Electrical Safety

Rashi Mayur Ghadiya

The hazards of
a) Damaged insulation:- Damaged insulation could cause a short, leading to
arcing or a fire.
b) Overheating cables:-Overheating causes damage to the circuit components
and can cause fire, explosion, and injury.
c) Damp conditions:-Since water is a conductor, during damp situations
electricity from the electrical appliance may electrocute nearby people
through the conductive water. Even skin, if wet, will electrocute the person
if they touch a socket
d) excess current from overloading of plug, extension lead, single and multiple
socket when using a mains supply:-Overloading an extension lead by
plugging in appliances together will exceed the maximum current rating
stated for the extension lead. This could cause the plug in the wall socket
to overheat and possibly cause a fire.
Main circuit
A main circuit is made up of an earth wire, a neutral wire,
and a live (or line) wire. These are carried throughout
buildings as a ring main, and we can hook into it through
wall plugs.
 There are many electric plugs and cables of varying
colours. The plastic insulation is color-coded to allow for
safe wiring of plugs and appliances. The livewire
transports electrical current from the wall socket to the
electrical equipment , while the neutral wire transports
electrical current back to the socket. Usually, there is an
earth wire as well.The switch should always be connected
to the live wire so that when it is off, no current flows
through the appliance. If it is connected to the neutral
wire, the circuit always remains on even when it is off.
 The electrical equipment needs to be linked to the live
wire as a switch. If it was linked to either the neutral
wire or the earth wire, a current might still enter the
appliance even while the switch was open (off). If
someone touched a malfunctioning appliance, this could
result in a fire or electrocution.
 A tripswitch may take the place of a fuse.
When the trip switch current flow exceeds
a predetermined threshold, the switch trips

Use and and interrupts the circuit. In certain

contemporary home wiring systems, trip
switches are used in the fuse box in place
operation of trip of fuses . Trip switches are likely to be
seen in laboratories . The supply itself
switches could overheat and sustain harm if too
much electricity starts to flow. You might
have to wait a short while before you can
reset the trip switch since it jumps out.
 Circuits contain fuses to prevent the flow of
excessive current. This safeguards the wiring
and circuit for a home appliance. Cables can
burn out and fires can erupt if the current is too

Use and high. A fuse is a little piece of wire that, if the

current rises above a specific level, will melt and
break. Most fuses are housed in cartridges,
operation of making replacement simple, however some
employ fuse wire. The amount of electricity

fuses required to cause a fuse to melt increases with

the fuse wire thickness . A fuse is an example
of an electrical supply chain weak point. It is
better to change a fuse than to have to
completely rewire a house.
 ● The fuse in plugs come at
various ratings of
3A,5A,10A,etc. Each rating is
designed to allow enough
current to reach a device to
allow it to operate normally.
Appropriate fuse A trip switch should always have:-
ratings and trip ● Continuous amps.

switch settings. ●
●
Long time delay.
Short time pick up.
● Short time delay.
● Ground fault pick up
Why the outer casing of an electrical appliance must be
either non-conducting (double-insulated) or earthed?

Live wires can snap and touch the case, causing the casing to
come to life. Therefore, the casing will electrocute anyone who
touches it. However, the earth wire will offer a route for
electricity to travel from the device to the ground. Therefore,
anyone operating the device won't be an electrocuted.
A fuse without an earth wire protects the circuit and the
cabling for a double-insulated appliance.
Electrical appliances that are double insulated do not need an earth connection (only
two wires are wired into the three-pin plug). The electrical circuit for the appliance
is inside a case underground that is composed of an electrically insulating substance
(for example, plastic) so that an electric current cannot pass through it, even if the
outer casing contains metal parts. A live conductor cannot possibly come in contact
with the exterior case. This ensures that there is no chance of electrocution for
anyone touching the exterior case. When an electrical appliance casing has the
symbol it is double insulated.
To Summarise We Can Say That :-
● The metal case of an electrical appliance is earthed by connecting it to the earth
wire to prevent current passing through anyone touching a faulty appliance.
● Excessive current through a wire can melt insulation, causing it to emit poisonous
fumes or catch fires.
● Using multi-plug adapters (multi-way bar extensions and block adapters) increases
the risk of overloading plugs and sockets.
● A fuse contains a thin section of wire, designed to melt and break the circuit if the
current gets above a certain value.
● A Circuit breaker is a safety device that automatically switches off a circuit when
the current becomes too high
● Atrip switch is a safety device that includes a switch that opens (trips) when a
current exceeds a certain value.