INTRODUCTION TO BASIC

ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION
OHM’S LAW
 AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT
An electric circuit is like a pathway made of wires that electrons can flow
through. A battery or other power source gives the force (voltage) that
makes the electrons move. When the electrons get to a device like a
light bulb, your computer, or a refrigerator, they give it the power to make it
work.

An arrangement of conductors for the purpose of carrying current

BASIC CIRCUIT CONCEPTS
 OHM’S LAW
OHM'S LAW STATES THAT THE ELECTRICAL CURRENT (I) FLOWING IN A
CIRCUIT IS PROPORTIONAL TO THE VOLTAGE (V) AND INVERSELY
PROPORTIONAL TO THE RESISTANCE (R). THEREFORE, IF THE VOLTAGE IS
INCREASED, THE CURRENT WILL INCREASE PROVIDED THE RESISTANCE OF
THE CIRCUIT DOES NOT CHANGE.
OHMS LAW, DEFINES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VOLTAGE, CURRENT
AND RESISTANCE.
THE OHM’S LAW MAGIC TRIANGLE
 ELECTRICAL PRESSURE
VOLTAGE, ALSO CALLED ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE, IS A QUANTITATIVE
EXPRESSION OF THE POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE IN A CHARGE BETWEEN TWO
POINTS IN AN ELECTRICAL FIELD. THE GREATER THE VOLTAGE, THE GREATER
THE FLOW OF ELECTRICAL CURRENT THROUGH A CONDUCTING OR
SEMICONDUCTING MEDIUM FOR A GIVEN RESISTANCE TO THE FLOW
A HIGHER VOLTAGE MEANS THE ELECTRICITY IS BEING PUSHED HARDER.
VOLTAGE IS MEASURED IN VOLTS. THE SYMBOL FOR VOLTS IS V.
 AN ELECTRIC CURRENT
AN ELECTRIC CURRENT IS A FLOW OF ELECTRIC CHARGE IN A
CIRCUIT. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE ELECTRIC CURRENT IS THE RATE
OF CHARGE FLOWING PAST A GIVEN POINT IN AN ELECTRIC
CIRCUIT.
THE CHARGE CAN BE NEGATIVELY CHARGED ELECTRONS OR
POSITIVE CHARGE CARRIERS INCLUDING PROTONS, POSITIVE IONS
ELECTRIC CURRENT IS ONE OF THE MOST BASIC CONCEPTS THAT
EXISTS WITHIN ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC SCIENCE - ELECTRIC
CURRENT IS AT THE CORE OF THE SCIENCE OF ELECTRICITY.

WHETHER IT IS AN ELECTRICAL HEATER, A LARGE ELECTRICAL GRID

SYSTEM, A MOBILE PHONE, COMPUTER, REMOTE SENSOR NODE OR
WHATEVER, THE CONCEPT OF ELECTRICAL CURRENT IS CENTRAL TO
ITS OPERATION.

HOWEVER CURRENT AS SUCH CANNOT NORMALLY BE SEEN,

ALTHOUGH ITS EFFECTS CAN BE SEEN, HEARD AND FELT ALL THE
TIME, AND AS A RESULT IT IS SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TO GAIN A VIEW
OF WHAT IT REALLY IS.
 Electrical Resistance

RESISTANCE IS AN ELECTRICAL QUANTITY THAT MEASURES HOW

THE DEVICE OR MATERIAL REDUCES THE ELECTRIC CURRENT FLOW
THROUGH IT.

THE RESISTANCE IS MEASURED IN UNITS OF OHMS (Ω). IF WE MAKE

AN ANALOGY TO WATER FLOW IN PIPES, THE RESISTANCE IS BIGGER
WHEN THE PIPE IS THINNER, SO THE WATER FLOW IS DECREASED
 SERIES CIRCUIT
A SERIES CIRCUIT IS A CIRCUIT IN WHICH RESISTORS ARE
ARRANGED IN A CHAIN, SO THE CURRENT HAS ONLY ONE PATH TO
TAKE. THE CURRENT IS THE SAME THROUGH EACH RESISTOR
 RESISTORS IN A SERIES CIRCUIT
TOTAL RESISTANCE IN SERIES IS SIMPLY THE SUM OF ALL THE RESISTORS IN THE LOOP.

RT  R1  R2  ...  Rn

WHERE
RT = THE TOTAL CIRCUIT RESISTANCE
RN = THE HIGHEST-NUMBERED RESISTOR IN THE CIRCUIT
 VOLTAGE IN A SERIES CIRCUIT

Voltage Characteristics of a Series Circuit:

The individual voltage drops across the resistors “around the loop” add up to
the applied Power Supply voltage.

VS  V1  V2  ...  Vn
Where
vs = Power Supply Voltage or Total Voltage.
Vn = Voltage Drop across the highest-numbered resistor in the circuit.
Calculate the total Resistance, total Current and the voltage
through Resistor one.
Calculate the total Resistance, total Current and the Voltage
through Resistor two.
 PARALLEL CIRCUIT
A PARALLEL CIRCUIT HAS TWO OR MORE PATHS FOR CURRENT TO FLOW
THROUGH. VOLTAGE IS THE SAME ACROSS EACH COMPONENT OF THE
PARALLEL CIRCUIT. THE SUM OF THE CURRENTS THROUGH EACH PATH IS
EQUAL TO THE TOTAL CURRENT THAT FLOWS FROM THE SOURCE.
 RESISTORS IN A PARALLEL CIRCUIT
 RESISTORS THAT ARE CONNECTED TO THE SAME TWO POINTS ARE SAID TO BE IN PARALLEL.

TOTAL RESISTANCE IS FOUND BY THE FOLLOWING EQUATION:

RT = THE TOTAL CIRCUIT RESISTANCE

RN = THE HIGHEST-NUMBERED RESISTOR IN THE CIRCUIT

 VOLTAGE IN A PARALLEL CIRCUIT

Because all components are connected across the same voltage source, the
voltage across each is the same.
 CURRENT IN A PARALLEL CIRCUIT
Current Characteristics of a parallel Circuit Ip=I1+I2+I3+I4

Is = I1 + I2 + I3 + I4
Calculate the total Resistance, total Current and the Current through Resistor
two
Calculate the total Resistance, total Current and the Current through each
Resistor
 SERIES/PARALLEL CIRCUITS
In electric circuits, we define a branch as any portion of a circuit which can be
simplified as having two terminals.
The components between the two terminals may be any combination of resistors,
voltage sources, or other elements.
Many complex circuits may be separated into a combination of both series and/or
parallel elements, while other circuits consist of even more elaborate combinations
which are neither series nor parallel.
In order to analyse a complicated circuit, it is important to be able to recognize which
elements are in series and which elements or branches are in parallel. Therefore the
complicated series parallel circuit can be collapsed into a simple circuit with a voltage
source, The total circuit current and total resistance.
 SERIES/PARALLEL CIRCUITS

 
 ELECTRIC POWER

ELECTRIC POWER IS THE RATE, PER UNIT TIME, AT WHICH ELECTRICAL ENERGY IS
TRANSFERRED BY AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT. THE SI UNIT OF POWER IS THE WATT

THERE ARE TWO MAIN KINDS OF CURRENT: DC OR DIRECT CURRENT – A 'FLOW'

OF ENERGY LIKE YOU GET FROM A BATTERY; AND AC OR ALTERNATING CURRENT
(LIKE FROM YOUR WALL OUTLETS) – WHICH REVERSES THE DIRECTION OF
ELECTRONS, ALLOWING CURRENT FLOW TO TURN ON AND OFF. BUT THAT
CURRENT MUST BE SOURCED OR CREATED
 ELECTRIC POWER

Electric power is defined as the rate at which electrical energy is

consumed in a circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt, which is one
joule per in an electrical second. Although sources such
as electric batteries can supply electric power, it is mostly produced
by electric generators.
POWER LAW EQUATIONS