Electrical Installation

ECEg4241

Chapter 2

Electrical Installation
materials and accessories

Instructor: G/Tsadik T.
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 Introduction

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 Cont’d
• WIRING MATERIALS AND ACCESSORIES are used in order to assemble
properly and intelligently the great number of available electrical
devices, fittings, materials and equipment to form a complete
wiring system.

• Wiring materials includes:

 Wire and Cable
 Conduit
 Protective devices
 Switches
 Wire terminals

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 Wire and Cable
•What is the difference between the term wire
and cable?
• Strictly speaking, a single wire ,may be bared or
covered with insulation is known as Wire, and
several conductors stranded together is known as
Cable.

• Practically, bare conductor whether it is single or

stranded together is known as Wire and conductor
covered with insulation is know as Cable.

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 Cont’d

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 Construction of Cables
• A cable consists of three parts:
1. The conductor or (the core):-the metal wire or strand
of wires carrying current.
2. The insulation or the dielectric:-is an insulating
material to avoid leakage current from the conductor.
3. The protective covering:-is used for protection of
insulation from mechanical damage.

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 Parts of Cable
Metallic Sheath:
 As the cable is placed underground, soil may
present, moisture, gases, and some other
liquids
 Therefore to protect the cable metallic sheath
made up of lead or aluminum is provided
over the insulation.
 This provides the mechanical protection but
mainly restricts moisture and other gases to
reach to the insulation.
Bedding:-
 The metallic sheath is covered by another
layer called bedding.
 The bedding consists of paper tape
compounded with a fibrous material like jute
strands or hessian tape.
 The purpose of bedding is to protect the
metallic sheath from corrosion and from
mechanical injury resulting due to armouring.
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 Cont’d
Armoring:-
• This layer consists of one or two layers of galvanized steel
wire or steel tapes which provide protection to the cable
from the mechanical injury.
Serving:-
• The last layer above the armouring is serving. It is a layer
of fibrous material like jute cloth which protects the
armouring from the atmospheric conditions.

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 Cont’d
• The necessary requirement that a cable should
fulfill are it should conduct electricity efficiently,
cheaply and safely.

• It should neither be too small to result larger

voltage drop nor be too large to to cost too
much.

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 Conductor materials used in cable

 In power and lighting cables copper and

aluminum are used as a core conductor.
 Copper:-The electrical resistivity of pure copper
at 200c is 1.72 x 10-8 ohm.m. It is mechanically
strong, hard, extremely tough, durable and
ductile. It is highly resistive to corrosion, oxidation,
and pitting.
 Aluminum:-: is frequently used in place of copper
for bare electric cables used for long distance
power distribution. The electrical conductivity of
aluminum is about 60% of that of copper.
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 Cont’d

•Conductors may be divided into two

groups:
1. solid conductors; and
2. stranded conductors.

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 Cont’d

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 Insulating materials
• Every conductor must be insulated to keep them
apart, keep the flow of current within the
conductor and prevent its leaving or leaking from
the conductor at random along its length.
• The insulating material used in electrical cable must
posses the following properties.
 High resistivity
 High flexibility
 Non-inflammability
 High resistivity to moisture ,acid or alkali etc…..
• The type and thickness of insulation depends upon
the voltage level (the service for which the cable is
required.)
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 Insulation materials
• Rubber
• Plastic Materials (Polymers)
• Thermoplastic Polymers (Thermoplastic polymers soften on
heating and solidify to their original state on cooling.)
• Thermosetting Polymers (Thermosetting polymers become
fluid when heated and change permanently to a solid state
when cooled.)

• Glass
• Paper

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 Cont’d
• The various types of insulating materials used in
cables are:-
1. Rubber
• it may be natural or synthetic and its dielectric
strength is 30kv/mm.
• Though it posses high insulating qualities, it
absorbs moisture readily, softens when heated to a
temperature of 600c to 700c, swells under the
action of mineral oils and ages when exposed to
light.
• Hence pure rubber cannot be used as insulating
materials.

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 Cont’d
2. PVC(polyvinyl Chloride)
• polyvinyl chloride is a man made thermo-plastic
materials, which is tough, incombustible and chemically
unreactive.
• Its chief drawback is that it softens at a temperature
above 800c.
• It does not deteriorate with age and wiring carried out
in PVC insulated cable should not need to be renewed
in the way that wiring insulated with most of the older
materials had to be.
• PVC insulated cables are usually employed for low and
medium voltage domestic and industrial lights and
power installation.
• The only restriction on this type of cable is that it
should not be used in ambient temperatures higher
than 70°C.
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 Cont’d
3. Thermosetting insulation (XLPE
insulation)
•There are plastics available as alternatives to
PVC which have the advantage of being able
to operate at higher temperatures.

•The most usual is XLPE, which is a cross

linked polyethylene compound.

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 Cont’d
4. Vulcanized Indian Rubber
• It is prepared by mixing Indian rubber with minerals
such as sulphur, zinc, red lead, etc. The copper
conductors used in this cables are tinned to protect
them from corrosive action of rubber or copper.

• It absorbs water, which reduces its insulation

properties and becomes brittle with age.

• The use of VIR cables is limited to low voltage

distribution and internal wiring as paper-insulated
cables have largely superseded them.

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 Cont’d
5. Glass
• Glass fiber has good heat-resisting properties
and is therefore used for cables which are
employed in high-temperature surroundings.

• One example is the internal wiring of electric

ovens.

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 Cont’d
6. Impregnated paper
• it is quite cheap, has low capacitance, high dielectric
strength (30KV/mm), and high insulation resistivity
(10Mohm-cm).
• The main advantage of paper insulated cable is that a
cable of given size can be worked out at a higher
current density than a VIR cable.

• Impregnated paper insulated cable on its own would

be too fragile to be used unprotected, and a lead
sheath is applied over the insulation.

• Paper insulated cables are used for conveying large

power in transmission and distribution and particularly
for distribution at low voltage in congested areas.
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 Types of Cables used in internal wiring
• The wires used for internal wiring of buildings may
be divided in to different groups according to:-
1. The type of conductor
2. The number of cores
3. The voltage grading
4. The type of insulation used.

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 Cont’d
• According to the number of cores, the cable may be
divided in to classes:- known as single core, twin core,
twin core with ECC(earth continuity conductor) .

• According to voltage grading the cables may be divided

in to two classes: - 250/440 volt and 650/1100-volt
cable.

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 Single Core Cables
A single core cable consists of stranded conductors
twisted together and housed in a PVC covering. It
comes as a 6 mm sq. single core, colour coded
green and yellow, and is used for supplementary
earth bonding.

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 2 Core Cable
• In 2 Core cable, one conductor acts as a face and
another acts as natural conductors, both the
conductors have equal cross sectional area.
• It is used in telephone service and to connect
computer devices.

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3 Core Cable
• In 3 Core cable all the conductors have equal cross
sectional area.

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 3.5 Core Cable
• 3conductors are having the same cross sectional
area & are used for 3 different phase. Therefore this
conductor is treated as half conductor and hence
the name is 3.5 core cable.

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 4 Core Cable
• In case of unbalanced load some neutral current
exists. Therefore in some cases 4 core cable is
proffered.
• It is used for lighting, load distribution &
applications where unbalanced loading conditions
occur frequently.

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 Cont’d
• According to types of insulation cables can be
classified in to :-
1. vulcanized Indian rubber(VIR) cables:-
• VIR cables are available in 250/440volt as
well as 650/1100 volt grades and are used
for general conduit wiring.

2. Lead sheathed cables:-

 available in 250/440 volt grade
 are used for internal wiring where climatic
condition has moisture.

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 Cont’d
3. PVC cables:-
• Are available in 250/440 volt and 650/1100
volt grades.
• Used in concealed type of wiring system.
• Since PVC cables are harder than rubber,
they do not require cotton taping and braiding
over it for mechanical and moisture protection.

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 Cont’d
4. Weather proof cables:-
• Are used for out door wiring and for power
supply
• Are not affected by heat or sun or rain.
• Are available in 250/440 and 650/1100 volt
grades.
• Are either PVC insulated or vulcanized rubber-
insulated conductors being suitably taped (only
incase of vulcanized rubber insulated cable)
braided and then compounded with weather
resisting material.

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 Cont’d
5. Flexible cords cables:-
• It consists of wires either silk or cotton or plastic covered, plastic cover is
more popular as it is available in various pleasing colors.
• Flexibility and strength is by using conductors having large number of
strands.
• Most stranded conductors are built upon a single central conductor,
surrounding this conductor are layers of wires in a numerical progression
of 6 in the first layer, 12 in the second layer, 18 in the third layer and so
on
• Flexible cords are used for suspending luminaires and for
connections to portable domestic appliances having low power
consumption.

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 Colors of Conductors
Color identification of bare conductors and cable cores
are given by EELPA’S regulation
• Earthing --------------------------------------------- white (EELPA) or
Green / yellow
• Live of a.c single-phase circuit ------------------- Green
• Neutral of ac single or three phase ac circuit ----black
• Phase R of three-phase ac circuit ------------------Green
• Phase S of three-phase ac circuit ------------------ Yellow
• Phase T of three-phase ac circuit ------------------ Red

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 General Specification of cables:-
 The complete specification of cables will give
the following information:-
i. The size of the cable.
ii. The type of conductor used in the
cable(Copper or Aluminum).
iii. Number of cores that the cable consists
of (single, twin core, twin core with
ECC).
iv. Voltage grade.
v. Type of insulation
(taping,braiding&compounding) .

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 Cable Installation Methods (Cable Management
Systems) or Raceways

• Conduit Systems

• Trunking Systems

• Cable Tray, Cable Basket and Cable Ladder

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 Conduit Systems
• A conduit is a tube or pipe in which
conductors are run.
• The commonest method of installing
cables is to draw them into a conduit.
• There are three types of conduits:
metal, flexible (metal) and non-metallic
(PVC).

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 Cont’d

Metallic flexible conduit

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 Conduit accessories and fittings
1. Conduit Couplers
• used to join two lengths of conduit
• are threaded on both ends.
2. Bends elbows and Tees
• Bends are usually used for change in
direction of conduit. This should never be
sharp.
• The minimum allowable radius of curvature
is 2.5 times the outside diameter of the
conduit.
• Solid elbows and tees should be used only
at the end of the conduit run (e.g. close
behind a light fitting or accessory.).

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 Cont’d
3. Conduit boxes
• Are used in surface conduit wiring as well as
concealed conduit wiring.
• Are of different designs which serve the following
purposes:-
i. For providing connections to light, fan, and other
points. The conduit boxes serving the purpose are
known as outlet boxes because conduit terminates at
the boxes.

ii. For pulling of cables into the conduits. The boxes

serving this purpose are known as inspection boxes.

iii. For housing junction of cables. The conduit boxes

serving this purpose are known as junction boxes.
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 TRUNKING
• Trunking is a fabricated metallic or plastic casing of cables,
normally rectangular cross-ection of which one side is
removable or hinged to allow cables laid.
• It is available in two ranges: ordinary wiring trunking and bus-
bar trunking.
• The ordinary system is further available in either metal or PVC.

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 Cont’d
• PVC trunking
• The main areas in
which PVC trunking is
used are domestic
and office premises.
• Metal trunking
• Metal trunking is used PVC Surface Trunking for an office
extensively in
engineering premises.

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 Bus-bar trunking

• There are two main types of

bus-bar trunking, the
overhead type of bus-bar
used for distribution in
industrial premises and
rising-main trunking
• Overhead bus-bar trunking is
ideal for distribution in
factories.

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 Cable tray
• Traywork is another method of supporting several cables
along a run.

Cables connecting this standby

alternator are mounted on cable tray
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 Cable Basket

Cable runs fitted in the roof space above a

suspended ceiling. Multi-compartment cable
basket is provided, as well as cable tray for
different circuit categories.

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 Cable Ladder

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 Cont’d
In general, conduits can be classified as:
1. Light gauge steel-plain (unscrewed) conduit.
2. Heavy gauge steel-screwed conduit
3. Flexible conduit
4. PVC conduit

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 Wire terminals

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 Cable Bracket

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 Cable Cleat

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 Cable Ducting

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Electrical Installation accessories and Fitting
Switches:
• A device which is used to make or brake contactors
in electric circuit there by controlling the flow of
current

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 Cont’d
Lamp Holders:
• The device into which the cap or base of a
lamp is inserted for holding it in position and
usually connecting it with the electrical
supply Category.
• Lamp holder is a device which holds the
lamp in position, usually by having the cap
inserted in it, in which case it also provides
the means of connecting the lamp to the
electric supply.

Fig: lamp holder

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 Cont’d
Socket Outlets & Plugs
• Are devices that allow electrically operated equipment to be connected
to the primary alternating Current (AC) power supply in a building

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 Cont’d
• Electrical plugs and sockets differ by country in rating, shape, size and type

of connectors. The types used in each country are set by national

standards.

• Generally the plug is the movable connector attached to an electrically

operated device's power cord, and the socket is a fixture on equipment or a

building structure.

• Plugs have male circuit contacts, while sockets have female contacts. The

plug has protruding prongs, blades, or pins that fit into matching slots or

holes in the socket. Wall-mounted sockets are also called receptacles,

outlets, or power points.

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 Cont’d

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 Cont’d

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 Cont’d
• To reduce the risk of electric shock, plug and socket systems can
incorporate a variety of safety features.

• For example sockets can be designed to accept only compatible

plugs and reject all others.

• There are many systems which block the socket holes with insulators
when a plug is not inserted and some systems are designed such
that dangerous voltage is never present on an exposed contact.

• Exposed contacts are present in some sockets, but are used

exclusively for grounding (earthing)

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 Protective Devices

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 Fuse
• A fuse is the most common protection device. A fuse is placed in an
electrical circuit, so that when current flow exceeds the rating of the
fuse it “blows” or “blows out”. The elements in the fuse melts,
opening the circuit and preventing other components of the circuit
from being damaged by the over current
• A fuse consisting of a fusing element with contact , a fuse carrier
and a base
• The fuse element is short length metal ribbon of wire made up of alloys with
low melting point and carries specified amount of current
• When the wire melts we say the fuse ‘BLOW’
• Fault current may range from simply a large undesired current to the short
circuit current which is Maximum.

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 Circuit Breaker (CB)
• A circuit breaker is an automatically operated
electrical switch designed to protect an electrical
circuit from damage caused by overload or short
circuit.

• Its basic function is to detect a fault condition and, by

interrupting continuity, to immediately discontinue
electrical flow.

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 Cont’d

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 Cont’d
The design includes the following components:
1. Actuator lever- used to manually trip and reset the circuit
breaker. Also indicates the status of the circuit breaker
(On or Off/tripped). Most breakers are designed so they
can still trip even if the lever is held or locked in the "on"
position. This is sometimes referred to as "free trip" or
"positive trip" operation.
2. Actuator mechanism - forces the contacts together or
apart.
3. Contacts - Allow current when touching and break the
current when moved apart.
4. Terminals
5. Bimetallic strip.
6. Calibration screw - allows the manufacturer to precisely
adjust the trip current of the device after assembly.
7. Solenoid
8. Arc divider/extinguisher

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 Cont’d
Electrical installation refers to the practice of electrical wiring and
associated systems used to convey electric power to electrical loads in a
consumers premises in a safe, reliable and efficient (Economic)
manner.

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