MAINS ELECTRICITY

Main Circuits
Ring main circuits consist of three wires
1. Live wire - electrical energy travels
2. Neutral wire- completes the circuit
3. Earth wire- protects user when an appliance develops a fault.

Plug and Sockets

The mains electricity supplied to homes are 220V and 240V. Mains electricity can cause
electric shock. To avoid this outer part of a plug called the casing is made of plastic which is a
good insulator.

1
Protecting the Device & User

Understand how the use of insulation, double insulation, earthing, fuses and circuit breakers
protects the device or user in a range of domestic appliances

Fuses

 A fuse is a safety device designed to cut off the flow of electricity to an appliance if the
current becomes too large (due to a fault or a surge).

The circuit symbol for a fuse – take care not to confuse this with a resistor

 Fuses usually consist of a glass cylinder containing a thin metal wire.

 If the current in the wire become too large:

o The wire heats up and melts

o This causes the wire to break, curcuit becomes incomplete and stopping the
current.
o This prevents user getting electric shock and reduces possibility of electric
fires.

 In modern safety devices, trip switches or circuit breakers are used instead of fuse
because melted fuse needs to be replaced, but circuit breakers or trip switches can be
reset.

The Earth Wire

 Many electrical appliances have metal cases.

 This poses a potential safety hazard:

o If a live wire (inside the appliance) came into contact with the metal case, the
case would become electrified and anyone who touched in would risk
electrocution.

2
 o The earth wire provides a low resistance path for the current.
o This causes a surge of current in the earth wire and hence also in the live wire.
o The high current through the fuse causes it to melt and break.
o Circuit becomes incomplete and user and appliances become safer.

Double Insulation

 Some appliances do not have metal cases , instead they have plastic casing.
 Such appliances are said to be double insulated, as they have two layers of insulation:

o Insulation around the wires themselves

o The non-metallic case acts as a second layer of insulation

3
  Double insulated appliances do not require an earth wire, and are usually marked with
the following symbol:

 These appliances have a two wire flex and do not have an earth wire.

Switch

 Switch is placed in the live wire to make sure that no electric energy reaches the
appliance when the switch is open.
 If it is in the neutral wire, electric curent reaches the appliance even when it is open and
the user gets electric shock.

IGCSE Physics student book, Page 66, question 03.

4
 Understand why a current in a resistor results in the electrical transfer of
energy and an increase in temperature, and how this can be used in a variety
of domestic contexts

 Electricity, in metals, is caused by a flow of electrons.

 As the electrons pass through the metal they collide with ions: The ions resist the flow
of the electrons.

As electrons flow through the metal, they collide with ions, making them vibrate more

 When the electrons collide they lose some energy, giving it to the ions, which start
to vibrate more.
 As a result of this, the metal heats up.
 This effect is used in many electric heaters, including electric ovens, some types of
electric hob, toasters, kettles and old fashioned incandescent light bulbs.
 The heating effect differes with the resistance.

1. Low resistance thin wire filament in bulbs becomes very hot and glows white. Electric
energy is transfered to heat and light.
2. High resistance wires in toasters, kettles and ovens transfer electric energy into heat
energy.

5
 ELECTRIC POWER

 Power is the rate of energy transfer (the amount of energy transferred per second).
 The power of an electrical component (or appliance) is given by the equation:

Power = Current x voltage

P=IxV

 You can rearrange this equation with the help of the formula triangle:

Use the formula triangle to help you rearrange the equation

 The unit of power is the watt (W), which is the same as a joule per second (J/s)

6
 SELECTING FUSES

 A fuse is a safety device designed to cut off the supply of electricity to an appliance if the
current becomes too large.

 Fuses come in a variety of sizes (typically 3A, 5A and 13A) – in order to select the right
fuse for the job, you need to know how much current an appliance needs.

 If you know the power of the appliance (along with mains voltage), the current can be
calculated using the equation:

Current = Power / Voltage

 The fuse should always have a current rating that is higher than the current needed by
the appliance, without being too high – always choose the next size up.

Example:

 Suppose an appliance uses 3.1 amps.

o A 3 amp use would be too small – the fuse would blow as soon as the
appliance was switched on.
o A 13 amp fuse would be too large – it would allow an extra 10 amps to pass
through the appliance before it finally blew.
o A 5 amp fuse would be an appropriate choice, as it is the next size up.

Page 66, questions 2.

7
 Energy Transferred, Current, Voltage, Time

 The amount of electrical energy used by a component or appliance depends upon three
things:

o The current
o The voltage
o The amount of time the device is used for.

 The energy transferred can be calculated from the equation:

energy transferred = voltage x current x time

E=VxIxt

 Where the unit of energy is the joule (J).

 Note that this equation is related to the equation for power:

power = current x voltage

 Power is the energy transferred per second and so:

energy transferred = power x time = current x voltage x time

E=Pxt

8
Page 66, questions 1.

Mains, A.C., D.C.

 An alternating current (a.c.) is one that continuously changes its direction, going back
and forth around a circuit with changing its value.
 A direct current (d.c.) is one that is steady, constantly going in the same direction with
same value.

Two graphs showing the variation of current with time for alternating current and direct
current

 Electric cells (batteries) produce direct current (d.c.)

 Mains electricity is an alternating current (a.c.).