Simple House Wiring With MCB or Fuse Project: Wire (Or Positive), and Another

Simple House Wiring with MCB or Fuse project
Today, electricity has become an essential part of our lives and it is hard
to imagine life without it. Our households are full of electrical
appliances such as an electric bulb, electric bell, electric fan, iron,
electric heater, refrigerator, washing machine, TV, Computer, Laptop,
Mobile etc. This electricity is transmitted through ‘electric circuits’. An
electrical circuit is a path or line through which an electrical current
flows. In our house this circuits are made through house wiring. The
wiring or the electric circuits are closed-loop or path which forms a
network of electrical components. This path is made using electrical
wires.
In our homes, there is a main supply of electricity from where all rooms
are connected through wiring. All the wires are well insulated, but they
have the different color for different purpose. One of the wires is in
Red color which indicate the live
wire (or positive), and another
wire in Black or Blue used as
the neutral wire (or negative).
Third one is Green color which is
called ground wire, used for
grounding the electrical circuit.
Ground wires also have green wire
with a small yellow stripe.
House Wiring: An Example
1
At the meter-board, these wires pass into
an electric meter through the main fuse.
The main switch, live wire, and the
neutral wire are in connection to the line
wires in our homes; these wires then
supply electricity to separate electric
circuits within the house.
The use of an electric fuse prevents the electric circuit and the appliance
from a possible damage by stopping the flow of high electric currents.
If there is heavy current flow through the circuit, which results in the
overheating of live wires and breaks the circuit. This was it saves the
appliances in our house. As a safety measure, it is therefore very much
useful and essential to use the Fuse or MCB in the circuit.
Safety Measures to Prevent Short-Circuiting and Overloading
When there are faults in electrical

circuits due to which heavy current
may flow through the circuit which
results in the overheating of live wires.
Short-circuiting takes place when a
naked live wire and neutral wires come
in contact with each other. During
short-circuit, the resistance of a circuit
decreases to a very small value.
touches a naked neutral wire. The decreasing of resistance increases the
current. Due to this increased current, the wires get heated. This extreme
heat may cause fire in the building. Normally sub-standard wires wear
out soon and may cause short-circuiting.
When the number of appliances operated

on the circuit at the same time exceeds the
limits the circuit wiring can withstand then
overloading of electrical circuit occurs. We
know that in domestic circuits all the
appliances are connected in parallel. In
parallel circuits, as we add more and more
appliances more current is drawn from the
supply. If the total current drawn by all the
2
appliances at a particular time exceeds, the bearing capacity of that wire,
the wires of the domestic wiring heat up, leading to ‘overloading’. It
may happen because of connecting too many devices to the same (one
single) socket.
It is therefore essential to put fuse or MCB in the electric circuit of house

wiring to prevent Short-circuiting and overloading to safeguard the
electric circuit and the appliance from a possible damage
Electric Fuse:
Electric fuse protects
circuits and appliances
by stopping the flow
of unduly high electric
current. It is placed in
series with the device.
It consists of a piece of
wire made of a metal
or an alloy (aluminium, copper, iron, lead etc.) of appropriate melting
point. When large current flows through the circuit, the temperature of
the fuse wire increases. This melts the fuse wire and breaks the circuit.
The fuses used for domestic purposes are rated as 1 A, 2 A, 3 A, 5 A,
10 A, etc. The material used as fuse element must have the Low melting
point; Low Ohmic resistance; High conductivity; Low cost and should
be free from deterioration.
There are many types fuse designed for different applications. The
following two fuses are used in house wring and various appliances.
Re-wirable fuse: Re-wirable fuse is the most commonly used fuse in
house wiring. It is also known as kit-kat fuse. Due to over current if the
fuse wire gets melt, it can be changed and reused.
3
Cartridge or Totally Enclosed Fuse
In this type of fuse, the fuse element is enclosed in a totally enclosed
container and is provided with metal contacts at the both ends.
Some of the other fuses available are:

 Thermal fuse,
 Mechanical fuse,
 Blade fuse
 Striker fuse
 Drop-out fuse
 Switch fuse
 Bolted fuse etc.
The selection of a fuse can be done by calculating the fuse rating by

using the following formula:
Fuse rating = [ power (watts)/voltage (volts) ] × 1.25
Advantages of an Electrical Fuse
 It is the cheapest form of protection;

 It does need any maintenance;
 Its operation is completely automatic, and
 It requires less time as compared to circuit breakers;
 Short circuit currents are interrupted without causing smoke or flame.
Disadvantages of an Electrical Fuse
 The current-time characteristic of a fuse cannot always be correlated

with that of the protective device.
 Considerable time is required in replacing a fuse after the operation.
4
MCB (Miniature Circuit Breaker)
Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB) is an electromagnetic device that

embodies complete enclosure in a molded insulating material. The main
function of an MCB is to switch the circuit, i.e., to open the circuit
(which has been connected to it) automatically when the current passing
through it (MCB) exceeds the value for which it is set. It can be
manually switched ON and OFF as similar to normal switch if
necessary.
Generally, MCBs are designed to trip less than 2.5 milliseconds when a
short circuit occurs or over current fault arises. In case of overheating
or overload condition, MCB may take 2 seconds to 2 minutes for
tripping based on the level of the overload.
The advantage of MCBs include,

 much faster operation than fuses,
 does not need any servicing or rewiring,
 easy to handle and more reliable.
 The operating time of the MCB is less than 1ms.
 Unlike a fuse, MCB does not have to be replaced every time after a
failure as it can be reused.
 Another huge advantage of MCBs is that the detection of a problem
is easy. Whenever there is a fault in the circuit, the switch comes
down automatically and manually one can put the MCB back up and
the electricity will start flowing again.
So the MCB is basically used for protecting the circuit (wiring,

connected Load, equipment, appliances, etc.) in cases of:
 Overload
 Short Circuit
 Over-current
5
Precautions while using electric circuits
 For household wiring, always use good quality wires having proper
thickness and insulation. An ISI mark plugs, sockets, switches and
electrical appliances should be used.
 All the wire connections should be tight and proper insulating tape
should be applied.
 Replacement of defective switches, sockets, plugs, etc. must happen
immediately.
 Switch off the mains before you
start working on a repair job on an
electrical circuit.
 In case of an electrical accident,
switch off the main switch of the
electrical supply. Not to touch
electrocuted person directly.
 Electrical safety must be taken in
the work place.

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Simple House Wiring with MCB or Fuse project

House Wiring: An Example

Safety Measures to Prevent Short-Circuiting and Overloading

When there are faults in electrical

When the number of appliances operated

It is therefore essential to put fuse or MCB in the electric circuit of house

Some of the other fuses available are:

The selection of a fuse can be done by calculating the fuse rating by

Advantages of an Electrical Fuse

 It is the cheapest form of protection;

Disadvantages of an Electrical Fuse

 The current-time characteristic of a fuse cannot always be correlated

Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB) is an electromagnetic device that

The advantage of MCBs include,

So the MCB is basically used for protecting the circuit (wiring,

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