L2 Plumbing Unit 4 Apply scientific principles within mechanical services engineering

Learning outcome 6 Know the principles of electricity as they relate to the mechanical services industry

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L2 Plumbing Unit 4 Apply scientific principles within mechanical services engineering

What are electrons? Atoms are the smallest parts of matter that can be subdivided, and they are not solid. They have a nucleus at their centre, made up of very tiny particles, known as protons and neutrons. Protons are said to have a positive charge (+) and neutrons are electrically neutral (that is, they have no charge). We can think of neutrons as the glue that holds the nucleus together. Around the nucleus orbits a third type of particle, the electron, which has a negative charge ().

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L2 Plumbing Unit 4 Apply scientific principles within mechanical services engineering

What are conductors? In some materials, it is very easy to get the electrons to move; these materials are called conductors. In other materials, it is very hard to get the electrons to move; these materials are called insulators.

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L2 Plumbing Unit 4 Apply scientific principles within mechanical services engineering

Measuring electricity

For practical purposes, three things need to be present to create an electrical circuit:
current voltage resistance.

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L2 Plumbing Unit 4 Apply scientific principles within mechanical services engineering

Analogy of a water system as an electrical circuit

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L2 Plumbing Unit 4 Apply scientific principles within mechanical services engineering

Using the Ohms Law Triangle (1) Suppose you want to determine the voltage (V) of a circuit and you know the current (I) and resistance (R). Covering the V in the triangle with your finger shows you that you need to multiply the current (I) by the resistance (R) to find voltage (V).

To find the current (I), cover I and you will see that you now need to divide voltage (V) by resistance (R) as V is shown above R.

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L2 Plumbing Unit 4 Apply scientific principles within mechanical services engineering

Using the Ohms Law Triangle (2) A circuit has a resistance of 120 ohms and a current of 2 amps is flowing. What would be the voltage applied to the circuit? To find the current (I), cover I in the diagram and you will see that you now need to divide voltage (V) by resistance (R), as V is shown above R. V = I x R = 2 x 120 = 240 volts

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L2 Plumbing Unit 4 Apply scientific principles within mechanical services engineering

Fuses and circuit breakers When a current flows, it causes a heating effect and a temperature rise in the wire. If a current that is too high for a wire is passed through it, the resulting overheating presents a serious fire risk. Fusing is a safety measure preventing a high electrical current from passing through wires that are not designed to carry such large charges.

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L2 Plumbing Unit 4 Apply scientific principles within mechanical services engineering

Fuse rating The appropriate size of fuse to be used the fuse rating can be worked out using the following simple formula:

If a lamp contains a 100 watt light bulb, the fuse rating would be calculated as follows: 100 230 (the voltage of domestic mains supply) = 0.434 amps

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L2 Plumbing Unit 4 Apply scientific principles within mechanical services engineering

Electrical circuits There are two basic types of electrical circuit: series parallel

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L2 Plumbing Unit 4 Apply scientific principles within mechanical services engineering

Main features of a series circuit The total resistance of the circuit is found by adding together all the resistances within the circuit: R = R1 + R2 + R3 The total current flowing (I) is found, using Ohms Law, by dividing the supply voltage by the resistance:

The current flowing will have the same value at any point in the circuit. The potential difference or voltage across each resistor is proportional to its resistance.

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L2 Plumbing Unit 4 Apply scientific principles within mechanical services engineering

Direct and alternating current (1) In a direct current electrical circuit, the electron flow is in the same direction all the time.

One example would be from the anode to the cathode of a battery around a simple circuit.

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L2 Plumbing Unit 4 Apply scientific principles within mechanical services engineering

Direct and alternating current (2) Most of the work that plumbing systems are connected into will be supplied with alternating current.

The supply in a domestic building will almost always be single phase, and supplied at 230 volts with a frequency of 50 hertz.

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