Basic Electrical

Wiring
Electrical Safety

"Shocking Statistics“

 There are approximately 290 accidental electrocutions

each year.

 An additional 800 people die in fires caused by faulty

electrical systems every year.

 Thousands are shocked and burned as the result of

accidental contact with electricity every year.

 An estimated $1.2 billion in property damage occurs

each year due to faulty use of electricity.
Electricity

 Electricity is the flow of electrons in a conductor.

 The electrons must have a path to and from its source.

 This path is called a circuit.

Electricity

 Various electrical devices are used as a part of the

circuit.

 These devices are used for a variety of activities, such

as turning the electricity off and on, providing
electricity to various lights or appliances, etc.
 Types of Electrical Currents
 Electrical current comes in two forms:
 Direct current (DC)
 Flows in only one direction.
 It is usually generated by battery-base electrical systems and used in the
electrical systems of internal combustion engines or flashlight batteries.

 Alternating current (AC)

 Reverses the direction of flow of current many times each second.
 AC is the type used in homes, factories, etc.
Electrical Service

 Service is provided to homes, businesses and other

small users of electricity by three wires from a utility
pole.

 Two of the wires are “hot,” each carrying 120 volts.

 The other wire is “neutral,” and provides the return

path for electricity.
Electrical Service (cont.)

 These wires are connected to a service entrance,

which is where the electricity enters a building.

 A meter is used in the service entrance to measure the

amount of electricity being used.
Electrical Service (cont.)

 The service entrance is grounded with a wire

connected to a ground rod driven several feet into
the ground.

 It is needed to provide a return path to the ground

and to carry away stray electrical current out of the
system.
Service Panel

 Follows the meter.

 It houses the circuit

breakers for the
system and is used
to distribute the
power to individual
circuits throughout
the system.
APPLIANCE AMPERESa RUNNING/RATED (W)
Air conditioner large (1) 20 (240 V) 4800
Air conditioner, small (1) 15 1800
Clothes dryer 33 (240 V) ! 4 (120 V) 8400
Clothes iron 10 1200
Coffee maker 7 850
Computer, desktop 8 960
Dishwasher (2) 12 1440
Dehumidifier 6 720
Drill, electric, small (2) 4 500
Fan (ceiling) (3) 4 480
Fan (furnace, 1/3 hp) (3) 5 600
Fan (portable) (3) 0.6 72
Freezer (3) 4 500
Garbage disposer 6 720
Hair dryer (2) 5–10 1500
Heater (baseboard, 10 ft) 10 (240 V) 2400
Heater (portable) 8 1000
Heater (water, 50 gal) 19 (240 V) 4500
Lamps, incandescent 0.25–1.7 30–200
Microwave oven (4) 6.6 (240 V) 1500
Radio, AM/FM 0.4 50
Range, electric per element 6.5 (240 V) 1500
Refrigerator (3) 5 600
Stereo system 2.5 300
Stove, electric, per element 6.5 (240 V) 1500
Television (color, large) 5 600
Television (color, small) 1 120
Toaster 7 850
Vacuum cleaner (2) 9 1080
Washing machine (2) 10 1220
Water heater, electric 20 (240 V) 4800
 Overcurrent
 When a circuit uses too much electricity, an
overcurrent causes a circuit breaker to trip,
shutting down the power to that circuit.

 The excessive heat caused by an

overcurrent condition may burn or damage
a conductor’s insulation and cause a fire.

 A circuit breaker is a heat-sensitive switch,

which automatically trips when electricity
demand is too great which causes the
temperature in the conductor to get too
hot.
Amps Volts Watts
The following relationship exists between
Amps, Volts and Watts.
 Amperes are a measure of the rate of flow of electricity in a
conductor.

 Volts are a measure of electrical pressure.

 Watts are a measure of the amount of energy or work that can be

done by amperes and volts.
 Identify and draw various symbols
used in drawing wiring diagrams or
schematics.

What symbols are used in drawing

various electrical devices?

In order to successfully draw a wiring

circuit on paper, one needs to use
various symbols that represent the
equipment.
Cable Types
 Cable Types

One is 14/2 with ground, which has one black conductor, one white
conductor, and a bare ground conductor.
Cable Types (cont.)

A third type of cable is 14/3 with ground, which has

one black conductor, one white conductor, one red
conductor, and one bare ground conductor.
Metal and
Nonmetallic Conduit
Indoor metal and nonmetallic conduit can
keep dust and moisture out of wiring and
protect it from mechanical abrasion. Short
sections can protect wiring close to the
floor used to power washing machines and
clothes dryers in damp basements. These
sections must be anchored to masonry
walls where there are no wood studs for
supporting them. Conduit is also used as
vertical ducting between floors to ease the
task of pulling power and communications
cables through floors. It will also protect all
power and communications cables in
warehouses and other unoccupied storage
buildings where there are no dry internal
walls or ceilings.
 Electrical wiring distribution
BUSWAYS CONDUITS

RAISED FLOOR SYSTEMS

RACEWAYS
Additional symbols are used to
identify terminals and indicate if
wires are spliced or just crossing
over.
RACEPTACLES AND SWITCHES
GENERAL TERMS
Corrosion-resistant: Electrical devices made from corrosion-resistant
metals or metals that will corrode if left bare but when plated with
corrosion-resistant metals will withstand corrosive environments. These
devices must pass the ASTM B117- 13 (500-hr) Salt Spray (Fog) Test.
Explosion-proof: Electrical devices such as switches or relays whose
cases or housings are sealed to confine any internal electrical arcing
within that housing. They can also be semiconductor devices that switch
power without producing electric arcs. These devices must meet the
NFPA-70 requirements for use in situations defined by the NEC as
environments presenting fire or explosion hazards.
Hospital-grade: A specification grade for premium-quality electrical
devices that meet the “hospital-grade” requirements of Underwriters’
Laboratories Standard UL 498 for performance, durability, and the
enhancement of patient safety in hospitals and health-care facilities.
They must pass more rigorous tests than industrial or consumer
devices.
Plug: An electrical device with male contacts that terminate a
line cord and plug into mating slots and holes of an outlet or
receptacle.
Receptacle: An electrical device with female contacts usually
installed on equipment housings or walls to complete an
electrical connection when a plug is inserted.
Switch: An electrical device for making, breaking, or changing
the electrical connections in a circuit.
Wallplate (or wall plate): A thin metal or plastic cover plate
for enclosing and protecting a permanently wired or empty
electrical box. Wallplates are available in a wide variety of
sizes with different cutouts to admit actuators or outlets.
Weatherproof: An electrical device constructed of materials
with the requisite properties that permit the device to function
as designed despite prolonged exposure to adverse weather.
Symbols (cont.)
Symbols (cont.)

MARRETTE
External cap made of tough, durable polypropylene.
Threaded entry helps guide large wire bundles into the
spring chamber. Unique copper-coated spring helps
resist corrosion. Approved for circuits up to 600 V, and
lighting fixtures and sings up to 1,000 V.
 Diagramming

Generally, black and red

conductors carry “hot” power or
current from the source to the
devices within the circuit.

 The white conductor is always used to carry the current back to the
source.
Two and Three wire
How to wire a receptacle
All receptacles should be wired such that
the hot or live (black) lead is connected to
a specific side of the outlet, and the neutral
(white) lead to the other.
CONTROL SWITCH
Types of control switches
Toggle switch
Push Button
Slide switch
Rocker plate
Dimmer switch-
Photo cell –light sensitivity
Infrared- remote
Motion sensor-switch
Pull down switch
Automated software based
 The Ohm “” or “R” (cont.)
 Heat caused by
the flow of current
Energy lost due to
electron contact
Resistance (similar
to friction heat)
 The Watt “P”
 A function of both voltage and amps
“push” and “amount of juice”
Known as “power”
 Wattage is not a flow of current, it is a
resulting amount of power
 Before true power can exist, there must
be some type of energy change or
conversion
Heat (light bulb)
Mechanical (steam generator)
 The Watt “P”
• Where did the term Watt come from?
• Actually you could say it came from
horses.
• Before we had electricity we had horses
working.
• Plowing fields and pulling carriages and
the like.
 The Watt “P”
• And making a lot of horse poop. Or a lot
of horse crap …..or horse sh….
• However the word “lot” was confused
with “watt” as is in “a watt of crap” and
the term stuck.
• So when electricity was invented we
converted horsepower to the term
“watt”.
 Horsepower
James Watt needed to sell his steam
engines he was making.
So he put power in the term that people
would understand being horsepower
After experimentation, he found that the
average horse can work steady pulling a
plow at 550 foot-pound per second*
Doing the math, this would equate:
1 hp = 746 W

*the amount of force required to raise one pound of weight one foot
 Horsepower
So the term watt used in electricity originated
with James Watt trying to find a way to
measure something people at the time
understood which was “horse power”. Horse
power is the amount of power an average
plow horse can exert.
 BTU – British Thermal Unit
 Defined
The amount of heat required to raise the
temperature of one pound of water one degree
Fahrenheit
In metric terms, the joule is equivalent to a
watt
1 watt = 3.412 BTU per hour
1 kilowatt (kw) = 3412 BTU per hour
Conversion Chart - Power

Common Power Units

 Electrical Quantities

E = Volts
I = Amps
R = Resistance (Ohms  )
P = Watt
 Ohm’s Law

 Defined
It takes one volt
to push one
amp through
one ohm
E=IxR
 I = E/R
 R = E/I
Formula Chart
Ohm’s Law
 Examples
R = 144
100 W
I = 0.83

V or E = voltage, I = current, R = Resistance

A light bulb rated at 100 watts. The bulb
operates at 120 volts
100w/120v =
What is its current flow? 0.83 ampere

What is the resistance of the filament?

120v/0.83a = 1202/100W
144 ohms, or = 144 ohms
 Example (cont.)
R = 48
300 W
I = 2.5

 A light bulb rated at 300 watts. The bulb

operates at 120 volts

300w/120v =
What is its current flow? 2.5 ampere

What is the resistance of the filament?

120/2.5 = 2120 /300W
48 ohms, or = 48 ohms
 Example (cont.)
 100 watt bulb has
0.83 amp current flow
144 ohms of resistance
 300 watt bulb has
 a bigger filament than 100 watt bulb
thus
2.5 amp current flow
48 ohms of resistance
* A bigger filament means less resistance to electron flow.
This equates to more electrons passing through the
filament thus creating a more intense light
 Practice Problems
 An electric heating element has a resistance of 9.6  and
is connected to a voltage of 120 V. How much current will
flow in this circuit?

120v/9.6 = 12.5 A
 Using the above question, how many watts of heat are
being produced by the heating element?
(12.5 A)(120 V) = 1500 W
 A 240 V circuit has a current flow of 20 A. How much
power is connected in the circuit?
(240 V) (20 A) = 4800 W

 An electric motor has an apparent resistance of 15 . If 8

A of current are flowing through the motor, what is the
connected voltage?
(8 A)(15 ) = 120 V
Practice Problems (cont.)
 You plan to install a 5 kW electric
heating unit in your home. You want to
operate the unit in the most efficient
way. Would you connect the unit to a
120 V or 240 V electrical system?
5000 W/ 120 V = 41.67 A

5000 W / 240 V = 20.8 A

 In the above, which voltage system is

the most expensive to operate? Uses the
most power? Uses the most amperage?
Uses the larger conductors?

Use same amount of power

120 V uses a larger current thus larger conductors
 Problems (cont.)

 A conductor has a resistance of 20 ohms

per 1000 feet of length. The conductor
serves a lamp 200 feet from the power
source. If lamp has a resistance of 72
ohms and a source voltage of 120, what is
the voltage drop across the light bulb?
First find ohms or resistance
Next circuit current
Next voltage drop through the conductors
Finally find actual voltage across the lamp
Problems (cont.)

4 + 72 + 4 = 80 ohms

120 V = (I)(80 ohms)

I = 1.5 A

E = 1.5 A (4 + 4) =
12 volts drop

E = (1.5)(72) = 108
volts