Earthing

 Earthing is a connection system between the metallic parts of an electrical wiring system
and the general mass of the earth.
 This will provide an easy path with a low impedance or resistance to earth to enable the
protection system to operate effectively.
 The resistance of this electrode to earth also depends on the condition of soil (5 ohms)

Electric Shock

 If an electric, current passes through the human body, the effects could be an electric shock
or even death.
 The degree of danger of electric shock depends on the value of the body current and the
time for which the current flows.
 One of the objects of earthing is to reduce the amount of current available for passage
through the human body in the event of the occurrence of an earth leakage current in an
installation.

The time/current zones of effects of 50 Hz current on the human body.

Zone 1 - No sensation

Zone 2 - Perceptibility of current, but no harmful effect (10 mA is the threshold of let-go)

Zone 3 - Muscular contractions and difficulty in breathing. Usually no danger of ventricular

fibrillation (0.5% probability)

Zone 4 - Probability of ventricular fibrillation increases a - up to 5% , b - up to 50% , c - greater than

50%

 Ventricular fibrillation - the prevention of the heart to act as an effective pump, and thus
causing a stoppage of blood circulation to all parts of the body, resulting in death in a very
short time.
 It can be seen that a current of 30 mA never goes into zone 4, and is thus typically used in
residual current devices used for safety of persons.
There are two ways in which we can be at risk.

1. Touching live parts of equipment or systems that are intended to be live. This is called direct
contact.
2. Touching conductive parts which are not meant to be live, but which have become live due
to a fault. This is called indirect contact.

Protection against direct contact

How can we prevent danger to persons and livestock from contact with intentionally live parts?
Clearly we must minimize the risk of such contact and this can be achieved by

 insulating any live parts

 Ensuring any uninsulated live parts are housed in suitable enclosures.

Protection against indirect contact

The most common method is by earthed equipotential bonding and automatic disconnection of
supply (EEBADS).

Earth fault loop impedance

The main reason for earth loop impedance testing – which is often simply called loop testing – is to
verify that, if a fault occurs in an electrical installation, sufficient current will flow to operate the fuse
or circuit breaker protecting the faulty circuit within a predetermined time.
Simplified version of the loop path.

We can see that the total earth fault loop impedance (Zs) is made up of the impedance external to
the installation (Ze), the resistance of the circuit phase conductor (R1) and circuit protective
conductor (R2), i.e.

The value of the fault current is

Uoc is the open circuit voltage of the supply transformer (220 V).

The regulations require two loop impedances to be recorded. The first is Ze, the external fault loop
impedance, which is typically measured at the distribution board or consumer unit where the supply
enters the building.

Having established a value for Ze, it is now necessary to determine the impedance of that part of
the loop path internal to the installation.

Table below gives resistance values for copper conductors up to 35 mm2. (the values given are in
milliohms per metre)
Lets’ assume

25 mm2 phase conductor with a 4 mm2 CPC (Circuit protective coductor) and For the length of
20m, estimate the resistance

R1 + R2 = (1.15 + 4.61) 20 1000

This final value is based on a temperature of 20 °C, but when the conductor is fully-loaded, its
temperature will increase. In order to determine the value of resistance at conductor-operating
temperature, a multiplier is used. This multiplier, applied to the 20 °C value of resistance is 1.2.

The value of Zs should be as low as possible to allow enough fault current to flow to operate the
protection as quickly as possible.

Circuit design

Before we embark on the process of calculating cable sizes, it is perhaps best to consider the
common types of accessory and appliance that are used in domestic installations.

Typical loadings of domestic apparatus

Conductors and the current-carrying components of accessories (e.g. switches, fuses, MCBs, socket
outlets and plugs) must be large enough to carry the maximum current which the connected
apparatus can cause to flow, without overheating or being overstressed.

Conductors and accessories are rated in terms of current in amperes.

Therefore, the consumption of the connected apparatus in amperes must be calculated.

This is known as the design current (Ib) of the circuit and can be determined from
Example – Calculate the current of 1 kW/230 V electric fire

Diversity

The size of a cable or accessory is not necessarily determined by the total power rating of all the
current-consuming devices connected to it.

It depends on what percentage of the connected load is likely to be operating at any one time. This
percentage use is called the diversity factor.

Table below gives an indication of the diversity factors that may be applied to parts of an
installation, but it must be remembered that the figures given are only a guide.

The amount by which the figures given are increased or decreased for any given installation should
be decided by the engineer responsible for the design.

Example: Calculate the maximum demand and assume demand after diversity factor of an 8
kW/230V cooker

Maximum demand

The assumed demand after applying diversity would be

Basic circuit design

Here then are the eight basic steps in a simplified form.

Design current

In many instances, the design current Ib is quoted by the manufacturer, but there are times when it
has to be calculated. In this case, the following two formulae are involved (one for single-phase and
one for three-phase).

Nominal setting of protection In

Having determined Ib, we must now select the nominal setting of the protection In such that In ≥Ib. This
value may be taken from IEE Regulations or from the manufacturer’s charts. The choice of fuse or MCB
type is also important and may have to be changed if cable sizes or loop impedances are too high.

Correction factors
When a cable carries its full-load current, it can become warm. This is no problem unless its temperature
rises further due to other influences, in which case the insulation could be damaged by overheating.
These other influences are high ambient temperature, cables grouped together closely, uncleared
overcurrents and contact with thermal insulation.

Ambient temperature Ca

The cable ratings quoted in the IEE Regulations are based on an ambient temperature of 30 C, and so it is
only above this temperature that an adverse correction is needed. The regulations give factors for all
types of protection.
The ambient temperature correction factor

Grouping Cg
When cables are grouped together, they impart heat to each other. Therefore, the more cables there are
the more heat they will generate, thus increasing the temperature of each cable.

The IEE Regulations give factors for such groups of cables or circuits.

The group correction factor

The cables installed in groups with others (for example, if enclosed in a conduit or trunking) are allowed
to carry less current than similar cables clipped to, or lying on, a solid surface which can dissipate heat
more easily.

It should be noted that the figures given are for cables of the same size, and so correction may not
necessarily be needed for cables grouped at the outlet of a domestic consumer unit, for example where
there is a mixture of different sizes.

Protection by rewireable fuse Cf

If the circuit concerned is protected by a semi-enclosed (rewirable) fuse, the cable size will need to
be larger to allow for the fact that such fuses are not so certain in operation as circuit breakers.

The fuse rating must never be greater than 0.725 times the current carrying capacity of the lowest-
rated conductor protected.
Thermal insulation Ci

The use of thermal insulation in buildings, in the forms of cavity wall filling, roof space blanketing, and so
on.

Since the purpose of such materials is to limit the transfer of heat, they will clearly affect the ability
of a cable to dissipate the heat build up within it when in contact with them,

If a cable is buried in thermal insulation for 0.5 m (500 mm) or more, a rating factor (the symbol for
the thermal insulation factor is Ci) of 0.5 is applied

For less than 0.5 m, derating factors shown in Table below

If a cable is totally surrounded by thermal insulation for only a short length (for example, where a
cable passes through an insulated wall), the heating effect on the insulation will not be so great
because heat will be conducted from the short high-temperature length through the cable
conductor.

Application of correction factors

If a cable ran for the whole of its length, grouped with others of the same size in a high ambient
temperature, and was totally surrounded with thermal insulation

It would seem logical to apply all the CFs, as they all affect the whole cable run.

If, however, the cable first runs grouped, then leaves the group and runs in high ambient temperature
and finally is enclosed in thermal insulation, there will be three different conditions, each affecting the
cable in different areas.

The rewireable fuse affects the whole cable run and, therefore, Cf must be used, but there is no need to
apply all of the remaining factors as the worst one will automatically compensate for the others.
Having chosen the relevant correction factors, we now apply them as divisors to the rating of the
protective device In in order to calculate the tabulated current-carrying capacity It of the cable to be used.

Tabulated current-carrying capacity It

Cable selection

Having established the tabulated current-carrying capacity of the cable required, the actual size is found
from a relevant table in the IEE Regulations.

Voltage drop
The resistance of a conductor increases as the length increases and/or the cross-sectional area decreases.
Associated with an increased resistance is a drop in voltage, which means that a load at the end of a long,
thin cable will not have the full supply voltage available.

The IEE Regulations require that the voltage drop V should not be so excessive that equipment does not
function safely. They further indicate that a drop of no more than 4% of the nominal voltage at the origin
of the circuit will satisfy.

For single-phase 230 V, the voltage drop should not exceed 4% of

230 V = 9.2 V

For example, the voltage drop on a circuit supplied from a 230 V source by a 16.0 mm 2 two-core copper
cable 23 m long, clipped direct and carrying a design current of 33 A, will be

As we have just seen, the maximum volt drop for a 230 V installation is 9.2 V, so we can determine the
maximum length of the cable by transposing this formula

Example-
An immersion heater rated at 240 V, 3 kW is to be installed using twin with protective conductor
p.v.c. insulated and sheathed cable. The circuit will be fed from a 15 A miniature circuit breaker, and
will be run for much of its 14 m length in a roof space which is thermally insulated with glass fibre.
The roof space temperature is expected to rise to 50°C in summer, and where it leaves the consumer
unit and passes through a 50 mm insulation-filled cavity, the cable will be bunched with seven
others. Calculate the cross-sectional area of the required cable.

First calculate the design current Ib

The ambient temperature correction factor is found from Table to be 0.71

The group correction factor is found from Table as 0.52.
The cable in the roof space is in contact with the glass fibre but not enclosed by it.
We must consider the bunched cables pass through the insulated cavity. And the factor is 0.89.

The correction factors must now be considered to see if more than one of them applies to the same
part of the cable.
The only place where this happens is in the insulated cavity behind the consumer unit. Factors of
0.52 (Cg) and 0.89 (CI) apply.
The combined value of these (0.463), which is lower than the ambient temperature correction factor
of 0.71, and will thus be the figure to be applied.

Hence the required current rating is calculated:-

From above table, 6 mm² p.v.c. twin with protective conductor has a current rating of 32 A

This is not quite large enough, so 10 mm²with a current rating of 43 A is indicated.

Not only would this add considerably to the costs, but would also result in difficulties due to
terminating such a large cable in the accessories.

A more sensible option would be to look for a method of reducing the required cable size.

For example, if the eight cables left the consumer unit in two bunches of four, this would result in a
grouping factor of 0.65.

The combined grouping and thermal insulation factors (0.65 x 0.89 = .0.58) are still less than the
ambient temperature factor of 0.71.

This is well below the rating for 6 mm² of 32 A, so a cable of this size could be selected.

Cable types

When choosing a cable one of the most important factors is the temperature attained by its
insulation.

If the temperature is allowed to exceed the upper design value, premature failure is likely.

Different types of insulations – rubber, paper, P.V.C., LSF (low smoke and fume), thermosetting
polymer, mineral.

PVC thermoplastics – Maximum operating temperature limit is 70 0C

Thermosetting polymer – It doesn’t melt and maximum operating temperature limit is 90 0C

Low smoke and fume – Though thermosetting handles high temperature, but it’s giving off toxic
fumes. Though low smoke is expensive, it doesn’t giving off toxic fumes when it’s exposed to fire.

Mineral-insulated copper-clad cable is a variety of electrical cable made from copper conductors
inside a copper sheath, insulated by inorganic magnesium oxide powder.
Low smoke-emitting cables
Normal PVC insulation emits dense smoke and corrosive gases when burning. If cables are to be run
in areas of public access, such as schools, supermarkets, hospitals, etc, the designer should consider
the use of special cables.

IEE Wiring Regulations

 Rules and regulations have been framed to govern the practice to ensure that all electrical
installations provide adequate degree of safety from fire and shock risks, to those who
operate the installations and their associated apparatus, equipment and machines.
 In Sri Lanka it is also a legal requirement that electrical installations satisfy the IEE Wiring
Regulations.

Following are some important information available in these regulations:

1. The Regulations are designed to protect persons, property from electric shock, fire, burns
and injury from mechanical movement of electrically actuated equipment.

2. Prevention of electric shock is carried out by Insulation of live parts, formation of barriers or
enclosures, keeping obstacles and making the place out of reach, etc.

3. Fundamental requirements for safety require the use good workmanship, approved
materials and equipment to ensure that the correct type, size and current-carrying capacity
of cables is chosen.

4. The regulations also ensure that the equipment is suitable for the maximum power
demanded of it and make sure that the conductors are insulated, and sheathed or protected
if necessary, or are placed in a position to prevent danger.

5. Joints and connections should be properly constructed to be mechanically and electrically

sound.

6. Over-current protection should always be provided for every circuit in an installation

7. There is a chance of metalwork becoming live owing to a fault, it should be earthed, and the
circuit concerned should be protected by an over-current device or a residual current device
(RCD).

8. A fuse, a switch or a circuit breaker should not be placed a in an earthed neutral conductor.

9. It requires that all single-pole switches are wired in the phase conductor only.
 10. Testing includes continuity of live, neutral and protective conductors, the resistance of earth
electrodes, insulation resistance of all live conductors to earth, insulation resistance
between live conductors, polarity to ensure all switches are connected in phase conductors
and not neutral; phase earth loop impedance tests, operation of residual current devices.

Testing

On completion of a wiring installation, a number of tests on the installation have to be conducted to

ascertain that the wiring circuits and connected appliances are safe for use.

Continuity Test;

 Protection Conductor Continuity Test

o To ascertain that all protection conductors are connected in the correct and
effective manner.
o Test equipment – Multimeter (Ohm range) or Ohm meter.
o Ensure that the main switch, RCD and MCB are open circuited (switched off) and all
loads are disconnected;
o The meter reading shall be less than 1 ohm.

 Final Ring Circuit Conductor Continuity Test.

o To ensure that all conductors around the ring circuit have continuity;
o Test Equipment – Multimeter (Ohm range) or Ohm Meter
o Disconnect both the supply source live conductors from the MCB, the neutral
conductor from the neutral terminals and the earth conductor from the earth
terminal in the distribution fuse box
 o Connect the test leads as in the Figure
o Repeat the procedure for (L-L) and (N-N);
o The meter reading value shall be less than 1 ohm.

 Live and Neutral Conductor Continuity Test.

o To ensure that each conductor in the circuit has continuity;
o Test Equipment – Multimeter (Ohm range) or Ohm Meter
o Test Method:
 Switch off the Main switch, RCD and MCB;
 Disconnect all loads;
 Switch on all switches in the circuit;
 The meter reading value shall be less than 1 ohm.

Insulation Resistance Test;

 Test the strength of the cable insulation.

 Test Equipment – Insulation Resistance Tester. operating voltage is 250VDC or 500VDC.
 Test Method:
o Switch off main switch;
o Disconnect all loads;
o Switch on all circuit control switches;
o Carry out test as in the Table below;

o Meter reading value shall be less than 1 Megaohm.

Polarity Test;

 Ensure that each fuse or single pole control and protection device is connected only in the
phase conductor.
 Intermediate contact of Edison screw lamp holder is connected to the phase conductor.
 Ensure that phase, neutral and earth conductors at socket outlets are connected at the
correct terminals.
 Test Equipment – Multimeter (Ohm range) or Ohm meter.
 Test Method:
o Switch off Main switch
o Disconnect all loads
o Switch on all circuit control switches;

o Test switches and single phase control devices at the phase conductors.
o Test socket outlet connection sources.
o Test Edison screw lamp holder connections.
o Meter reading value shall be less than 1 ohm.
 Earth Electrode Resistance test

 To test the earth electrode resistance.

 To ascertain the suitability of the location of the electrode.
 To ensure that the electrode is not buried within the resistance area of another electrode.
 Test equipment – Earth Resistance Tester.
 Test method
o Terminal ’E’ is connected to the electrode to be tested (green conductor)
o Terminal ‘P’ is connected to the potential spike (yellow conductor) at a distance of
10 meters from the earth electrode.
o Terminal ‘C’ is connected to the current spike (red conductor) at a distance of 20
meters from the earth electrode.

o Earth Electrode Resistance Measurement Method

o This test must be repeated at least three times, to ensure that the reading is not
affected by interacting earthing regions.

o
 Record the first reading (Z1) Example : Z1 = 10 Ω
 Move the voltage spike to a distance of 6 meters from the original position.
Record the second reading (Z2) Example : Z2 = 10 Ω
 Move the voltage spike to a distance of 6 meters from the original position.
Record the third reading (Z3) Example : Z3 = 10 Ω

Result:

From the three resistance values, obtain the average value of the tested earth electrode resistance.
Residual Current Device Test

 Ensure that the residual current device (RCD) trips within the set time on the occurrence of
current leakage to earth.
 Test Equipment – RCD Tester/ RCCB Tester
 Test Method 1
o Use the Trip Test Button
o Press the trip button found on the RCD to determine if it trips or otherwise. This
test would not be able to determine the sensitivity of the RCD nor the time taken for
it to trip.
 Test Method 2
o Use a RCD Tester

o This equipment is equipped with a 13A plug which can be connected to a 13A socket
outlet. Select the RCD sensitivity to be the same as the sensitivity of the RCD to be
tested, to determine if the RCD can trip. The time to trip shall not exceed 40
millisecond.
o Test method –
o Position the selection switch in accordance with the sensitivity of the RCD used.
o Position the operations switch to ‘No Trip’ (½ Rated mA = 50%), connect the 3 pin
plug to the 13A socket outlet.
o Switch on the 13A socket outlet – ensure that the P-N and P-E lights light up. This
shows that the polarity is correct. (Note: if both the lights as above do not light up,
the test cannot be continued).
o Press the test button – the reading shows greater than 200 millisecond. At that
instant the RCD will not trip.
Move the operations switch to ‘Trip’ (Rated mA = 100%).
 o Press the test button – RCD will trip and the indicated reading shall not exceed 200
millisecond.
o Change the operations switch to ‘Fast Trip’ and press the test button – RCD will trip
within a time not exceeding 40 millisecond.
o Test results must be as shown in the following table

Example

A plug connected to a table lamp contains a 3A fuse. Why is the fuse needed?

 To protect the wiring from overheating

The earth wire of an electric appliance should be connected to the

 Metal case

In an a.c. (household) electrical circuit, why should the switch for any device (such as an electric
kettle) always be connected to the ‘live lead?

 the device can only be isolated (made safe) if the switch is in the live lead.

Explain why thin wire should not be used in the electrical system of an office building, even though
this would be cheap.

 If the input current is too high, it might cause the wire overheated and might lead to fire.

The cable used to connect the kettle to the mains supply has three wires. Describe to what part of
the kettle each of these wires is

 Live wire connects to input of heating element. Neutral wire connects to output of heating
element. Earth wire connects to metal casing of the kettle.

Example

An electric heater connected to the 230V mains supply draws a current of 4A. Calculate the power of
the electric heater?
Potential Difference = V = 230V
Current = I = 4A
Using P = V x I
P = 230 x 4 = 920W

Example

An electric kettle has a 2500W on a 230V main supply. What fuse should be fitted in the plug?

Power = P = 2500W
Potential Difference = V = 230V
I=P/V
I = 2500 / 230 = 10.87A

Therefore a 13A fuse should be fitted.

Fuse values are only available in 3A, 5A and 13A values

The Electricity Bill

Kilowatt-hours (kWh) is the unit of energy used when calculating the cost of electricity. It is
calculated using the equation;

Example

A 1500W electric iron is used for 30 minutes. What is the cost of electricity if the unit price is 9.5p
per kW h?

Power of electric iron = P = 1500W = 1500/1000 = 1.5kW

Time = t = 30min = 30/60 = 0.5 h
Energy transferred = power x time = 1.5 x 0.5 = 0.75 kW h
Cost = 0.75 x 9.5 = 7.125p

Power generation

While selecting a method of generating electricity, following factors are taken into account

Initial cost - lower the initial cost, better it is

Running cost - the cost of conversion process (including proportional cost of maintenance/repairs of
the system)

Limitations - whether a particular resource is available

Introduction to solar power system;

Solar basics

 The proportion of the sun’s rays that reaches the earth’s surface is enough to provide for
global energy consumption 10,000 times over.
 On average, each square metre of land is exposed to enough sunlight to produce 1,700 kWh
of power every year.
 Tropical regions offer a better resource than more temperate latitudes. The average
radiation in Europe is about 1,000 kWh per square metre and year, for example, compared
with 1,800 kWh in the Middle East.
 Photovoltaic technology is used to convert solar energy into electricity, generates electricity
from light.
 The most common semi-conductor material used in photovoltaic (PV) cells is silicon, an
element most commonly found in sand.

 All PV cells have at least two layers of such semi-conductors, one positively charged and one
negatively charged. When light shines on the semi-conductor, the electric field across the
junction between these two layers causes electricity to flow, generating DC current. The
greater the intensity of the light, the greater the flow of electricity.
 A photovoltaic system therefore does not need bright sunlight in order to operate. It also
generates electricity on cloudy days by a rationing of the energy output that depends on the
density of the clouds. Due to the reflection of sunlight, days with slight cloud can even result
in higher energy yields than days with a completely cloudless sky.
 The most important parts of a PV system are the CELLS which form the basic building blocks
of the unit which collects the sun’s light.
  Modules are clusters of PV cells incorporated into a unit, usually by soldering them together
under a sheet of glass. They can be adapted in size to the proposed site, and quickly
installed.
 They are also robust, reliable and weatherproof. Module producers usually guarantee a
power output of 80% of the nominal power even after 20-25 years

INVERTERS

 Inverters are used to convert the direct current (DC) power generated by a PV generator into
alternating current (AC) compatible with the local electricity distribution network.
 Inverters are offered in a wide range of power classes, from a few hundred watts through
the most frequently used range of several kW (3-6 kW) up to central inverters for large-scale
systems with several hundred kW.

TYPES OF PV SYSTEM

GRID CONNECTED

 This is the most popular type of solar PV system for homes and businesses in the developed
world.
 Connection to the local electricity network allows any excess power produced to be sold to
the utility. Electricity is then imported from the network outside daylight hours.
 An inverter is used to convert the DC power produced by the system to AC power for
running normal electrical equipment.
 In countries with a premium feed-in tariff, this is considerably higher than the usual tariff
paid by the customer to the utility, so usually all electricity produced is fed into the public
grid and sold to the utility.

OFF-GRID

 Completely independent of the grid, the system is connected to a battery via a charge
controller, which stores the electricity generated and acts as the main power supply.
 The battery is connected to the PV array via a CHARGE CONTROLLER. The charge controller
protects the battery from overcharging or discharging.
 An inverter can be used to provide AC power, enabling the use of normal appliances without
mains power.
 Typical off-grid applications are industrial applications such as repeater stations for mobile
phones.

HYBRID SYSTEM

 A solar system can be combined with another source of power - a biomass generator, a wind
turbine or diesel generator to ensure a consistent supply of electricity. A hybrid system can
be grid connected, stand alone or grid support.
THE ADVANTAGES OF SOLAR POWER

 The fuel is free.

 There are no moving parts to wear out, break down or replace.
 Only minimal maintenance is required to keep the system running.
 The systems are modular and can be quickly installed anywhere.
 It produces no noise, harmful emissions or polluting gases.

THE DISADVANTAGES OF SOLAR POWER

 Sun does not shine consistently

 Storage issues