Electrical Wiring

• A process of connecting various accessories

for distribution of electrical energy from
supplier’s meter board to home appliances
such as lamps, fans and other domestic
appliances is known as Electrical Wiring.
 Switches
Switch is used to make or break the electric
circuit. It should so operate that it must
make the circuit firm. At the instant of
breaking the switch, it should break the
current so that there is no formation of arc
between switch blades and contact
terminals. Formation of arc damage the
switch contacts. Such an arc is avoided
usually by means of providing a spring. To
Movable blade so as to have a quick action.
 Types of Switches
(a) Surface switches or Tumbler switch.
(b) Flush switches.
(c) Pull switches or Ceiling switches.
(d) Grid switches.
(e)Rotary switch.
(f) Push button switch,
(g) Iron-clad water-tight switch.
(h) Knife switch
Surface Switch or Tumbler Switch
The surface switches are those which are mounted on
the mounting block directly fixed over the surface of
the wall, i.e., such types of switches project out of the
surface of the wall.
The surface switches can be classified as
Single-way or One-way Switch – This switch is provided
with a single pole to control one light point at a time.
Two-way Switch – These are used for wiring circuits which
are to be controlled from two points independently such as
stair case wiring.
Flush Switch
The flush switches are fixed in flush with the wall and do
not project out. Such types of switches are used where
high quality performance and appearance are desired.
Sometimes these switches are called Piano type switches.

Pull Switch or Ceiling Switches

The pull switches are fixed on the ceiling and all the
alive parts are out off reach of the operator. The
switch has a strong mechanical action and is usually
operated with a single pull on the cord for the on and
off position. These switched are used in bath rooms
where water heaters are used, bed rooms and
restaurants.
Grid Switch
The grid switches are similar to tumbler switches, except
that they are lighter and are portable type, so that
they are quite useful for the portable machines such as
hand-drill, portable grinder etc. They are
manufactured either in single-way or two-way
pattern.

Push Button Switches

These switches are used for bell circuit,
refrigerator lighting circuit etc.
Rotary Switches
The rotary switches are much different from that of
ordinary tumbler switch. It consists of an insulated
handle to which are fixed the blades. These blades
move in steps by the movement of the handle and
make contact with the terminals to which are
connected the wires in the electric circuits.
The handle motion is controlled by a cam or a spring as
the handle is moved through a quarter turn, the blade
is released and moves over quickly (with the help of
spring) to make or break the circuit.
Iron-clad Water-tight Switches
Such switches are of cast iron and have very robust
construction. cork gasket is fitted between the case
and the cover which makes it water-tight. These are
used for outdoor lamp control.

Knife Switches
The knife switch consists of blades hinged at one end and
are arranged to go into forked terminals or jaws at
the other end. These are available as single throw
switches or double throw switches.
 Lamp Holders
As the name shows, a lamp-holder is used to
hold the lamp required for lighting
purposes. Earlier, brass lamp-holders were
quite popular, but now-a-days these have
been superseded by the all insulated
pattern. A lamp-holder has either moulded
or porcelain interior with a solid or spring
plunger and easily wired terminals.
 Types of Lamp Holders
Lamp holders can be classified as:
• Bayonet cap lamp holder
a) Pendent holder
b) Batten holder
c) Screwed holder which when used with a bracket
is called as bracket holder
d) Water-tight bracket
• Switched Bayonet cap lamp holder
The switched bayonet bayonet cap lamp-holder has a
push bar switch and is used only to carry an
electric load not exceeding 2 amp.
a) Pendent holder or cord grip holder
b) Screwed lamp holder
• Small Bayonet Cap Holder. The small
bayonet cap holders possess all the features of
larger patterns. They are again of:
a) Cord grip type.
b) Batten type.
c) Screwed pattern.
They are designed for carrying small sizes of lamps.
• Goliath Edison Screw Lamp holders
(Brass)
Such holders are useful for the lamps having wattage
beyond 300 W, the maximum range the lamps with
which they can be used is 1,500 W.
• Medium Edison Screw Lamp holder
(Brass)
Such holders are used with the screwed type lamps
up to 200 watts, 250 volts. The different types of
such holders are.
(a) Cord grip type.
(b) Batten type and
(c) Screwed Entry Pattern.
• Swivel Lamp-holder
The swivel lamp holders are designed for controlled
wide angle directional lighting which are used for
lighting of shop windows, show cases etc.
• Fluorescent Lamp holder and starter
holder
The fluorescent holders are either of bi-pin type or
of bayonet cap type, but pin type holders are
generally used for ordinary fluorescent tubes.
 Ceiling Roses
These are used to provide a tapping to the -
pendant lamp-holders, fan or fluorescent tube
According to Indian slandered
a) A ceiling rose of any other similar attachment shall
not be used on a circuit , the voltage of which
normally exceeds 250 volts.
b) Normally only one flexible cord shall be attached to a
ceiling rose. Specially designed ceiling roses shall be
used for multiple pendants.
c) A ceiling rose shall not embody fuse terminal as
integral part of it.
 Socket Outlet
The socket outlets have all insulated base with
moulded or socket base having 3 terminal sleeves.
The two thin terminal sleeves are meant for
making connection to the cable, with the third
terminal sleeve, thicker in cross-section, is used
for an earth connection.
The cover is again moulded and has corresponding 3
holes. These are made for 5 amp and 15 amp
loads.
 Plugs
For taking power from socket outlets, 3-pin plugs are
used. The thicker pin is used for an earth
connection to the portable appliances. They are
also made for 5 amps and 15amps load.
 Terminal Blocks
Terminal blocks used for termination and connection
to the other circuits. A single-way terminal block is
used for differentiating the live line from the
neutral when the domestic connection is given and
is called as Connector.
 Main Switch
The main switches are used to control the whole
supply for a house or office. These are of following
types:
ICDP- use for single phase supply control (15 A,
30A, 60A, 100A, 250 V)
ICTP- use for three phase-three wire and three
phase four wire supply control (15A, 30A, 60A,
100A, 150A, 200A, and 500V)
 Wires
Types of wires
V.I.R. (Vulcanized Indian rubber) wire
CTS/TRS(Cab tyre sheathed, tough rubber sheath)
wires
Lead sheathes wire
PVC wires
Weather proof wires
Flexible wires
 Selection of cables
Important factors that determine the selection of
cables
Rated Voltage- the rated voltage of cable should always
be equal to or grater than the system voltage.
Current Carrying Capacity- Each power cable is
designed to operate under certain temperature
conditions. Current carrying capacity of power cable
is also dependent on conductor material (Copper /
Aluminium) and insulation type. The current carrying
capacity is also dependent on operating temperature.
Higher the temperature, lower is the current carrying
capacity of the cable and vice versa.
 Selection of cables
Derating Factor- A power cable designed with
standard operating conditions may not operate so in
practical. Therefore, the current carrying capacity
may get impacted due to this.
For example: Cables installed deep under the ground
will have reduced current carrying capacity than
cables installed in air. This is impacted due to
multiple factors like soil temperature, soil thermal
resistivity etc.
Actual Current Carrying Capacity = Derating Factor x
Cable current carrying capacity under std. conditions.
 Selection of cables
Voltage Drop- A power cable manufacturer provides
this as part of their data sheet. A voltage drop across
the length of the power cable is very important. It is
expressed as: mV / A-m.
The voltage drop per unit length of cable should as
minimum as possible so as to get voltage at delivery
end approximately same as supply side.
Short circuit Withstand - A power cable in case of
short circuit event should be able to withstand the
high current values without any damage to the cable
and insulation.
 Selection of cables
Availability of Cables-This needs to be checked with
manufacturer or the dealer of a particular cable.
Cables are manufactured in certain minimum length
segments. Therefore, it will be difficult to procure a
30 meter length of 300 sq-mm cable than a 300 meter
length of same cable. Also, the costing may vary
largely between the two quantities.
Bending Radius- This can be a practical problem
during installation. Large sized multi-core cables have
bigger bending radius than small sized. Therefore a
same size of multi-core XLPE cable has more bending
radius than a PVC. In order to overcome this, a
contractor might have to opt separate single core
cables.
 Single Line Diagram
a one-line diagram or single-line diagram is a simplified
notation for representing an electrical system. The one-
line diagram is similar to a block diagram except that
electrical elements such as switches, circuit breakers,
transformers, and capacitors are shown by
standardized schematic symbols.
 Single Line Diagram
Importance of single line diagram
1. Identification of the problem location, in safety
conformity and the staff safety can be benefited by the
use of single line diagram.
2. If in any case the inaccuracy in the connection and the
failure arises the updation of the single diagram
becomes easy even on the regular basis.
3. The information from one line diagram can be widely
used to enhance the performance of service activities.
 Protective Devices
When a failure occurs on any part of the electrical power
system, it must be quickly detected and disconnected from
the system. There are two reason for it. Firstly, if the fault
not cleared quickly , it may cause unnecessary interruption
of the service to the customer. Secondly, rapid disconnection
of faulty apparatus limit the amount of damage to it and
prevent the effects of fault from spreading into the system.
The detection of fault and disconnection of faulty part can
be achieved by using fuses or relays in connection with
circuit breakers. A fuse can perform both the function but
for low voltage circuit only. For high voltage circuits, relays
and circuit breakers are employed to serve the desire
function for automatic protective gear.
 Protective Relays
Protective relay is a device that detect the fault and
initiate the operation of the circuit breaker to isolate the
faulty element from the rest of the system.
The relay circuit can be divided in three parts:
1. First is primary winding of the CT which is
connected in series with the line to be protected.
2. Second part is secondary of CT and the relay
operating coil.
3. Third is the tripping circuit which may be either ac
or dc. It consists of a source of supply, the trip coil of
the CB and the relay stationary contacts.
Protective Relays
Under normal load conditions, the e.m.f. of the
secondary winding of C.T. is small and the current
flowing in the relay operating coil is insufficient to close
the relay contacts. This keeps the trip coil of the circuit
breaker unenergized. Consequently, the contacts of the
circuit breaker remain closed and it carries the normal
load current. When a fault occurs, a large current flows
through the primary of C.T. This increases the
secondary e.m.f. and hence the current through the
relay operating coil. The relay contacts are closed and
the trip coil of the circuit breaker is energized to open
the contacts of the circuit breaker.
 Fundamental Requirement of
Protective Relays
The main features of protective devices :
1. Selectivity: It is the ability of the protective system
to select correctly that part of the system in trouble
and disconnect the faulty part without disturbing
the rest of the system
2. Speed: The relay system should disconnect the
faulty section as fast as possible
3. Sensitivity: It is the ability of the relay system to
operate with low value of actuating quantity.
4. Reliability: It is the ability of the relay system to
operate under the pre-determined conditions.
 Fundamental Requirement of
Protective Relays
5. Simplicity: The relaying system should be simple so that
it can be easily maintained. Reliability is closely related
to simplicity. The simpler the protection scheme, the
greater will be its reliability.
6. Economy: The most important factor in the choice of a
particular protection scheme is the economic aspect.
Sometimes it is economically unjustified to use an ideal
scheme of protection and a compromise method has to
be adopted. As a rule, the protective gear should not cost
more than 5% of total cost. However, when the
apparatus to be protected is of utmost importance (e.g.
generator, main transmission line etc.), economic
considerations are often subordinated to reliability.
 Types of Protective Relays

According to construction and principle of

operation:
1. Attracted armature type
2. Solenoid type
3. Electrodynamics type
4. Induction type
5. Thermal type
6. Moving coil type
According to applications
1. Over Voltage/Over Current/Over Power Relay
2. Under Voltage /Under Current /Under Power relay
3. Directional or Reverse Power Relay
4. Directional or Reverse Current Relay
5. Differential Relay
6. Distance Relay
According to time characteristics
1. Instantaneous Relay
2. Definite Time Lag Relay
3. Inverse Time Lag-Relay
 Fuses
A fuse is a short piece of metal, inserted in the circuit, which
melts when excessive current flows through it and thus
breaks the circuit.
The fuse element is generally made of materials having low
melting point, high conductivity and least deterioration due
to oxidation e.g., silver, copper etc. It is inserted in series
with the circuit to be protected. Under normal operating
conditions, the fuse element is at a temperature below its
melting point. Therefore, it carries the normal current
without overheating. However, when a short-circuit or
overload occurs, the current through the fuse increases
beyond its rated value. This raises the temperature and fuse
element melts (or blows out), disconnecting the circuit
protected by it.
Advantages
1. It is the cheapest form of protection available.
2. It requires no maintenance.
3. Its operation is inherently completely automatic
unlike a circuit breaker which requires an elaborate
equipment for automatic action.
4. It can break heavy short-circuit currents without
noise or smoke.
5. The smaller sizes of fuse element impose a current
limiting effect under short-circuit conditions.
6. The inverse time-current characteristic of a fuse
makes it suitable for overcurrent protection.
7. The minimum time of operation can be made much
shorter than with the circuit breakers.
Disadvantages
1. Considerable time is lost in rewiring or replacing a
fuse after operation.
2. On heavy short-circuits, *discrimination between
fuses in series cannot be obtained unless there is
sufficient difference in the sizes of the fuses
concerned.
3. The current-time characteristic of a fuse cannot
always be co-related with that of the protected
apparatus.
Desirable Characteristics of Fuse Element
(i) low melting point e.g., tin, lead.
(ii) high conductivity e.g., silver, copper.
(iii) free from deterioration due to oxidation e.g., silver.
(iv) low cost e.g., lead, tin, copper.
Fuse Element Materials
The most commonly used materials for fuse element are
lead, tin, copper, zinc and silver. For small currents upto
10 A, tin or an alloy of lead and tin (lead 37%, tin 63%)
is used for making the fuse element. For larger currents,
copper or silver is employed. It is a usual practice to tin
the copper to protect it from oxidation. Zinc (in strip
form only) is good if a fuse with considerable time-lag is
required i.e., one which does not melt very quickly with
a small overload.
 Important Terms
(i) Current rating of fuse element: It is the current
which the fuse element can normally carry without
overheating or melting. It depends upon the
temperature rise of the contacts of the fuse holder, fuse
material and the surroundings of the fuse.
(ii) Fusing current: It is the minimum current at which
the fuse element melts and thus disconnects the circuit
protected by it. Obviously, its value will be more than
the current rating of the fuse element.
For a round wire, the approximate relationship between
fusing current ‘I’ and diameter ‘d’ of the wire is
I = k d3/2
where ‘k’ is a constant, called the fuse constant.
The fusing current depends upon the various factors
such as :
(a) material of fuse element
(b) length – the smaller the length, the greater the
current because a short fuse can easily conduct
away all the heat
(c) diameter
(d) size and location of terminals
(e) previous history
(f) type of enclosure used
(iii) Fusing factor. It is the ratio of minimum fusing
current to the current rating of the fuse element i.e.

Its value is always more than one. The smaller the

fusing factor, the greater is the difficulty in avoiding
deterioration due to overheating and oxidation at rated
carrying current.
(iv) Cut-off current. It is the maximum value of fault
current actually reached before the fuse melts.
(v) Pre-arcing time. It is the time between the
commencement of fault and the instant when cut off
occurs.
(vi) Arcing time. This is the time between the end of
pre-arcing time and the instant when the arc is
extinguished.
(vii) Total operating time. It is the sum of pre-arcing
and arcing times.
(viii) Prospective Current.
Before melting, the fuse element has to carry the short
circuit current through it. The prospective current is
defined as the value of current which would flow
through the fuse immediately after a short circuit
occurs in the network.
(ix) Breaking capacity.
The breaking capacity of a fuse is the maximum
available current, at the rated voltage that the device
can safely open without physically rupturing.
The breaking capacity of the fuse must be greater than
the potential fault (short circuit) current of the circuit.
 Types of Fuses
(i) Low voltage fuses
a)Semi-enclosed rewireable fuse
b)High-Rupturing capacity (H.R.C.) cartridge fuse
c)H.R.C. fuse with tripping device
(ii) High Voltage fuses
a)Cartridge type
b)Liquid type
c)Metal clad fuses
 Miniature Circuit Breaker

MCB is a device that provides definite protection to the

wiring installations and sophisticated equipment
against over currents and short circuit faults.
 Construction and Working
The parts of the miniature circuit breaker are:
01. Outgoing Terminals
02. Bimetal Carrier
03. Bimetal Strip
04. Trip Lever
05. Solenoid Coil
06. Plunger
07. Operational Knob
08. Arc Splitters
09. Incoming Terminals
Miniature Circuit Breaker
Operation of MCB
The operation of the MCB includes two stages, i.e.,
thermal operation and short circuit operation.
With the use of bimetallic strip, thermal operation is
achieved in case overload conditions. When overload
current flows through the MCB, the bimetallic strip gets
heated and causes to deflect. In doing so, it moves the
trip lever and releases the latch mechanism and hence
the contacts open under spring mechanism.
During the short circuit conditions, the large fault
current energizes the solenoid and the magnetic field of
the solenoid attracts the plunger which in turn strikes
the trip lever and hence the immediate release of the
latch mechanism.
When the moving contact separated from fixed contact,
there may be a high chance of arc. This arc then goes up
through the arc runner and enters into arc splitters and
is finally quenched.
The MCB has some advantages compared to fuse.
1. It automatically switches off the electrical
circuit during abnormal condition of the network
means in over load condition as well as faulty
condition. The fuse does not sense but miniature
circuit breaker does it in more reliable way. MCB is
much more sensitive to over current than fuse.
2. Another advantage is, as the switch operating knob
comes at its off position during tripping, the faulty
zone of the electrical circuit can easily be identified.
But in case of fuse, fuse wire should be checked by
opening fuse grip or cutout from fuse base, for
confirming the blow of fuse wire.
3. Quick restoration of supply can not be possible in
case of fuse as because fuses have to be rewirable or
replaced for restoring the supply. But in the case of
MCB, quick restoration is possible by just switching
on operation.
4. Handling MCB is more electrically safe than fuse.
Because of to many advantages of MCB over fuse
units, in modern low voltage electrical network,
miniature circuit breaker is mostly used instead of
backdated fuse unit.
Only one disadvantage of MCB over fuse is that this
system is more costlier than fuse unit system.
MCBs are classified into three major types according to
their instantaneous tripping currents. They are
Type B MCB
Type C MCB
Type D MCB

Type B MCB: This type of MCB will trip instantly at a

rate of three to five times its rated current. These 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.
Type C MCB: This type of MCB will trip instantly at a
rate of five to ten times its rated current. These are
normally used for high inductive loads where switching
surges are high such as small motors and florescent
lighting. These are preferred to handle higher value of
short circuit currents. Therefore, these are suitable for
highly inductive commercial and industrial installations.
Type D MCB: This type of MCB will trip instantly at a
rate of ten to twenty five times its rated current. These
are normally used for very high inductive loads where
high inrush current are very frequent. The common
examples of such applications include x-ray machines,
UPS systems, industrial welding equipment, large
winding motors, etc.
Selection of MCB for different loads:
Choosing a particular MCB for a specific application is a
careful task to ensure reliable protection against
overloads and short circuits. If it is undersized (MCB
rating less than the nominal load current), MCB causes
frequent tripping and causes to interrupt the current to
the load it is being connected, because the MCB nominal
current less than nominal current value of the load.
Similarly, if it is oversized (MCB rating more than the
nominal load current), the load to it is connected will
not be protected efficiently. In such case, the MCB will
not trip even though load is drawing over currents.
The following are the three factors to be considered for
selecting an MCB for specific application.
1. Nominal rating of the circuit breaker
2. kA rating or breaking capacity
3. Type of MCB
 MCCB
A moulded case circuit breaker (MCCB) is a type of
electrical protection device that is used to protect the
electrical circuit from excessive current, which can
cause overload or short circuit.
The main difference between MCCB and MCB are that
the MCCB can have current rating of up to 2500A with
adjustable trip settings.
MCCB has main three functions
1. Protection against over load
2. Protection against electrical faults
3. Switching a circuit ON and OFF
 ELCB
An Earth-leakage circuit breaker (ELCB) is a safety
device used in electrical installations with high Earth
impedance to prevent shock. It detects small stray
voltages on the metal enclosures of electrical
equipment, and interrupts the circuit if a dangerous
voltage is detected.
Also, the ELCB is used to protect the circuit from the
electrical leakage. When someone gets an electric shock,
then this circuit breaker cuts off the power at the time
of 0.1 sec. for protecting the personal safety and
avoiding the gear from the circuit against short circuit
and overload.
2-pole ELCB 4-pole ELCB
If any current leaks from any electrical installation,
there must-be any insulation failure in the electrical
circuit, it must be properly detected and prevented
otherwise there may be a high chance of electrical
shock if-anyone touches the installation. An earth
leakage circuit breaker does it efficiently. Means it
detects the earth leakage current and makes the power
supply off by opening the associated circuit breaker.
There are two types of earth leakage circuit breaker,
Voltage ELCB and Current ELCB.
Voltage Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker
The working principle of voltage ELCB is quite simple. One
terminal of the relay coil is connected to the metal body of
the equipment to be protected against earth leakage and
other terminal is connected to the earth directly.
If any insulation failure occurs or live phase wire touches
the metal body, of the equipment, there must be a voltage
difference appears across the terminal of the coil connected
to the equipment body and earth. This voltage difference
produces a current to flow the relay coil.
If the voltage difference crosses, a predetermined limit, the
current through the relay becomes sufficient to actuate the
relay for tripping the associated circuit breaker to
disconnect the power supply to the equipment.
The typicality of this device is, it can detect and protect
only that equipment or installation with which it is
attached. It cannot detect any leakage of insulation in
other parts of the system.
Current ELCB or Residual Current Circuit Breaker
A current ELCB has a toroidal iron core over which
phase and neutral windings are wound. A search coil is
also wound on the same iron core which in turn is
connected to the trip coil. Figure below shows the
constructional detail of Current ELCB.
Under normal operating condition, the current through
the phase winding and neutral winding are same but
both the windings are wound in such a manner to
oppose the mmfs of each other, therefore net mmf in the
toroidal iron core will be zero.
Consider a condition where earth leakage current exists
in the load side. In this case the current through the
phase and neutral will no longer be equal rather phase
current will be more than the neutral current.
Thus mmf produced by phase winding will be more
than the mmf produced by neutral winding because of
which a net mmf will exist in the toroidal iron core.
This net mmf in the core will link with the Search Coil
and an emf will be induced across the terminals of the
Search Coil. This emf will in turn drive a current
through the Trip Coil which will pull lever to open
supply contacts to isolate the power supply.
 MPCB
A Motor Protection Circuit Breaker is a simple
electromechanical device that protects an individual
electric motor against overload, fluctuations in input
current or unscheduled interruptions to the main
circuit. This includes line faults and phase loss or
imbalance in three phase motors.
A Motor Protection Circuit Breaker saves on space and
costs, providing fuseless protection that switches
motors off instantly to prevent damage. It will also
safely disconnect the current in the event of a short
circuit.
MPCB
 Functions of MPCB
a) Protection against electrical faults such as short
circuits, line-to-ground faults etc.
b) Motor overload protection
c) Protection against phase unbalances and phase loss
d) Thermal delay to prevent the motor from being
turned back on immediately after an overload, giving
the motor time to cool down.
e) Motor Circuit Switching
f) Fault Signaling
g) Automatic Reconnection
The main parts of a MPCB:
a) Thermal over current release
b) Electromagnetic over current release
c) Main contact system
d) Auxiliary switch position
e) Switch latch
f) Arcing chamber
g) Plunger armature
h) Differential trip slide
a) Thermal over current release b) Electromagnetic over current release
c) Main contact system c) Auxiliary switch position
d) Switch latch e) Arcing chamber
f) Plunger armature g) Differential trip slide
 MPCB Working
• Thermal protection is used to guard the electric
motor against overload
• Magnetic protection is used when there is a short
circuit, line fault, or other high current electric fault
• The MPCB is capable of detecting these conditions by
measuring the differences among phase voltages,
and disconnects the motor immediately when they
occur.
 Isolator
It is essentially a knife switch and is designed to open a
circuit under no load. Its main purpose is to isolate one
portion of the circuit from the other and is not intended
to be opened while current is flowing in the line. Such
switches are generally used on both sides of circuit
breakers in order that repairs and replacement of
circuit breakers can be made without any danger. They
should never be opened until the circuit breaker in the
same circuit has been opened and should always be
closed before the circuit breaker is closed.
 Types of Electrical Isolators
There are different types of isolators available depending
upon system requirement such as
1. Double Break Isolator
2. Single Break Isolator
3. Pantograph type Isolator.
Depending upon the position in the power system, the
isolators can be categorized as
1. Bus side isolator – the isolator is directly connected with
main bus
2. Line side isolator – the isolator is situated at line side of
any feeder
3. Transfer bus side isolator – the isolator is directly
connected with transfer bus.
 Operation of Electrical Isolators
Opening Operation of Electrical Isolator
a) In the beginning, open the major circuit breaker.
b) Then divide the load from a system with isolator
opening
c) Close the earth switch. Earth switch can become
with an interlock system with isolator. That’s means
when isolator is open only that time earth switch
can be closed.
Closing Operation of Electrical Isolator
a) Detach the earth switch.
b) Shut the isolator.
c) Shut the circuit breaker.
 Contactors
A contactor is an electrical device which is used for
switching an electrical circuit on or off. It is considered
to be a special type of relay. However, the basic
difference between the relay and contactor is that the
contactor is used in applications with higher current
carrying capacity, whereas the relay is used for lower
current applications. Contactors can be field mounted
easily and are compact in size. Generally, these electrical
devices feature multiple contacts. These contacts are in
most cases normally open and provide operating power
to the load when the contactor coil is energized.
Contactors are most commonly used for controlling
electric motors.
The following three are crucial components of the
contactor:
1. Coil or Electromagnet: This is the most crucial
component of a contactor. The driving force that is
required to close the contacts is provided by the coil or
electromagnet of the contactor. The coil or
electromagnet and contacts are protected by an
enclosure.
2. Enclosure: Just like the enclosures used in any other
application, contactors also feature an enclosure, which
provides insulation and protection from personnel
touching the contacts. The protective enclosure is made
from different materials, such as polycarbonate,
polyester, Nylon 6, Bakelite, thermosetting plastics, and
others.
3. Contacts: This is yet another important component
of this electrical device. The current carrying task of the
contactor is done by the contacts. There are different
types of contacts in a contactor namely, contact springs,
auxiliary contacts, and power contacts. Each type of
contact has an individual role to play.
Operating Principle of a Contactor:
The current passing through the contactor excites the
electromagnet. The excited electromagnet produces a
magnetic field, causing the contactor core to move the
armature. A normally closed (NC) contact completes the
circuit between the fixed contacts and the moving
contacts. This permits the current to pass through these
contacts to the load. When current is removed, the coil
is de-energized and opens the circuit. The contacts of
the contactors are known for their rapid open and close
action.
 Electric Shock

An electric shock occurs when a person comes into

contact with an electrical energy source. Electrical
energy flows through a portion of the body causing
a shock.
Factors determining the severity of electric shock
• The type of current (AC/DC)
• The amount of current
• Duration of contact
• Surface area of contact or Electrical field strength
• The pathway the electricity takes through the body
• Overall health of person
What happens when you get an electric shock
a) An electric shock can have no injury at all
b) Burns (which are the most common)
c) Cardiac arrest due to the electrical effect on the
heart
d) Muscle, nerve, and tissue destruction from a current
passing through the body
e) Death (electrocution)
Causes of Electrical Accidents
Accidents and injuries with electricity are caused
by one or a combination of the following:
• Unsafe equipment and/or installation.
• Unsafe workplaces caused by environmental
factors.
• Unsafe work practices.
Prevention to be taken to prevent electric shock
• Avoid water at all times when working with
electricity. Never touch or try repairing any electrical
equipment or circuits with wet hands. It increases the
conductivity of electric current.
• Never use equipment with frayed cords, damaged
insulation or broken plugs.
• Always use insulated tools while working.
• Always use appropriate insulated rubber gloves and
goggles while working on any branch circuit or any
other electrical circuit.
• Never try repairing energized equipment. Check all
the wires, the outer metallic covering of the service
panel and any other hanging wires with an electrical
tester before proceeding with your work.
• Never use an aluminium or steel ladder if you are
working on any receptacle at height in your home. An
electrical surge will ground you and the whole electric
current will pass through your body. Use a wooden or a
fibreglass ladder instead.
• Always use a circuit breaker or fuse with the
appropriate current rating.
• Working outside with underground cabling can be
dangerous. The damp soil around the cable is a good
conductor of electricity and ground faults are quite
common in the case of underground cabling. Using a
spade to dig at the cable can damage the wiring easily
so it is better to dig at the cable by hand while wearing
insulated gloves.
• Replace immediately broken switches and plugs etc.
• Check that all metallic parts of electrical equipments
are effectively earthed.
• Always turn off the mains when perform electric work
at your home.
• Never place bare wire of leads in plugs. Fit a plug top.