors:
1. Design current : cable must carry the full load current.
2. Type of cable : PVC, MICC, copper conductors or aluminum
conductors.
3. Installed conditions : clipped to a surface or installed with
other cables in a trunking.
4. Surrounding temperature : cable resistance increases as
temperature increases and insulation may melt if the
temperature is too high.
5. Type of protection : for how long will the cable have to carry
a fault current?
6. The maximum permitted drop in voltage as defined by
regulations
 Wiring system installation methods
(Ethiopian Building regulation)
• Table 3.2 gives details
of commonly used
installation methods
and cable types.
Having made the
choice of system and
cable type, the next
stage is to determine
the design current.
Cont’d
Cont’d
Table B.S Single-core armoured P.V.C. insulated cables, non-magnetic
armour (copper conductors)
Table B.6 Voltage drop (per ampere per metre)
Symbols
• The symbols used in this context are generally aligned with those
used in BS7671 or Ethiopian Building Code together with some
additional symbols which have been found necessary.

– C: Correction symbols
• Ca: factor for ambient temperature
• Cd: correction factor for type of overcurrent protective device
Cd = 1 for HBC fuses and mcbs
Cd = 0.725 for semi-enclosed fuses
• Cg: correction factor for grouping
• Ci: correction factor for conductors embedded in thermal insulation

– l circuit route length, m

– Ib design current of circuit, A (i.e. the current intended to be carried by

the circuit in normal service.)
Symbols…Cont’d
– Iz: effective current-carrying capacity, A (the current-carrying
capacity of a cable for continuous service, under the particular
installation conditions concerned.)
– It: required tabulated current-carrying capacity, A (e.g. the value of
current tabulated in standard tables for the type of cable and
installation method concerned, for a single circuit in an ambient
temperature of 30°C.)
– In: nominal current of protective device, A
– I2: the operating current (Le. the fusing current or tripping current for
the conventional operating time) of the device protecting the circuit
against overload.
– S: conductor cross-sectional area, mm2

Note : The IEC standard uses letter K instead of C for correction

factors.
Allowable Voltage drops in the cables

• Regulation states that the drop in voltage from the supply

terminals to the fixed current-using equipment must not
exceed 3% for lighting circuits and 5% for other uses of
the mains voltage. That is, a maximum of 6.9 V for
lighting circuits and 11.5 V for other uses on a 230 V
installation.
 Calculating the right size
• To determine the minimum conductor cross-sectional area
of the live conductors of a particular circuit that can be
tolerated the designer must:
a. Determine the design current (Ib) of the circuit.
b. Choose the type and nominal current rating (In) of the
associated overcurrent protective device. For all cases In must
be equal to or greater than Ib.
Establish whether it is intended the overcurrent protective device is to
give:
(i) overload protection only, or
(ii) short circuit protection only, or
(iii) overload and short circuit protection.
The intended function of the overcurrent protective device not only
determines whether Ib or In is used as the basis for calculating the
minimum cross sectional area of the live conductors but also influences
the value of Ca that is to be used in the calculations.
c. Determine the method of installation according to the standard
Cont’d
d. Establish what is the expected ambient temperature (ta
⁰C). This gives the relevant value of Ca (K1)
e. Decide whether the circuit is to be run singly or be
bunched or grouped with other circuits and, how many
other circuits. The decision taken gives the relevant
value of Cg (or K2).
f. Decide whether the circuit is likely to be totally
surrounded by thermally insulating material . If this is to
be the case, Ci (or K3) is taken to be 0.5.
g. Apply the correction factors to In
h. Estimate the route length of the circuit and evaluate the
voltage drop to check if it is with in allowable limit.
 Cont’d
• The cable rating, denoted It , may be determined as follows:
•  

Where the overcurrent device is

intended to afford protection against
Ib: is the design current of the overload, I2 must not exceed 1.45Iz.
circuit, and In must not exceed Iz.
In: is the nominal current or current
setting of the protective device, Where the overcurrent device is
Iz: is the current-carrying capacity intended to afford short circuit
of the conductor in the particular protection only, In can be greater than
installation conditions.
Iz and I2 can be greater than 1.45Iz.
 Accessories

• From the user’s point of view the electricity service

in a building consists of:
– socket outlets
– light switches
– power points,
– clock connectors
– cooker control units and
– similar outlets.

• Such fittings are collectively known as accessories.

 SOCKET OUTLETS
• A socket outlet is the correct name of what is popularly known as a
power point.

• It is a female socket connected to the power wiring in the building and

will accept the male plug attached at the end of the flexible wire of an
appliance such as a vacuum cleaner, electric fire or stove.

• They are rated at 2 A, 5 A, 13A and 15A, the spacing of the pins
and sockets being different for the different ratings. This makes sure
that a plug of one rating cannot be inserted, even willfully, into a socket
of a different rating.

• Plugs and sockets rated at 2 and 5 A are available in both two- and
three-pin versions, but those of 15 A rating are made only with three
pins.
Types of Domestic plugs and sockets
• Type A (North
America/Japanese 2-pin) • Type B (American 3-pin)

• Type C (European 2-pin)

Cont’d
Type A (North America/Japanese Type E (French 2-pin,
2-pin) (Type D – German 2-pin ) female earth)

Type F ( British 3- pin)

Cont’d
Type of connection of socket outlets circuits

1. Radial circuit
In radial circuit we can connect 4-6, 13A socket outlets
protected by 20A -25A MCB.
Cont’d

• It is required to connect 30mA RCD (residual current

device) for each circuit as shown in Figure below:
 2. Ring circuit
• Ring circuit is used to increase
reliability of the system and to
reduce the number of circuits and
circuit breakers in the final
distribution board and also to
serve larger area with socket
outlets.
• A ring circuit with 30A protective
device can serve Area 90 – 100
m2 , i.e., connecting about 16
sixteen,13A socket outlet with 2.5
mm2 PVC cable.
Cont’d

• Ring circuits fed from systems where no earth terminal is

provided by the Electricity Supply Company (TT systems)
must be protected by an RCD rated at 30 mA,

• In all installations, a socket intended to feed equipment

outdoors must be individually protected by a 30 mA RCD.

• Where a socket is mounted on a vertical wall, its height

above the floor level or the working surface level must be
such that mechanical damage is unlikely. A minimum
mounting height of 150 mm is recommended.
The fused plug
• In many situations there is a need for socket outlets to be
closely spaced so that they are available to feed appliances and
equipment without the need to use long and dangerous leads.
• For example, the domestic kitchen worktop should be provided
with sockets to feed the many appliances (deep fat fryer, kettle,
sandwich toaster, carving knife, toaster, microwave oven, coffee
maker, and so on) which are likely to be used.
• Similarly, in the living room we need to supply television sets,
video recorders, stereo players, table lamps, room heaters, etc.
In this case, more outlets will he needed to allow for occasional
rearrangement of furniture, which may well obstruct access to
some outlets.
• Thus a ring circuit protected by a 30 A or 32 A device may
well feed twenty socket outlets. It follows that judgment
must be used to make as certain as possible that the total
loading will not exceed the protective device rating, or its
failure and inconvenience will result.
• Two basic steps will normally ensure that a ring circuit is
not overloaded.
1. Do not feed heavy and steady loads (the domestic immersion
heater is the most obvious example) from the ring circuit, but
make special provision for them on separate circuits.
2. Make sure that the ring circuit does not feed too great an area.
This is usually ensured by limiting a single ring circuit to sockets
within an area not greater than one hundred square meters.
Cont’d
• A fused plug and socket to BS 1363 is shown in Figure below.

Fig.1 Plug and socket to BS 1363

• A plug to BS 1363 without a fuse is not available. The circuit protection in

the distribution board or consumer's unit covers the circuit wiring, whilst the
fuse in the plug protects the appliance and its cord as shown in Fig .2. In
this way, each appliance can be protected by a suitable fuse, for example,
a 3 A fuse for a table lamp or a 13 A fuse for a 3 kW fan heater.
Cont’d
A plug to BS 1363 without a fuse is not available. The circuit protection in
the distribution board or consumer's unit covers the circuit wiring, whilst
the fuse in the plug protects the appliance and its cord as shown in Fig ..
In this way, each appliance can be protected by a suitable fuse, for
example, a 3 A fuse for a table lamp or a 13 A fuse for a 3 kW fan heater.

Fig . Principle of appliance protection by plug fuse.

• 15A and 16A socket outlets are each considered as one power
point which must be protected by one separate circuit breaker
(usually 30A rating) . No diversity factor is taken.
 2. Industrial (heavy duty) socket outlets
• There is no reason at all to prevent the installation of BS 1363 (13 A)
socket outlets in industrial situations. Indeed, where light industry,
such as electronics manufacture, is concerned, these sockets are
most suitable. However, heavy duty industrial socket outlets are
available, either in single-phase or 3-phase. These are shown in Fig.
below.

Fig. Industrial (heavy duty) socket outlets

 VOLTAGE DROP IN RING CIRCUITS

• Sometimes it is necessary to calculate the

voltage drop occurring in a ring circuit. The
method to use is illustrated by Example 1
if the loads taken from the points of
utilisation and the cable lengths between
those points are known.
Example 1
Figure 4 (a) shows a single-phase ring circuit
wired in 2.5 mm2 core (with cpc) 70⁰C pvc-
insulated and sheathed cable. The figure
gives the loads taken from each point of
utilisation.
• The first stage is to determine the current distribution
and as shown in Figure 4(b) a current given by Ix A is
taken to flow in the first section, (Ix - 5)A in the second
section, and so on.
• If the resistance per metre of the phase conductor is
denoted by ‘r’ then:
Cont’d
• The current distribution therefore is as shown in Figure 4(c) and it is
now possible to calculate the voltage drop. This is given by:

• From standard cable voltage drop tables the mV/A/m value is found to
be 15.38 milliohms /A/m.

• The voltage drop is therefore

SWITCHES
• A switch is used to make or interrupt a circuit. There are two types of
switches:

1. Dolly operated switch.

2. Rocker operated switch.

• The older type of switch mechanism was dolly operated. It is illustrated in

Fig. 5. The moving contact was on a spring lever which was moved by a
cam. Dolly operated switches have now been entirely superseded by
rocker operated switches. This type is also illustrated in Fig. 5.The
advantages of the rocker switch are that it is easier to operate and that it
is almost impossible to hold it half open, even deliberately.

• Ratings:
Most manufacturers make switches in two standard capacities, the lower
being rated at 5 amps and the higher at 10, 15 or 20 amps.
Cont’d
 Boxes
• The box is fixed to the wall, and the wires going to the switch are drawn into the
box. After this the wires are connected to the mechanism. To carry out this
operation the electrician must pull the wires away from the wall sufficiently to
give himself room to work on the back of the mechanism. He then pushes the
mechanism back into the box and the length of wire which he had to pull out
from the wall becomes slack inside the box. It is therefore important that the
box is large enough to accommodate a certain amount of slack wire at the back
of the mechanism.
• Standard boxes for recessing within a wall are 35 mm deep. There are also
shallow boxes available which are 25 mm deep. These boxes are shown in
Figure 6.