Lecture 3 - Electrical Wiring System

ELECTRICAL WIRING
INTRODUCTION
• A Building, whether used as a home, as a

godown, as a factory, as a cafeteria, as a hotel,
as a research laboratory, or as an educational
institute, needs electrical installation.
• To run various appliances, equipments and

machinery also we need electrical power.
WHAT IS AN ELECTRICAL WIRING?.
Electrical wiring is generally refers to insulated conductor
used to carry current and associated device.
(or)
Wiring is systematic laying of wires for the smooth flowing
of electricity current at different utility places with utmost
safety and precautions.
(or)
A network of wires drawn connecting the meter board to the

various energy consuming loads (lamps, fans, motors etc)
through control and protective devices for efficient
distribution of power is known as electrical wiring.
DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRICAL POWER TO
CONSUMERS
Following supply system is normally is used

for distributing electrical power to consumers.
1. Single-phase two-wire system.

2. Three-phase four-wire system.
3. Three phase three wire system.
SINGLE-PHASE TWO-WIRE SYSTEM (DOMESTIC WIRING)
 For domestic consumers, the most commonly used system
is 1-phase 2-wire system(230V).
 Which is often derived from a 400V, 3-phase 4-wire

system.
 Groups of consumers are connected between one phase

line and the neutral conductor, thus providing 230V, 50Hz,
1-phase supply.
 The consumers- groups are arranged such that the loads on

the three phases remain balanced.
ELECTRIC WIRING SYSTEMS
For domestic wiring, there can be

following two systems of wiring.
1. Tree System of Wiring

2. Distribution System of Wiring
TREE SYSTEM OF WIRING
 It is one of the cheaper and simple system of wiring.
 The live and neutral wires are run throughout the

house.
 The branch circuits are tapped wherever needed.
 After removing the insulation of the main wires, the

branch-circuit wires are joined. An insulation tape is
wrapped around the joint.
DISADVANTAGES OF TREE SYSTEM OF WIRING
1. Poor appearance.
2. Frequent occurrence of faults due to many joints.
3. Difficulty in locating faults.
4. Scattered fuses.
APPLICATION
This system is not suitable for
regular long lasting domestic wiring. However, we
may use it for temporary wiring such as for a
marriage pandal.
DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM OF WIRING
 The live and neutral main wires are first taken
to one or more convenient distribution boards.
 Each branch circuit is then separately taken out

from the distribution board.
DISADVANTAGES
 This system requires more length of wire and hence it
is costlier than the tree system.
Because of the following advantages, this system of
wiring is normally adopted for domestic wiring now-a-
days.
1. Good appearance.
2. Fault in one circuit does not affect the other circuits.
3. Easy to locate faults.
4. Each circuit protected independently by a fuse or
MCB.
5. Simple system capable of further extension, if
required.
6. Easy to replace blown fuse, or to restore the MCB.
THREE-PHASE FOUR-WIRE SYSTEM(INDUSTRIAL WIRING)
 For large industrial consumers, particularly those

using heavy motor loads and drawing more than
1 MVA, the power is supplied from a three phase
system at high voltage, such as 6.6kV, 11kV, or 33kV.
 The consumer has its own substation to distribute

power at appropriate voltages at different locations
within his premises.
THREE-PHASE THREE-WIRE SYSTEM(Transmission
WIRING)
 Because there's no need to run a neutral wire for
transmission service, and it saves on materials
cost.
 Four-wire systems are only useful where single-

phase loads are involved, really. Transmission
is always balanced three-phase(Delta).
 So, using 3 wire system is economical and also

results in lesser power loss.
Single and Three Phase Distribution System
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NEUTRAL WIRE AND GROUND
WIRE
 Neutral carries current equal to that carried by the phase
wire.
 Neutral is a circuit conductor that normally carries

current back to the source(return path for the phase
wire) and is connected to ground (earth) at the main
electrical panel.
 Ground is there for safety, and it should -never- carry

current except when something has failed(it should only
carry the leakage current).
 Even though both Neutral and Ground are attached to

FACTOR AFFECTING THE CHOICE OF WIRING
1. DURABILITY: Type of wiring selected should confirm to standard specifications, so
that it is durable i.e. without being affected by the weather conditions, fumes etc.
2. SAFETY: The wiring must provide safety against leakage, shock and fire hazards for
the operating personnel.
3. APPEARANCE: Electrical wiring should give an aesthetic appeal to the interiors.
4. COST: It should not be prohibitively expensive.
5.ACCESSIBILITY: The switches and plug points provided should be easily

accessible. There must be provision for further extension of the wiring system, if
necessary.
6.MAINTENANCE COST: The maintenance cost should be a minimum.
7.MECHANICAL SAFETY: The wiring must be protected against any mechanical

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WIRE AN A CABLE
 Many are often confused, but in fact, they are
quite different.
 A wire is a single conductor(material most
commonly being copper or aluminium).
 While a cable is two or more insulated wires

wrapped in one jacket.
 Multiple conductors that have no insulation
around would be classified as a single conductor.
SPECIFICATION OF WIRES:
 Electrical wire is specified by the
a. Conductor material
b. Insulation
c. Size
d. The number of cores.
 These are important parameters as they determine the current

and voltage handling capability of the wires. The conductors
are usually of either copper or aluminum.
 Various insulating materials like PVC(Poly vinyl chloride),

TRS, and VIR(Vulcanized India Rubber) are used. The
wires may be of single strand or multi strand.
 Wires with combination of different diameters and the number

of cores or strands are available.
 For example: The VIR conductors are specified as 1/20, 3/22,
….7/20 ………
 The numerator indicates the number of strands while the

denominator corresponds to the diameter of the wire in SWG
(Standard Wire Gauge).
 SWG 20 corresponds to a wire of diameter 0.914mm, while

SWG 22 corresponds to a wire of diameter 0.737 mm.
 A 7/0 wire means, it is a 7-cored wire of diameter 12.7mm (0.5

inch).
 The selection of the wire is made depending on the requirement

considering factors like current and voltage ratings, cost and
application.
EXAMPLE: IN CASE OF DOMESTIC WIRING
APPLICATION
1. Lighting - 3/20 copper wire

2. Heating - 7/20 copper wire

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ELECTRICAL WIRING

• A Building, whether used as a home, as a

• To run various appliances, equipments and

A network of wires drawn connecting the meter board to the

Following supply system is normally is used

1. Single-phase two-wire system.

 Which is often derived from a 400V, 3-phase 4-wire

 Groups of consumers are connected between one phase

 The consumers- groups are arranged such that the loads on

For domestic wiring, there can be

1. Tree System of Wiring

 The live and neutral wires are run throughout the

 The branch circuits are tapped wherever needed.

 After removing the insulation of the main wires, the

 Each branch circuit is then separately taken out

 For large industrial consumers, particularly those

 The consumer has its own substation to distribute

 Four-wire systems are only useful where single-

 So, using 3 wire system is economical and also

 Neutral is a circuit conductor that normally carries

 Ground is there for safety, and it should -never- carry

 Even though both Neutral and Ground are attached to

3. APPEARANCE: Electrical wiring should give an aesthetic appeal to the interiors.

4. COST: It should not be prohibitively expensive.

5.ACCESSIBILITY: The switches and plug points provided should be easily

6.MAINTENANCE COST: The maintenance cost should be a minimum.

7.MECHANICAL SAFETY: The wiring must be protected against any mechanical

 While a cable is two or more insulated wires

 These are important parameters as they determine the current

 Various insulating materials like PVC(Poly vinyl chloride),

 Wires with combination of different diameters and the number

 The numerator indicates the number of strands while the

 SWG 20 corresponds to a wire of diameter 0.914mm, while

 A 7/0 wire means, it is a 7-cored wire of diameter 12.7mm (0.5

 The selection of the wire is made depending on the requirement

1. Lighting - 3/20 copper wire

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