Dilla University

College of Engineering and Technology

School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Course : Electrical Installation

Course Code: ECEg-4241

Chapter -2
Part-I: Wiring Materials and Installation
Accessories

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 Wiring Materials and Installation
Accessories:

 In order to assemble properly and intelligently the

number of electrical devices, fittings, materials and
equipment to form a complete wiring system, one
must understand the basic principles regarding
them.

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 2.1 Wires and Cables
The purpose of a wire or cable is to convey/carry the
electric current to the intended device or location.

In practice:-
Bare conductors, whether single or stranded together, are
termed as Wires.

Conductors covered with insulation are termed as Cables.

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 Cont’d…

 The necessary requirements of a cable are that it

should:
 Conduct electricity efficiently, cheaply, and
safely.
 Its insulation should be such as to prevent
leakage of current in unwanted direction and to
minimize risk of fire and shock.

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 Cont’d
A Cable consists of three parts:-
1.The Conductor or Core - The current carrying part of the
metal.
2.The Insulation or Dielectric - A covering of the conductor
used to avoid leakage current from the conductor.
3.The Protective covering - For protection of insulation from
mechanical damage.

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 Conductor Materials Used in Cables

1. Silver: is the best conductor but due to its higher cost it is

hardly used any where.
2. Copper: It is cheaper comparatively to silver.
It is mechanically strong, hard, extremely
tough,durable and ductile.
3. Aluminum: Aluminum is frequently used in place of
copper for bare electric cables used for long distance power
distribution.

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 Insulating Materials

 The Insulation material must possess the following

properties:-

-High resistivity

-High flexibility

-Non-flammability

-High resistivity to moisture, acids

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 The various types of insulting
materials used in cables are
1. Rubber/Plastic -Rubber may be natural or synthetic.

2. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) - Is a man made thermo-

plastic which is tough, non-flammable and chemically
unreactive.

3. Vulcanized India Rubber (VIR) - It is prepared by

mixing India rubber with minerals such as sulphur,
zinc, red lead.

4. Impregnated Paper - It is quite cheap , high dielectric

strength and high insulation resistivity.

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 0+

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Types of Cables used in Internal wiring
 The cables used for internal wiring of buildings may
be divided in to different groups according to:

• The type of conductor

- Al or Cu….. cables

• The number of cores

-Single core, twin core…cables

• The voltage grading

-250/440 volt and 650/1100 volt cables

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 Cont’d…
• The type of insulation used
- Vulcanized Indian Rubber (VIR) Cables: Used for
general conduit wiring.

- Lead Sheathed Cables : Used for internal wiring where

climatic condition has moisture.

- PVC Cables: Used in hidden wiring system.

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Color Identification of Cable cores
(EEP regulation)
Function Colour Identification
Earthing White / Green in Yellow-strip

Neutral of ac 1-phase or 3-phase Black

circuit
Live (Phase) of ac 1-phase circuit Green

Phase-R of 3-phase ac circuit Green

Phase-S of 3-phase ac circuit Yellow

Phase-T of 3-phase ac circuit Red

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 General Specifications of Cables

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 2.2 Conduits
 The common method of installing cables is to draw them
into a conduit.
 The conduit can be steel or plastic
 In general, conduits can be classified as:-

i) Light gauge steel -plain (unscrewed) conduit

ii) Heavy gauge steel -screwed conduit
iii) Flexible conduit
iv) PVC conduit

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 Conduit Accessories and Fittings
 Conduit Couplers:
 Couplers are used to join two lengths of conduit.

 Conduit Fittings :
 In general, conduit fittings include bends, elbows and tees.

 Conduit Boxes:
 Conduit boxes are used in surface conduit wiring as well as
concealed conduit wiring.

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 Cont’d…
Conduit boxes: are of different designs which serve the following purposes:-

For providing connections to light, fan, and other points. The conduit boxes serving the
purpose are known as outlet boxes.

For pulling of cables in to the conduits. The boxes serving this purpose are known as
inspection boxes.

Forhousing junction of cables. The conduit boxes serving this purpose are know as
junction boxes.

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 2.3 Lighting accessories and fittings
2.3.1. Switches
It
is an electrical component that
Can break an electrical circuit.
Control (ON/OFF) lighting circuits.
Interrupting the current or diverting it from
one conductor to another.
Most are current rated at 5A,6A,15A…

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 Cont’d…
 According to the operation required, switches
are classified as:
A. One-way switches (SPST)

B. Two-way switches (SPDT)

C. Double pole double through switches

(DPDT)

D. Dimmer Switches
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 Cont’d…
A. One-way switches (SPST)
 Is a switch used for controlling a point or
points from one position only.
 This switch is always connected in series with
the point (lamp, fan or socket outlet) to be
controlled.
 The switches usually available are for use up to
250Volts and 5/6A. If either of the two is
increased, the switch may get damaged due to
sparking.
Electrical symbol:
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 Cont’d…
B. Two-way switches (SPDT)
A two-way light switch requires a three cable to
be run in order for the light to be switched from
any station. This means that at any time, either
switch may be up or down so that it is ON in the
down position or OFF in the up position.
The switch of this type is usually used for stair
case wiring or circuits where one point is to be
controlled from two different places.
Electrical symbol:

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 Cont’d…
 Simple application of SPST & SPDT

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 Cont’d…
C. Double pole double through switches (DPDT)
This is equivalent to two SPDT switches.

Electrical symbol:

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 Cont’d…
D. Dimmer Switches
Are used to allow control of the level of
lighting/illumination from luminaries.
Any standard single-pole switch can be replaced with a
dimmer, as long as the switch is of adequate size. Dimmer
switches have larger bodies than standard switches.
They also generate a small amount of heat that must
dissipate. For these reasons, dimmers should not be
installed in undersized electrical boxes or in boxes that
are crowded with circuit wires.
Electrical symbol:

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 Cont’d…

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 Lamp and Switch circuit diagram

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 Cont’d…

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 Cont’d…
Exercise-1:
One light point is to be controlled by two switches
placed at two different places so that the light can
be switched on and off by either switch. Draw the
layout and wiring diagram ? (NB. Application
area: Staircase).

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 Cont’d…

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 Cont’d…
 Lay out diagram for Eg-3: (Parallel connection)

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 2.3.2 Socket outlets
 Socket outlets are used to supply electrical connection
whenever required for electrical appliances such as TVs,
refrigerators, ventilators, computers, radios, stoves, oven
etc.
 Socket outlets are of two types: Two pin type and three pin
type.

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 2.3.3 Plugs
 Plugs are used to collect the supply from the socket
outlets for electrical appliances such as TVs,
refrigerators, ventilators, computers, radios, stoves, oven
etc.
 Similar to socket out lets, plugs are two types: two pin
and three pin types to fit in to the contact tubes.

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 2.3.4 Lamp holders
 The function of lamp holder is to support the lamp and
also to connect it electrically.
 These are designed for quick removal and replacement
of the lamp.

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 2.3.5. Protective device
Large power overloads may potentially destroy
electrical equipment, or in more serious cases, cause a fire.
A fuse and circuit breaker are both serve to protect an
overloaded/faulty electrical circuit by interrupting the
continuity, or the flow of electricity.

How they interrupt the flow of electricity is very

different.

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 Cont’d
Fuse:
It is made up of a piece of metal wire or filament that is enclosed in
a glass or ceramic and metal casing that melts when overheated.
Is placed in series with the circuit to be protected, and automatically
breaks the circuit when over loaded.
The time for blowing out of a fuse depends on the magnitude of
excess current. i.e. the larger the fault current the more rapidly the
fuse blows.
How Fuses Work?
When the electricity is flowing normally, the fuse permits the
current to pass unobstructed/freely through its filament between
circuits.
If an overload/fault occurs, the filament melts and stops the flow of
electricity.

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 Cont’d…

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 Cont’d…

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 Cont’d
Circuit breaker (CB):
Is a device designed to open and close a circuit by non-
automatic means at normal condition.
 Also used to open the circuit automatically on a
predetermined over-current (abnormal condition) with out
injury to itself when properly applied within its rating.
So, a circuit breaker is a combination device composed of
a manual switch and an over-current device.

It can be considered as a switch that opens it self in case

of overload or fault.

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 Cont’d…
 Types of Miniature CBs (MCB’s):
MCB’s are classified in to three major types according to
their instantaneous tripping currents.
1.Type B-MCB, 2. Type C-MCB, 3. Type D-MCB

1.Type B-MCB
 It will trip instantly at a rate of 3 to 5 times its rated
current.
 They are normally used for resistive or small inductive
loads where switching surges are very small.
 Therefore, these are suitable for residential or light
commercial installations.

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 Cont’d…
2. Type C-MCB

It will trip instantly at a rate of 5 to 10 times its rated

current.
They are normally used for high inductive loads where
switching surges are high such as small motors and
fluorescent lighting.
In such cases, Type C-MCB’s are preferred to handle
higher value of short circuit currents.
Therefore, these are suitable for highly inductive
commercial and industrial installations.

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 Cont’d…
3. Type D-MCB

It will trip instantly at a rate of 10 to 25 times its rated

current.
They are normally used for very high inductive loads
where high inrush current are very frequent.
These are suitable for specific industrial and
commercial applications .
The common examples of such applications include x-
ray machines, UPS systems, industrial welding
equipment, large winding motors.

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 Cont’d…
 A circuit breaker has several advantages over any type
of fuse:

a. In the event of fault or overload all the poles are

simultaneously disconnected from the supply.
b. Overload and time‐lags are capable of adjustment
within limits.
c. The circuit can be closed again quickly.

Standard ratings:
 Both fuse and circuit breakers are available in standard ratings of
6A, 10A, 16A, 20A, 25A, 32A, 35A, 50A, 63A, 80A, 100A,
125A, 160A, 224A, 250A, 300A, and large sizes.

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 Cont’d…
Distribution board (Panel board):
Distribution board is an assembly of parts, including one or
more fuses or circuit breakers, arranged for the distribution of
electrical energy to different circuits or other distribution
boards known as sub distribution boards.
It consists of a case inside which is a frame holding a
number of fuse (CB) carriers behind the frame. Some thing
along side or above it, is a bus-bar to which the incoming sub-
main is connected.
From the bus‐bar there is connection provided to one side of
each circuit breaker (CB). Each final sub‐circuit is then
connected by the installer to the out going terminal of the
circuit breaker.

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 Cont’d…
 The standard distribution boards usually have 4, 6, 8, 12,
18 or 24 fuse ways (or CB) both single phase and three
phases are available.
 It is not necessary to utilize all the available circuit
breakers on a board, and in fact it is very desirable to
leave several spare ways on each board for future
extension.

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 Cont’d…

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 Questions ?
Thank you

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