Basic knowledge of electrician

1． Safe electricity knowledge

Maintenance electricians must not only have knowledge of safe electricity usage, but also have the
obligation to promote safe electricity usage and prevent violations of safe electricity usage. The main
contents of safe electricity knowledge are:

（1）It is strictly forbidden to bind the power cord with metal wires (such as lead wires)

（2）Do not use wet hands to touch switches, sockets and electrical equipment with metal shells,
and do not wipe the above-mentioned electrical appliances with a damp cloth.

（3）It is strictly forbidden to place clothing on the motor and various electrical equipment,
do not sit or stand on the motor, and do not hang rain gear on top of the motor or
electrical equipment.

(4) During thunderstorms, do not approach the grounding conductors of high-voltage poles,
iron towers and lightning rods to prevent thunder and lightning from hurting people.
Do not approach high-voltage wires that have fallen on the ground

(5) Motors that are prone to overload, may fail to start due to serious starting or
self-starting conditions, or need to limit the starting time, overload protection should be installed.

(6) The current carrying capacity of the wire is slightly larger than the current of the circuit breaker.
Only in this way can it be ensured that the circuit breaker can provide overload protection
for the wire.

2. Basic knowledge:
﹡ A good power distribution design should be able to ensure that the current flowing through the
circuit conductor cannot exceed its safe current carrying capacity.

There are generally the following two situations when the current flowing in the circuit conductor
exceeds the safe current carrying capacity

(1) Overload:
The power consumption of the load connected to the circuit has exceeded its
safe current carrying capacity.

(2) Short circuit:

In the circuit, the wires with voltage are directly connected without load,
forming a short circuit.
﹡Over current protection equipment can be divided into two categories:

1. Fuse, is made of low melting point alloy and connected in series. When overload or short circuit
occurs, it can be blown by the heat generated by overcurrent. It is suitable for small current
capacity.
2. Circuit Breaker (CB) is a kind of switch, in addition to manual operation, opening and
closing the circuit, when an overload or short circuit occurs, it can also automatically cut off the
circuit.

﹡Common protection equipment, as power switch and overload, short circuit

protection.

1. MCCB (non-fuse circuit breaker):

Using thermal (overload protection, time-delay characteristics, see time current curve TCC) +
electromagnetic (short-circuit protection) function to automatically trip the switch, the circuit
breaker achieves overload and short-circuit protection.

1P 50AF 15AT

2P 50AF 15AT

3P 100AF 50AT
圖片來源：富士 F102B，75A，10kA，熱動+電磁式

2. Top in and bottom out:

 - Power supply side (labeled line), the primary side enters the line (the upper part of the
appearance is "open", and the lower part is "close").
- On the load side (labeled load), the secondary side leads out for use by the load.

3. The starting current of the motor is generally about 5 to 8 times the load current.
From the time-current curve TCC, the motor must be started within 3 seconds and run normally,
otherwise the MCCB will trip and disconnect the power supply.

4. Considering that the starting current of Y-Δ step-down voltage is the starting current / √ 3,
the starting time can be extended to about 10 seconds.

5. ELB and ELCB (leakage circuit breaker):

prevent electrical equipment (circuit) leakage and reduce leakage inductance and electrical
accidents. When the circuit has leakage, it can quickly trip. Among them, ELB can only operate
when leakage, and must be matched with a circuit breaker for overload protection,
while ELCB has three types of leakage (zero current converter), overload, and short circuit.
Protect

3 P For 3∮4W

2 P For 1∮2W 3 P For 1∮3W

6. ACB (air circuit breaker):

a large-capacity low-voltage protection device with overload and short-circuit protection. It is
often used for the main switch of low-voltage circuits. Generally, ACB circuit breakers are
recommended for ATs above 800A.

圖片來源：士林電機

No Fuse Breaker
The non-fuse switch is also referred to as NFB, which is a kind of overcurrent protection circuit breaker.

The main specifications of the router are the number of poles (Pole), frame current (Frame

Current), rated current (Rate Current), breaking capacity (Interrupting Capacity) and so on.

1.Number of poles P:
The number of contact groups of the protection device, that is, the number of lines that
can be opened or closed at the same time. It is usually represented by "P". 1P means a
single set of contacts, and only one wire can be opened and disconnected, and 2P
means two Group contacts, can open and break two wires at the same time, 3P means
three sets of contacts, can open and break three wires at the same time, and so on.

2.Rated current AT:

the rated continuous current or trip current of the protection device, unit A, referred to as AT,
usually smaller than AF,
According to different load characteristics, the rated current AT of the circuit breaker must be selected
to be 1.15~1.5 times the load current, and then the wire diameter should be selected according to the
rated current AT of the circuit breaker (the safe current carrying capacity of the cable must be greater
than or equal to the rated current AT of the circuit breaker, That is, when the circuit generates high
heat due to overload or short circuit, and the insulation sheath becomes soft, or even melts, the circuit
breaker should be tripped first to achieve the purpose of protecting the circuit), and then check
whether the voltage drop meets the legal requirements.

3.Frame capacity AF:

the current ampere that the frame contact of the protection device can withstand, unit A,
abbreviated as AF, frame capacity AF must be greater than the rated current AT. Motor
dedicated AF is above 150.

4.Breaking capacity IC:

The maximum asymmetric short-circuit fault current value that the protection device can safely break,
usually called IC. Unit KA. According to the calculation of the fault current, since only the main line is
calculated and the shunt load is not considered, the IC value of the shunt switch must be the same as
the IC value of the main switch, and the main switch and the shunt switch must bear the same breaking
capacity.

Theoretically, the IC value only needs to be greater than the maximum asymmetric fault current, but if
the IC is too close to the fault current, the IC value (± 5KA) must be used. For example, if the fault
current is 34.9 KA, the IC value will be 40 KA. Instead of 35 KA

Basic knowledge of wire and cable

Maximum allowable temperature table for low-voltage insulated wires

Allowable
Types of insulated wires Remark
temperature ℃
1.PVC wire
60
2.RB wire（指天然橡膠之混合絕緣物）

3. Heat-resistant PVC wire

4.PE wire（POLYETHYLENE） 75

5.SBR 電線（STYRENE BUTADIENE RUBBER）

6.人造橡膠電線（BUTYL RUBBER） 80

7.EP 橡膠電線（ETEYLENE PROPYLENE RUBBER）

90
8.交連 PE 電線（XLPE wire）

Copper Current Capacity chart:

Copper cable Current Carrying Capacity (XLPE insulated)

Cable Size in (Sq. mm) Single Core Two Core Three/Four Core

1 17 13.5 9

1.5 22 17.5 15.5

2.5 30 24 21

4 40 32 28

6 51 41 36

10 69 57 50

16 91 76 68

25 119 101 89

35 146 125 110

50 175 151 134

70 221 192 171

95 265 231 201

120 305 269 239

150 334 300 261

185 384 341 296

240 459 400 346

300 532 458 394

Aluminium Current-Carrying Calculation chart:

Aluminium cable Current Carrying Capacity (XLPE insulated)

Cable Size in (Sq. mm) Single Core Two Core Three/Four Core

4 16 13 11

6 20 16 14

10 25 22 19

16 35 31 28

25 43 41 36

35 65 59 52

50 80 71 63

70 91 80 71

95 120 115 100

120 153 133 118

150 188 161 140

185 230 203 176

240 270 254 220

300 340 314 270

Current-carrying capacity of cables for deviating ambient temperatures
VDE 0298-4 06/13, table 17, column 4 )1

Ambient temperature Factor

10 °C 1,22
15 °C 1,17
20 °C 1,12
25 °C 1,06
30 °C 1,00
35 °C 0,94
40 °C 0,87
45 °C 0,79
50 °C 0,71
55 °C 0,61
60 °C 0,50
65 °C 0,35

﹡Choose the size of the conductor wire diameter, except that it should be able to withstand the rated
current of the motor 1.25 times the flow

﹡When the switch or circuit breaker is installed in damp or outdoors, its protective enclosure should
be of waterproof type.

﹡The maximum load of the branch shall be handled in accordance with the following regulations:
1. The load supplied by the branch should not exceed the rated capacity of the branch.
2. If the branch is simultaneously supplied with 1/8 horsepower or more fixed motor driving equipment
and other loads, the load calculation should be calculated as the sum of 1.25 times the maximum
motor load plus other loads

a b contact

Normal Open contact (Normal Open) is also called NO contact or a contact. :

When the MC itself is not activated (the excitation coil is not energized or manual pressing is not used),
the contact is open; when the MC is activated (the excitation coil is energized or manually pressed), the
contact is in the open state; it returns to the MC (The excitation coil is de-energized or the press is
released), the contact returns to its original open circuit state.

Normal close contact (Normal Close) is also called NC contact or b contact. :

When the MC itself is not operating, the contact is in the path state; when the MC is activated, the
contact is in the open state; when the MC is reset, the contact is restored to the original path state.
How to choose low-voltage AC contactor
The selection principles are as follows:

1. The voltage level of the AC contactor must be the same as that of the load, and the type of
contactor selected must be compatible with the load.

2. It is necessary to consider the length of the line connected to the control circuit of the contactor.
Generally, the recommended operating voltage value of the contactor should be able to work at
85-110% of the rated voltage value.
3. The calculated current of the load must conform to the capacity level of the contactor, that is,
the calculated current is less than or equal to the rated working current of the contactor. The
making current of the contactor is greater than the starting current of the load.

Overload protection adjustment method

When a thermal relay is used to protect a motor in a long-term working system or an intermittent long-
term working system, it is generally selected according to the rated current of the motor. For example,
the setting value of the thermal relay can be equal to 0.95~1.05 times the rated current of the motor,
or the median value of the setting current of the thermal relay can be equal to the rated current of the
motor, and then adjust.
Function

Thermal relays are generally used in conjunction with contactors for motor control circuits. When the
thermal relays heat up, their normally closed point will disconnect the contactor coil control power
supply, so that the contactor will be de-energized and disconnected, stopping the main circuit power
supply to protect the motor.
Leakage circuit breakers
Leakage circuit breaker is an electrical safety device that can automatically trip off the power supply in
an instant to protect electrical equipment from small electrical leakages to prevent electric shocks,
equipment burns, and fires.

In terms of design, it has a permanent fixed type and a movable type. It is classified according to the
principle of tripping and power failure. It can be divided into voltage type and current type. Generally,
the current type is mainly used, and the current type is automatically tripped. The electric current is
less than 0.03 ampere, the action time is less than 0.1 second, the voltage type tripping off voltage is
less than 30V, and the action time is less than 0.2 second.

Places/equipment recommended to install/use leakage circuit breakers include: small hand machine
tools, laboratory electrical equipment, equipment for operating or handling flammable materials,
swimming pool underwater lighting equipment, fish farming/irrigation electricity, water dispensers,
water heaters , Bathroom sockets, construction site electricity, temporary electricity, floor washing and
waxing machines (purchase extension cords with leakage circuit breaker sockets), etc....

﹡Electric (wire) cable working current calculation formula:

Single phase

I=P÷(U×cosΦ) P=VI* cosΦ

P-power (W); U-voltage (220V); cosΦ-power factor (0.8); I-phase line current (A).

Three-phase

I=P÷(U×1.732×cosΦ) P=VI*1.732 cosΦ

P-power (W); U-voltage (380V); cosΦ-power factor (0.8); I-phase line current (A).

Generally, the safe cut-off capacity of copper wire is 5-8A/mm2, and the safe cut-off capacity of
aluminum wire is 3-5A/mm2.
In a single-phase 220V line, the current per 1KW power is about 5A, and in a three-phase load-balanced
three-phase circuit, the current per 1KW power is about 3.3A.
in a three-phase load-380V, three-phase circuit, the current per 1KW power is about 3.3A.
That is to say, in a single-phase circuit, every 1 square millimeter of copper wire can withstand a power
load of 1KW; a three-phase balanced circuit can withstand a power of 2-2.5KW.
But the larger the working current of the cable, the smaller the safe current per square millimeter can
withstand.

Ex.1. Knowing 380V three-phase motor with a capacity of 5kw, find its current.

A: amps=5000/1.732*380*0.9=8.44 amps
﹡Measuring method of grounding resistance of grounding wire

Instrument for measuring grounding, model ZC hand crank.

Method:

-Twenty meters from the ground wire, a steel drill is inserted into the ground.
-Go forward in a straight line, and then touch the ground twenty miles away.
-E end is connected to the line to be tested, P and C are each connected to a steel braze。
-Level the meter to adjust the zero, and the pointer just points to the red line.
-Slowly shake the handle scheduling board, the pointer red line is adjusted.
-When the galvanometer indicates balance, the acceleration reaches two hundred revolutions.
-The adjustment dial refers to the red line, and write down the resistance to judge.

▲摇表

Methods of measuring insulation resistance and qualification standards for

insulation resistance
For the handover test of low-voltage electrical devices, the insulation resistance of motors, power
distribution equipment and power distribution lines at room temperature should not be less than
0.5MΩ (for equipment and lines in operation, the insulation resistance should not be less than
1MΩ/kV). The insulation resistance of low-voltage electrical appliances and their connecting cables and
the secondary circuit should generally not be lower than 1MΩ; in a relatively humid environment, it
should not be lower than 0.5MΩ; the insulation resistance of the secondary circuit bus should not be
lower than 10MΩ. The insulation resistance of hand-held power tools should not be less than 2MΩ
电机
Basic circuit
Example 2:

3-phase 380V, cooling capacity 32kW, power consumption 8.9kW, Power factor 0.8,

A=8900W/(1.732*380*0.8)=16.9A

➟3-phase 380V air conditioner, rated current 16.9A, ampere capacity of wire from
main distribution box to indoor unit

Need to be greater than 1.25*16.9=21.1A

use coppor 4mm2 (28A)
➟ Considering the starting current, the shunt NFB adopts about 2 times the rated
current, 30AT.
At this time, the main switch should be greater than 30AT