Cost of Electricity

Electricity companies bill customers for the electrical

energy they use.
A joule is much too small a unit of energy and so the
electricity companies use units called kilowatt-
hours, kWh.

Domestic electricity meters measure the number of

units of electricity used in a home or other building.
The more units used, the greater the cost.

The cost of the electricity used is calculated using this

equation:
total cost = number of units used × cost per unit

The cost per unit is set by the electricity company, for

example 14.78 p per kWh.
This means that each unit of electricity costs 14.87 p.

An electricity bill has two important numbers: present

meter reading and previous meter reading.
The number of units used is the difference between
these two readings.
Present reading = 40745 kWh
Previous reading = 39990 kWh
Number of units used = present meter reading -
previous meter reading
= 40745 – 39990
= 755 kWh
total cost = number of units used × cost per unit
= 755 x 14.78 p
= 11159 p
The cost of electricity used is £111.59

Question
Use the following information to calculate the cost of
electricity used.
Previous reading = 37070 kWh
Present reading = 38217 kWh
Units at 14.78p per kWh.

Answer
Number of units used = present meter reading -
previous meter reading
= 38217 – 37070
= 1147 kWh
total cost = number of units used × cost per unit
= 1147 x 14.78p
= 16953 p
= £169.53
The cost of electricity used is £169.53

The cost of using an appliance

The power rating of electrical appliances can be used

to calculate the cost of using them.
The following equation enables the number of units
used to be calculated:

Number of units used = power rating in kW x time in

hours
When using this equation it is important to remember
that the power must be in kW and the time in hours.

Example
Calculate the cost of using a 2 kW heater for 6 hours if
the price of a unit is 13p.
Number of units used = power rating in kW x time in
hours
Time = 6 hours
Power rating = 2 kW
Number of units used = 2 kWh x 6 h = 12 kWh
total cost = number of units used × cost per unit
= 12 kWh x 13p
= 156p
= £1.56
The cost of using the heater is £1 .56

Household electricity
In domestic devices, energy is transferred from the
batteries or ac mains to the energy of motors and
heating devices.

Switches

One-way switch
This type of switch is used to switch a light from just
one place e.g. beside a door.

The switch operates as a make or break switch,

because:
● when it is turned on, the two terminals are

connected and current flows;

● when it is turned off, the contact between the two

terminals is broken and current does not flow.

Two-way switch
A two-way switch can be used to control a light from
two locations inside a house e.g. on a staircase or in a
long hallway.
They are also used in school corridors so that lights
can be switched from both ends of a corridor.
Two, one-way switches are joined by wires so that
flipping either switch can turn the light on or off.

When both switches are up i.e. both at L1, the circuit is

complete, current flows and the lamp lights.
If one of the switches, at the top or bottom of the
stairs, is switched down to L2, the circuit is broken,
current stops flowing, and the lamp is off.
With the switches in the positions shown in the above
diagram the lamp would be off.

Plugs
A plug connects a device to the mains electricity
supply.
The cable between the device and the three-pin plug
contains three copper wires that are coated with
plastic.
● copper wires are good conductors;

● plastic is a good insulator.

Each part of the plug has a function.

Outer insulation
All three wires in the cable are bundled together and
there is extra plastic insulation wrapped round them
all for safety.

Cable grip
This holds the cable tightly in place so that wires do
not become loose.

Live wire
Copper wire coated with brown plastic along which
the current enters the device.

Fuse
A glass or ceramic canister containing a thin wire that
melts if the current gets too high.

Neutral wire
Copper wire coated with blue plastic that also
connects to the cable in the wall and completes the
circuit.

Earth wire
Copper wire coated in striped plastic that provides a
path for current to flow from the case of the device to
the ground if there is a fault.

Importance of Earth Wire:

Without the earth wire, if a fault occurs and the live

wire becomes loose, there is a danger that it will touch
the metal case.
The next person who uses the appliance could get
electrocuted.

The earth pin on the three pin plug is connected by a

wire to the metal body of the appliance.

This wire is connected to earth via the plug socket to a

metal plate or water pipe underground.

As the wire is made of copper, the earth wire provides

a low resistance path to the ground.

In the event of a fault, the live current passing through

the case will follow this path to the ground instead of
passing through a person.
As the earth wire has virtually no resistance, a large
current flows.
This causes the fuse to blow, preventing any further
current flow.
Key points
● the earth wire is a safety feature;

● it provides a low resistance path to earth.

Fuses
A fuse provides a built-in fail-safe to the electrical
circuit for a device.
The fuse contains a thin wire that will melt if the
current gets too high.
If there is a fault that causes the casing of the device
to become live, a large current will flow through the
live wire and low-resistance earth wire.
This high current will cause the fuse to melt.
Once the fuse has melted, the circuit is broken and no
more current flows through the device.
This means the case of the device is no longer live
and there is no more risk of electrocution.
A circuit breaker can serve the same function as a
fuse but can be reset without the need for
replacement if it trips.
The fuse or circuit breaker must be connected in the
live wire side of a domestic circuit to ensure that it
keeps high voltage from reaching the user, or
surroundings, if a fault develops.
A fuse protects the appliance but does not protect the
person using it.
It can take up to 2 s for a fuse to melt which is long
enough for the user to be electrocuted.
Currents as small as 50 mA (milliamp) can cause
electrocution and a fuse would not prevent this from
flowing along the live wire.
Key point
● a fuse is a safety feature for the appliance;

● a fuse is connected in the live wire;

● the wire inside it melts if the current is too large;

● once the fuse has melted, the circuit is broken and

no more current flows.

The position of switches and fuses

The purpose of a switch or a fuse is to break or
connect an electric circuit, but they must be correctly
connected in the home.
A switch or a fuse in an electrical circuit is always
connected to the live wire so that the socket or
appliance is not live when switched off.
If the switch or fuse is placed in the neutral wire, the
electrical appliance is still connected to the high
voltage live wire even when the switch is open, or the
fuse is blown.
This could cause the user to get an electric shock if
they touched the inside of the appliance.

Double Insulation
Appliances encased in an insulating plastic case or
body, such as hair dryers, mobile phone chargers and
hand whisks do not need an Earth wire.
Such appliance are designed so that there are two
levels of insulating material between the electrical
parts of the appliance and any parts on the outside
that can be touched.
These two layers are normally the insulating plastic
case and the insulated cable carrying the live and
neutral wires.
A metal attachment, such as a whisk blade, is fitted
into a plastic case so that it does not make direct
contact with the internal electrical parts.
Even though the device contains a live wire at mains
voltage, there are two layers of plastic separating the
user from this live wire