Practical Electricity

Effects of electricity
1. Electric heating
When current is passed, heating effect is produced in the metal elements. The
electrical energy is converted into elements, which are used in electric heaters,
kettles, irons and electric stove etc.

2. Electric lighting
The lighting effect of electric current is produced in two types of lamps.
a) Filament lamps:
When the current flows through the filament, the filament
becomes white hot. The hot filaments emits out radiations,
which are made visible in bulbs, and thus lighting effect is produced.

b) Fluorescent lamps:
Fluorescent lamp has no filament but two electrodes. By passing
current between these two electrodes, the mercury vapor in the
glass tube emits out UV light and thus lighting effect is produced.

3. Electric motors
The current produces magnetic effect. The magnetic effect of current is used to
interact with other magnetic fields to produce movements in electric motors. The
electric motors are used in appliances like fan, washing machines, hair dryers etc..

Electrical Energy
As electricity passes around a circuit, energy is transferred from the power source to
the various components (which may then transfer energy to the surroundings).

As charge passes through the power supply it is given energy.

As it passes through each component it loses some energy (transferring that energy
to the component).

Electrical energy supplied by a cell E = I × V × t

Energy transferred = current × potential difference × time
Where the unit of energy is the joule (J).

Electrical energy dissipated in a resistor E = I2Rt or E = V2/R×t

 Electrical Power
Power is the rate of energy transfer (the amount of energy transferred per second).

The power of an electrical component (or appliance) is given by the equation:

Power = Current × potential difference
P = I×V (Electrical power supplied by a cell)

The unit of power is the watt (W), which is the same as a joule per second (J/s).

Note that the above equation is related to the equation for energy – after all, power
is just energy per second, and so:
energy transferred = power × time = current × potential difference × time

Electrical power dissipated in a resistor P = I2R or P = V2/R.

Fuse
A fuse is a safety device designed to cut off the flow of electricity to an appliance if
the current becomes too large (due to a fault or a surge)

A fuse is a safety device designed to cut off the flow of electricity to an appliance if the current
becomes too large (due to a fault or a surge)

Fuses usually consist of a glass cylinder which contains a thin metal wire.

If the current in the wire becomes too large:

1. The wire heats up and melts.
2. This causes the wire to break, breaking the circuit and stopping the current.

Fuses come in a variety of sizes (typically 3A, 5A and 13A) – in order to select the right
fuse for the job, you need to know how much current an appliance needs.
If you know the power of the appliance (along with mains voltage), the current can be
calculated using the equation:
Current = power/voltage
The fuse should always have a current rating that is higher than the current needed by
the appliance, without being too high – always choose the next size up.

The fuse is usually placed in Live wire so that appliance will not become live after fuse
has blown.
Example

Suppose an appliance uses 3.1 amps.

1. A 3 amp use would be too small – the fuse would blow as soon as the appliance
was switched on.
2. A 13 amp fuse would be too large – it would allow an extra 10 amps to pass
through the appliance before it finally blew.
3. A 5 amp fuse would be an appropriate choice, as it is the next size up.

Live, Neutral and earth wires

1. Live wire:

The wire through which current enters into an appliance.

The live wire is at high voltage.
Color coding: Brown

2. Neutral wire:
The wire through which current leaves the electrical appliance.
The neutral wire is usually at zero volt.
Color coding: Blue

3. Earth wire:
The wire which connects the metal casing of an appliance to earth. In case of short
circuit the excessive current leaves the appliance for earth through this wire. The
excessive current thus melts the fuse, cutting of further supply to the appliance.
The earth wire is almost at zero unit.
Color coding: Green/Yellow
 Earthing

Many electrical appliances have metal cases.

This poses a potential safety hazard:

If a live wire (inside the appliance) came into contact with the case, the
case would become electrified and anyone who touched in would risk
electrocution.

The earth wire is an additional safety wire that can reduce this risk

A diagram showing the three wires going to a mains powered appliance: live, neutral and
earth

If this happens:
1. The earth wire provides a low resistance path to the earth.
2. His causes a surge of current in the earth wire and hence also in the live wire.
3. The high current through the fuse causes it to melt and break.
4. This cuts off the supply of electricity to the appliance, making it safe.

Main Features of House Circuits

The switches are placed in the Live Wire for completing or breaking a circuit. If the
switch s placed in a neutral wire the appliance will be 'Live' even if the switch is turned
'off'.

The fuses are also placed in Live wire, to cut off excessive current before it damages
the appliance.

The house circuit is in parallel, due to following reasons.

a) Since parallel circuit has different paths for current.If one path to an
appliance is damaged, others keep on working.
b) Each appliance is at the same voltage.
c) In parallel circuit, combined resistance is less, do more current can be
drawn from the supply.
The cost of electricity consumed in house is bases on the number of units - KWh of
electrical energy used.
COST = KWh × rate, where KW = electrical power in Kilowatts
h = time in hours
Rate = value or amount of one unit

Hazards / Dangers of electricity

Mains electricity is potentially lethal – potential differences as small as 50 volts can
pose a serious hazard to individuals.

The possible causes of dangers of electricity are: Damaged Insulation, Overheating of

cables and Damp conditions.
Damaged Insulation
If someone touches an exposed piece of wire, they could be subjected to a lethal
shock

Overheating of cables
Passing too much current through too small a wire (or leaving a long length of wire
tightly coiled) can lead to the wire overheating. This could cause a fire or melt the
insulations, exposing live wires.

Damp conditions
If moisture comes into contact with live wires, the moisture could conduct electricity
either causing a short circuit within a device (which could cause a fire) or posing an
electrocution risk.

Safety Precautions
The safety precautions must be observed to avoid hazards of electricity.

1. Double Insulation
Use double-insulated wires wherever possible. If the outer insulation becomes
damaged, the inner insulation can still prevent the live wire from being exposed.
2. Earthing Metal cases
See page 4

3. Selection of fuse rating

A fuse of a low value can allow more current to flow into an appliance, causing damage
to the wires and appliance. So never replace a fuse with higher rating.
4. Good connections
All electrical connections should have good and tight contacts. Loose and poor
contacts give high resistance at contact points , producing excess heat, which in turn
will melt the insulation.
5. Wire a main plug safely

Steps

1. Remove a sufficient amount of outer insulation of the three core wires, Live (brown),
Neutral (blue) and Earth (green with yellow).

2. Open the mains plug with a screwdriver and take out the fuse.

3. Remove about 5 mm of the insulation from three wires and twist the copper strands
of each wire together.

4. Clamp the edge of the removed outer insulation by tightening the two screws that
are holding down the outer insulation wire.

5. Insert each wire to the correct terminal as shown and tighten each screw so that the
wires are fixed properly with the terminals.

6. Fix the fuse back to its position and close the covering of the plug.