Electrical Wiring

Electrical wiring is a cabling installation through which electrical power or energy is

distributed to several devices like fuses, switches, lights, fans, etc. Associated with electricity
in a structured manner for a seamless power supply.
Wiring is the distribution of electrical power through wires.
When electrical wiring is done correctly in an area like building then the load control is
better.
The wiring conductores in that area/building can be used economically.
Several types of wires are available in the market and each has a different usage.

Electrical Wires
 A single electrical conductor or a single channel that can carry electricity is called a wire.
 The conductor part of the wire is made up of copper or aluminium or copper-sheathed
aluminium wrapped.
 The assembly of one or more of these wires in a different manner (side-by-side or
bundled, etc ) for carrying an electric current is called a cable.
 Size of the wires ranges are determined by the Wire guage. Some standard wire sizes are
10, 12, 14, 18 etc. Around 10 Amps- 18 guage of wire will be required and for 100
Amps- 2 guage wire will be required.
 Types of wires and their characteristics regulated by the National Electrical Code (NEC)
for various applications and installations.
 THHN, THWN, THW and THHN are some popular types of wire insulations.
1. H- Heat resistance
2. HH- High heat resistance, which resists upto a temperature of 194 degree fahrenheit.
3. N- Nylon coating for resistance to damage
4. T- Thermoplastic Insulation
5. W- Wet locations suitability
6. X- Flame resistance synthetic polymer coating

The different kinds of wires have different color codes.

1. The live wires through which current runs are Red.
2. White-colored wires are always Neutral. (Neutral wires are also Black)
3. For Earthing or grounding- Green colored wires are used.
4. For the outlets and switches, the Hot wires are used, which are represented by Black
Color.

Wires based on their place of usage:

1. Triplex wires
2. Main feeder wires
3. Panel feed wires
4. Non-metallic sheathed wires
5. Single Srtand wires
Methods of Electrical Wiring System
The typical house wiring method are:
1. The Joint box system or Tee system or T system
2. The Looping system or Loop-in system.
1. The Joint box system or Tee system or T system
In this method of wiring, connections to appliances are made through joints. These joints are
made in joint boxes by means of suitable connectors or joints cutouts.
This system of wiring connection consumes very less cable size is cheap but the joint box
price is little costly.
It is suitable for several temporary Electrical Installations and it is cheapest.
If connections are not made properly then wiring is not stronger.

2. The Looping system or Loop-in system

It is universally used wiring method.
The name is such because the switch and light feeds are carried round the circuit in a series of
loops from one point to another until the last on the circuit is reached. The phase or line
conductors are looped either in switchboard or box and neutrals are looped either in
switchboard or from light or fan. Line or phase should never be looped from light or fan.
The connections of various different appliances in parallel.
House wiring types are mainly Looping system because they are cheap.

Advantages:
  No Joint boxes are required.
 Easy tracking of fault locations with points being only at the outlets so they are
accessible.
Disadvantages:
 Length of wire is more so more voltage drop as copper loss.
 Looping in switches and lamp holders is generally difficult.

Types of Wiring System

1. Cleat wiring
2. Wooden casing and capping wiring
3. Batten or CTS or TRS or PVC sheathed wiring
4. Lead sheathed or metal sheathed wiring
5. Conduit wiring
1. Cleat wiring
This system of wiring comprise of ordinary VIR( Vulcanized Indian Rubber) or PVC
insulated wires.
Cables are hold by Porcelain cleats.
Distance between two cleats is 30 cms to 60 cms ( 1 feet to 2 feet )
Vertical distance between two cables 1 inch or 2.5 cms.
Advantages:
 Cheapest method of wiring.
 Installation and dismantle is very easy.
 Recoverd material can be reused.
 Inspection alteration and addition are easy.
 Skilled man power is not required.
Disadvantages:
 Does not looks good.
 Open wiring system cause regular cleaning.
 Used for temporarily works.
 I has poor durability.
[Link] among these is a type of internal wiring?
A. Joint Box
B. Tee system
C. Loop-In system
a) Only A b) Only A and C
c) Only B d) A, B and C (Ans)

[Link] type of wiring that is suitable for temporary shed is ?

a) Cleat wiring (Ans) b)Wooden casing and capping wiring
c) Lead Sheath wiring d) Conduit wiring

[Link] cheap and Temporary sytem of internal wiring is

a) Cleat wiring ( Ans) b) Casing-capping
c) CTS or TRS wiring d) Conduit wiring

[Link] Casing and Capping wiring

The cables used in this kind of wiring were either VIR or PVC or any other approved
insulated cables. Suitable for low voltage ( 250 v ) domestic installation.
The cables were carried through the wooden casing enclosures. The casing is made up of a
strip of wood with parallel grooves cut length wise so as to accommodate VIR cables. The
grooves were made to separate opposite polarity. The capping (also made of wood) used to
cover the wires and cables installed and fitted in the casing.
Thickness of casing and capping strip is 0.8 inch or (1+1 =2 cm). Width = 1.5 inch
Advantages:
 Cheaper than Lead sheathed and Conduit wiring.
 It provides good insulation as the conductors are placed apart reducing the risk of
short circuit.
 Easily accessible for inspection and repairs.
 Since the wires are not exposed to atmosphere Insulation is less affected by dust, dirt
and climatic variations.
 Mechanical protection fairly [Link] better than cleat.
 Looks better than cleat.
Disadvantages:
 Costly due to use of long straight knot free wood.
 There is a high risk of fire in casing and capping wiring system.
 Usage of unseasoned woods gets damaged by Termites.
 Not suitable in acidic, alkalies and humidity conditions.
 Skilled workmanship required. Higher labour cost.
 It can be used in surface ( can not be concealed in plaster )

[Link] or CTS or TRS or PVC sheathed wiring

Cab Tyre Sheathed (CTS) or Tough Rubber Sheathed (TRS) or PVC
The cable is laid over wooden batten which is fixed on wall. Tinned brass link clips are used
for formally clipping the cables in position. A hard rubber shield is used to protect external
damage.
Minimum thickness of wooden batten is 1cm (10 mm).
Horizontal distance between links is 10 cm (4 inch).
Vertical distance (holder position) between links is 15 cm (6 inch).
Maximum distance between two batten is 75 cm.

Advantages:
  Installation is easier than casing and capping.
 It is cheaper than other types of wiring but costlier than cleat wiring
 These cables are chemical proof, water proof, steam proof, but affected with
lubricating oil. It can resist chemicals like acid and alkalies. It can be used in
domestic, industrial, laboratories wiring.

Disadvantages:
 Skilled labour is required.
 Can’t used in situations like sunny, rainy. Otherwise extra preventive precaution
would be taken for insulation.
 Not safe from external wear and tear and weather effects ( because the wires are
openly visible to heat, dust, steam and smoke)

4. Lead Sheathed or Metal Sheathed Wiring

This system is more or less similar to CTS wiring except that cable used is TRS or PVC with
an outer covering of sheath of lead aluminium alloy containing approx 95 % of lead.
It is also type of batten wiring.

Advantages:
 Better protection against mechanical injuries.
 Protection against moisture effect.
 It can resist sunny and rainy day.

Disadvantages:
  It is costlier than TRS wiring.
 It is not suitable for places where there is chance of chemical corrosion.
 In case of damage of insulation, metal sheath become alive conductor that may cause
shock. Therefore whole lead covering is connected to earth at the point of entry to
protect against leakage current and to provide safety in case the sheath become alive.
 Skilled labours are required.
1. Which among these is a type of batten wiring?
a) Metal Sheath wiring b) TRS or PVC wiring
c) Both metal and TRS or PVC wiring (Ans) d) None of these

[Link] places where acids and alkalis are present, the type of wiring used is:
a) PVC b)TRS (Ans)
c)VIR d)Weather proof
3. If a live wire comes in contact with metal casing, excess of current moves to:
a) Power House b)Dynamos
c) Earth (Ans) d)Transformers
4. In which one of the following is flexible wire is not used?
a) TV b)Table fan
c) Table light d) Cement factory (Ans)

5. Conduit Wiring
Conduit means pipe.
Two types of conduit wiring:
 Surface conduit wiring (above)
 Concealed conduit wiring (under)
Two types of conduit:
 GI conduit or steel conduit (rigid conduit)
 PVC conduit (flexible conduit)
Steel conduit are two types:
 Light guage or split conduit that is used for upto 250V (flexible conduit)
 Heavy guage or screwed conduit that is used for 250V to 600V
System is best for building, workshops, industry.
Coupler, band, junction box, and ‘T’ are used 30cm apart from first saddle.
Maximum distance between saddeles is 1 meter in surface conduit wiring.
Internal diameter of conduit pipers are 16 to 25mm

Advantages:
 It provides protection against mechanical damage.
 Provides prtotection against fire due to short circuit.
 The whole system is waterproof.
 Replacement and alteration of defective wiring is easy.
 Long life.
Disadvantages:
 Costly
 Experienced and skilled labour is required.
 Internal condensation of moisture may cause damage to insulation.

Installation of conduit wiring:

The conductors or wires should not be run into the conduit until and unless the whole of the
mechanical workds in the building are completed.
There are three methods of installing conductors in the conduit runs:
1. Threading through- This method is suitable when the wiring is done before the
conduit is erected. Laborious, takes more time, useful only for making extension.
2. Pushing In- The wire are pushed into the conduits from one end of the outlet by
exerting manual pressure on them.
 3. Drawing In- The wire are pulled through the conduit with the help of a wire. Such a
method of drawing the wires is also called “fishing”.

Size of wires
Measured by SWG (Standard Wire Guage)
Combination of two or more wires make cables.
Rating of Wires/Cables
250/440V , 650/110V == Single phase/ Three phase voltage (Vph/VL)
3/20 === No. Of strands/Diameter of each strands.
No of strands= 3x2 -3x + 1 (x= no of layers)
Some Important Conductor size in domestic wiring:
 Copper conductor in sub circuit / lighting circuit minimum size is 1.12mm (diameter),
0.985mm2 ( cross section area), 19 SWG
 Copper conductor in power circuit minimum size is 1.4 (diameter), 1.5mm2 (area), 17
SWG
 Aluminium conductor in sub circuit / lighting circuit minimum size is 1.4mm
(diameter), 1.5mm2 (area), 17 SWG
 Aluminium conductor in power circuit minimum size is 1.8mm (diameter), 2.5mm2
(area), 15 SWG

Properties of Insulating Materials

High resistivity
High dielectric strength
Low permittivity
High thermal conductivity
High flexibility
High resistive to moisture, acids etc.
Rubber (heated at 60 degree, absorbs moisture, aging problem)
VIR ( doest not absorb moisture, sulphur added to normal rubber to make VIR but it makes
copper corrosive.)
Impregnated paper (Superior in heat conductivity, but absorbs moisture)
Silk and cotton (low voltage application)
PVC (Good insulator, inert to CO2 , oils and acids, elasticity property is not so good)