DOMESTIC WIRING

Introduction
A network of wires drawn connecting the meter board to the various energy consuming loads (lamps, fans, motors etc) through control and protective devices for efficient distribution of power is known as electrical wiring. Electrical wiring done in residential and commercial buildings to provide power for lights, fans, pumps and other domestic appliances is known as domestic wiring. The method of wiring to be adopted depends on, 1. Durability: The wiring scheme must be durable. It should be according to the specifications. It should fulfill the consumer requirements. 2. Electrical safety: Wiring should be shockproof and leakage-proof. 3. Appearance: Beauty of the house should not get spoiled due to wiring. In the case of factory wiring, appearance apart from neatness is not usually important. 4. Cost: Wiring scheme should be selected depending on type of building. Before recommending a particular wiring scheme, the funds made available by consumer must be taken into consideration. 5. Maintenance: Minimum maintenance is desired. There should be scope for further extension. Easy renewal of wiring is desired.

Different types of wiring:

i. ii. iii. iv. Cleat wiring Casing capping Batten wiring Conduit wiring

(i) Cleat wiring:

In this system, the vulcanized India Rubber (V.I.R) conductors are run between two porcelain cleats. The cleats are made into two halves, one of which is grooved to receive the wire and other half is placed over it and both of them are secured on the wall by means of screws. The cleats may have one, two or three grooves depending on the number of wires required to run in the wiring system. This system is used for temporary installations.

Advantages:
1. 2. 3. 4. Materials use can be easily retrieved. Easy inspections and alterations can be done. Accidents through fire are rare. Conductors are insulated from each other thus reducing the risk of short circuit.

5. Cheaper when compared to other wiring systems. 6. Most suitable for temporary work. Disadvantages: 1. Since the conductors are exposed, there is a risk of mechanical injury. 2. . Regular cleaning is required. 3. It does not have a good appearance. (Due to sagging) 4. High maintenance costs. 5. Not suitable for permanent jobs.

(ii) Casing / Capping

The casing is a rectangular strip made from teakwood.(or P.V.C) It has two grooves into which the wires are laid. The casing is covered with a rectangular strip of wood (or P.V.C.) of the same width, called capping. Insulated conductors are laid inside rectangular teak wood boxes having grooves inside it. A rectangular strip of wood called capping is fixed over it. The casing is attached to the wall or ceiling. Now a days PVC is used instead of wood.

Advantages 1. Cost is low. 2. It is used for low voltage installations. 3. It is accessible for inspections, alterations and repairs. 4. Wires are separated in respective grooves of the casing. 5. Good protection to conductors from dangerous atmospheric conditions. 6. Neat and clean appearance. Disadvantages 1. Wood used should be properly seasoned to avoid damage from white ants etc. 2. Skilled carpenters are required to make proper casings and cappings. 3. Fire will cause damage to the casings and cappings. 4. They must be used only in dry areas. 5. Casing cannot be buried in plaster, nor fixed in contact with gas pipes, water pipes or immediately below the latter.

(iii) Batten wiring:

In this wiring system, insulated conductors are laid on teak wood batten and clipped. The batten is fixed on the wall or ceiling. It is also known as tough rubber sheathed system (TRS). The conductors are completely covered over by a thick coating of tough rubber.

Advantages 1. It is cheaper than wooden casing and capping. 2. No risk of fire and mechanical injury. 3. It is suitably insulated against atmospheric conditions like smoke, fume etc. 4. It has reduced risk of short circuit. Disadvantages 1. Wiring should not be exposed to sunlight, rain etc. 2. Sharp bends must also be avoided. 3. Skilled wiremen are required to do the wiring.

(iv) Conduit wiring

Here mild steel tube or PVC tube is run on wall or ceiling to carry insulated conductors. The steel tube or PVC tube is called conduit. The conduits are either laid over the surface or enclosed in ceiling or wall. Depending on whether the conduits are laid inside the walls or supported on the walls, there are two types of conduit wiring, which are:

1. Surface conduit wiring:

In this method, conduits are mounted or supported on the walls with the help of pipe books or saddles. In damp situations, the conduits are spaced apart from the wall by means of wooden blocks.

2. Concealed conduit wiring:

In this method, the conduits are buried under the wall at the time of plastering. This is also called Recessed Conduit Wiring. Advantages 1. Risk of fire is completely eliminated. 2. Protection against mechanical injury is ensured. 3. Earthing and electrical continuity is assured. 4. The same tube carries the lead and return wires. 5. The wiring scheme is durable. 6. Very less maintenance cost. 7. The beauty of the premises is maintained.

Disadvantages 1. It is costlier than other systems. 2. Under wet conditions, there is a risk of short circuit. 3. Skilled workers are required for erection. 4. Repairs are very difficult. 5. In concealed conduit wiring, keeping the conduit at earth potential is a must.

Specifications of wires
The conductor material, insulation, size and the number of cores, specifies the electrical wires. These are important parameters as they determine the current and voltage handling capability of the wires. The conductors are usually of either copper or aluminum. Various insulating materials like PVC, TRS, and VIR are used. The wires may be of single strand or multi strand. Wires with combination of different diameters and the number of cores or strands are available. For example: The VIR conductors are specified as 1/20, 3/22,.7/20 The numerator indicates the number of strands while the denominator corresponds to the diameter of the wire in SWG (Standard Wire Gauge). SWG 20 corresponds to a wire of diameter 0.914mm, while SWG 22 corresponds to a wire of diameter 0.737 mm. A 7/0 wire means, it is a 7-cored wire of diameter 12.7mm (0.5 inch). The selection of the wire is made depending on the requirement considering factors like current and voltage ratings, cost and application. Example: Application: domestic wiring 1. Lighting - 3/20 copper wire 2. Heating - 7/20 copper wire The enamel coating (on the individual strands) mutually insulates the strands and the wire on the whole is provided with PVC insulation. The current carrying capacity depends on the total area of the wire. If cost is the criteria then aluminum conductors are preferred. In that case, for the same current rating much larger diameter of wire is to be used.

Types of wires generally used are, 1. Vulcanized India Rubber (V.I.R) insulated 2. Tough Rubber Sheathed (T.R.S). (a) Poly Vinyl chloride (P.V.C) insulated. (b) PVC insulated and PVC sheathed. 3. Cab Tyre Sheathed wires (C.T.S) 4. Flexible wires. 1. Vulcanized India Rubber (V.I.R) Wire:

This type of wire consists of tinned conductor coated with rubber insulation. This is further covered with protective cotton and bitumen compounded finally finished with wax. This makes it moisture and heat resistant. These are always single-core wires.

Though are covered with a cotton layer it has tendency to absorb moisture and hence rarely used now a days. 2. Poly Vinyl Chloride (P.V.C) Wire:

These are most commonly used wires. These have conductors with P.V.C insulation. P.V.C has following characteristics. It is non-hygroscopic and moisture-proof. It is tough and hence durable. Resistant to corrosion. It is chemically inert. As it is tough, additional covering is not required. The only disadvantage is that it softens at a high temperature and hence it is avoided where extreme of temperatures may occur. e.g. in earthing appliances. 3. Cab Tyre Sheathed wires (C.T.S) Wire:

In this type, ordinary rubber insulated conductors are provided with an additional through rubber sheath. The wire is also known as through rubber sheathed (T.R.S) wire. It provides additional insulation and along with that protection against moisture, chemical fumes and wear-and-tear. 4. Flexible Wires:

Twisted twin flexible wire These are used very commonly in domestic wiring or for wiring of temporary nature. It consists of two separately insulated standard conductors. The insulation is mostly rubber. More commonly available in parallel to twisted twins. Due to its flexible nature the handling of these wires become very easy.

Switch:
Switch is device which makes or breaks an electrical circuit. Switches are always connected in the phase. The Symbolic representation of switch is shown below.

Operation of switch (Control of One Lamp from One Switch):

For a lamp, one live and one neutral is necessary. To control the supply to the lamp, switch is introduced in the live wire and neutral is directly connected to the lamp. When the switch is ON, a full voltage gets applied to the lamp and it glows. When the switch is turned OFF, the circuit gets opened and the lamp gets switched off.
FUSE The electrical equipments are designed to carry a particular rated value of current under normal circumstances. Under abnormal conditions such as short circuit, overload or any fault the current raises above this value, damaging the equipment and sometimes resulting in fire hazard. Fuses are pressed into operation under such situations. Fuse is a safety device used in any electrical installation, which forms the weakest link between the supply and the load. It is a short length of wire made of lead / tin /alloy of lead and tin/ zinc having a low melting point and low ohmic losses. Under normal operating conditions it is designed to carry the full load current. If the current increases beyond this designed value due any of the reasons mentioned above, the fuse melts (said to be blown) isolating the power supply from the load as shown in the following figures.

CHARACTERISTICS OF FUSE MATERIAL

The material used for fuse wires must have the following characteristics 1. Low melting point 2. Low ohmic losses

3. High conductivity 4. Lower rate of deterioration UPS: Refer Basic electrical technology by U A Bakshi

Single-phase Induction Motor

The winding used normally in the stator (Fig. 34.1) of the single-phase induction motor (IM) is a distributed one. The rotor is of squirrel cage type, which is a cheap one, as the rating of this type of motor is low, unlike that for a three-phase IM. As the stator winding is fed from a single-phase supply, the flux in the air gap is alternating only, not a synchronously rotating one produced by a poly-phase (may be two- or three-) winding in the stator of IM. This type of alternating field cannot produce a torque (Tst=0), if the rotor is stationery ( r = 0). So, a single-phase IM is not self-starting, unlike a three-phase one. However, as shown later, if the rotor is initially given some torque in either direction ( r 0), then immediately a torque is produced in the motor. The motor then accelerates to its final speed, which is lower than its synchronous speed. This is now explained using double field revolving theory.

Double field revolving theory

When the stator winding carries a sinusoidal current (being fed from a single-phase supply), a sinusoidal space distributed mmf, whose peak or maximum value pulsates (alternates) with time, is produced in the air gap. This sinusoidally varying flux ( ) is the sum

of two rotating fluxes or fields, the magnitude of which is equal to half the value of the alternating flux (2), and both the fluxes rotating synchronously at the speed, (Ns=120f/P) in opposite directions. This is shown in Fig. 34.2a. The first set of figures (Fig. 34.1a (i-iv)) show the resultant sum of the two rotating fluxes or fields, as the time axis (angle) is changing from ( = 0 to (180). Fig. 34.2b shows the alternating or pulsating flux (resultant) varying with time or angle. The flux or field rotating at synchronous speed, say, in the anticlockwise direction, i.e. the same direction, as that of the motor (rotor) taken as positive induces emf (voltage) in the rotor conductors. The rotor is a squirrel cage one, with bars short circuited via end rings. The current flows in the rotor conductors, and the electromagnetic torque is produced in the same direction as given above, which is termed as positive (+ve). The other part of flux or field rotates at the same speed in the opposite (clockwise) direction, taken as negative. So, the torque produced by this field is negative (-ve), as it is in the clockwise direction, same as that of the direction of rotation of this field. Two torques are in the opposite direction, and the resultant (total) torque is the difference of the two torques produced (Fig. 34.3). If the rotor is stationary (r = 0), the slip due to forward (anticlockwise) rotating field is Sf =1. Similarly, the slip due to backward rotating field is also Sb=0 . The two torques are equal and opposite, and the resultant torque is 0.0 (zero). So, there is no starting torque in a single-phase IM. But, if the motor (rotor) is started or rotated somehow, say in the anticlockwise (forward) direction, the forward torque is more than the backward torque, with the resultant torque now being positive. The motor accelerates in the forward direction, with the forward torque being more than the backward torque. The resultant torque is thus positive as the motor rotates in the forward direction. The motor speed is decided by the load torque supplied, including the losses (specially mechanical loss)

Capacitor-start Motor:

The schematic (circuit) diagram of this motor is given in Fig. 34.5a. It may be observed that a capacitor along with a centrifugal switch is connected in series with the auxiliary winding, which is being used here as a starting winding. The capacitor may be rated only for intermittent duty, the cost of which decreases, as it is used only at the time of starting. The function of the centrifugal switch has been described earlier. The phasor diagram of two currents as described earlier, and the torque-speed characteristics of the motor with/without auxiliary winding, are shown in Fig. 34.5b and Fig. 34.5c respectively. This motor is used in applications, such as compressor, conveyor, machine tool drive, refrigeration and airconditioning equipment, etc.