(ZESA) ZIMBABWE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY

AUTHORITY
WHAT CONSTITUTES AN INSTALLATION THAT PASSES

1. ROOF MAINS

a) Roof mains shall only apply to single phase overhead services.

b) Only dwellings which are 30m or less from a service pole shall be considered
for overhead services.

c) A bobbin type insulators (strap & thimble) shall be mounted 3 meters or

more above foundation level. If necessary an extension bracket shall be
provided to ensure adequate clearance.

d) Roof mains conduits mounted outside or on the roof of the house shall be of
steel type or PVC conduits 25mm diameter.

e) Semi-detached dwellings shall have separate roof mains from a common

pull.

f) No other conductors or circuits shall share the same conduit with the roof
mains.

g) Roof mains shall be PVC stranded copper wire.

The table bellow shows the recommended roof mains for all new domestic
installations.

MAIN BREAKER ROOF MAINS ROOF MAINS CONDUITS

RATINGS(AMPS) PHASE RED NEUTRAL (MM)

(MM2) (2-BLACK)

(MM2)

7,5 16 10 25

15 16 10 25

30 16 10 25

60 16 10 25
METER BOX
i). Minimum dimension in mm being 600×460 and 205 depth.

ii). Minimum and maximum mounting heights to be 1,2m and 1,5m respectively.
iii). Types of surface or flush.
iv). The meter box must always be mounted outside the house ,away from water
points and water.
v). A meter box must have an asbestos sheet inside with 8mm or 10mm bolts about
75mm long with a full thread.
vi). The meter box must be firmly secured to the wall by 4 bolts.
vii). Main earth from either the earth mat or earth spike must be connected to the
earth terminal in the meter box and an earth tail must be left loose on one end.

viii). The meter box and distribution box must be looped together by an earth wire.

ix). Main earth must be 10mm square in size.

x). All meter boxes must be accessible to Zesa staff.

xi). All conduit terminations in the meter box must be bottom entry.

xii). The meter box will contain the following equipment,

a). Zesa main switch.

b).Neutral link.

c). A service meter.

d). Earth terminal (bolt).

THE DISTRIBUTION BOARD

1). It must have two divisions-one for the c/l and the other for consumer circuits.

2). Minimum height of a DB must be 1,8m.

3). A distribution board shall be either flush or surface mounted.

4). The distribution shall be accessible at all times.

5). All circuits in the DB must be clearly labelled.

6). The DB shall not be mounted in toilet or bathroom.

7). The DB shall not be mounted directly above the sink tape or cooker.

8). The DB shall be adequate for all existing circuits and future expansions.
9). The DB shall be electrically continuous.

10). For meter connection bonding of the neutral conductor and earth conductor
shall be at the meter box.

11). For c/l supplies bonding of neutral and earth wires is done in the DB.

12). For c/l supplies sealing facilities must be provided.

13). For metered supplies the neutral and earth wires must be separate i.e. neutral
to the neutral bar and earth to earth terminal.

14). The DB shall contain the following,

a).Consumer main switch.

b.). M.C.B. for individual circuits.

c.). The neutral bar.

d.). Earth terminal.

15). Wiring of each circuit shall be electrically separate from that of every other
circuits. Controlled by a single phase switch with a separate neutral conductor.

16). The table below shows a height of DB above floor level and lateral distance
between DB and other units.

Height above floor Lateral Distance

M m

Min Max Min max

Floor to DB 1,8 2,0

Cooker to DB 0,3

Sink / water tap to DB 1,2

CONDUIT
1). All conduit work shall be erected complete before cables are drawn in.

2). No more than two 900 bends must be made between a draw in facility.

3). All conduit accessories and fittings shall bee of the same material as the conduit
except at conduit terminations.

4). Pvc conduit when used externally shall be suitably protected against direct
sunlight.

5). Conduit shall never be buried directly in the ground.

6). Conduit joints in terminations must be finished with bushes and couplings so as
to prevent abrasion of the cables.

7). Support and saddles of PVC conduit shall be 500mm apart. No nails or wooden
plugs must be used for saddling but raw bolts or fisher plugs must be used.

8). All flattened, split or damaged conduit shall not be installed.

9). PVC conduit shall not be used to protect armoured cables or earth wires outside
the building.

10). Covers for all junction / inspection boxes and draw in points shall be
accessible from the surface, when conduit is run in concrete, plaster, ceiling facing
downwards.

11). Flexible conduit shall not be relied upon to provide electrical continuity,
adapters to be used for flexible conduit terminations.

12). Conduit run for thatched roof shall be steel.

CIRCUITS – SOCKETS OUTLETS & SWITCHES

1). Switches and socket outlets boxes shall be flush or surface mounted.

2). No switch or socket outlet shall be mounted in the bathroom except for shaver
unit and cord operated switch.

3). Socket outlets shall be 13A or 15A, 3 pin shuttered type.

4). All socket outlets must be switched.

5). A socket outlet shall not be mounted (a) directly above a water tape or sink

(b) In the bathroom.

6). Socket outlets shall be wired on sub-circuits separate from sub circuits of fixed
lighting points.

7). Socket outlets shall be wired on sub-circuits separate from sub-circuits separate
from sub circuits of fixed lighting point.

8). Maximum number of socket outlets for 13A is 4 and 3 for 15A per circuit.

9). No more than two circuits must originate from an MCB i.e. all loop-in must be
done at switch or socket outlet point.
10). Socket outlets must not be less than 300mm above finished floor level and
switches must not be less than 1,4m above finished floor level.

11). Ring circuits shall be protected by 30A M.C.B. and radial circuits by 15A M.C.B.

12). The table below shows maximum number of conductors for easy draw in:-

CONDUCTOR SIZE IN 20mm CONDUIT 25mm CONDUIT

SQUARE MILLIMETERS. NUMBER OF NUMBER OF
CONDUCTORS. CONDUCTORS

1,5 8 14

2,5 6 10

4,0 4 8

6,0 3 6

10 2 4

16 0 3

LIGHT FITTINGS & LAMPS

1). Light fittings shall not be fitted with flammable shades.

2). Fittings fitted in the open or exposed to rain shall be all weather proof type.

3). Pendant lamp holders shall not be used in bathrooms.

4). Light fittings in the bathroom shall be shrouded.

5). Bayonet cap lamp type shall not be used on appliances taking more than 1Amp;
if metallic, the metal parts of the lamp holder shall be earthed.

6). The outer of an Edison type screw lamp holder shall be connected to the neutral
conductor and the inner part to the live conductor.

7). Exposed lamp holders used for outside illumination or under veranda shall not
be less than 2,5m above finished floor level.

GEYSER CIRCUITS.

1). A geyser shall be fed from a separate sub circuit from the D.B.

2). A geyser shall have a terminal cover which;-

a) Enclose all terminals.

b) Is removable only by the use of a screw driver, or spanner.

c) Can be removed without disturbing any connecting wires or conduit.

3). A geyser must have a geyser control unit.

4). Metallic flexible conduit must be used for enclosing wires from geyser control
unit to the geyser element.

5). Provision for installation of a ripple relay shall be provided.

COOKER CIRCUITS.

1). A cooker with a rating above 15AMP shall be fed from a separate sub circuit
directly from D.B.

2). A cooker shall have a means of local isolation which may be cooker control unit
mounted in a readily accessible position adjacent to the cooker but not directly
above it.

3). Metallic flexible conduit to be used for connecting the cooker to the fixed wiring.

CONDUCTOR SIZES FOR DIFFERENT CIRCUITS AND APPLIANCES.

Appliance CB Rating Conductor Maximum No. No. of Rooms

(Amps size

Lighting 5 1,5 9

Socket outlets 5 1,5 2 2

Socket outlets 15 or 20 2,5 4 3

13A radial cct

Socket outlets 20 or 30 2,5 or 4,0 3 or 6 3 or 5

15A radial cct.

Socket outlets 30 2,5 10

(Ring circuits)

Cooker 30 4,0 or 6,0 1 or 1 1

EARTHING

1). The main earth electrode shall be any of the following:-

a) Earth mat vertically installed in a 1m diameter hole.

b) Earth spike.

2). All metal work associated with wiring system shall be earthed i.e.- D.B., Metal
trusses gutters, Meter cubicles, Metal roof.

3). Every installation shall be provided with a main earth terminal or bar for the
connection of wires.

4). All earth terminations shall be secure and firm.

5). Cross sectional area of a main CPC is 10mm square.

6). Earth continuity conductor of the consumer shall not be used as a current
carrying conductor except under fault conditions.

7). Every earth lead shall be protected against mechanical damage, corrosion, at the
point of entry with the following:-

a). Galvanised steel pipe

b). Plastered directly into wall.

c). Metallic cable guard.

The table below shows sizes of earth wires to be used with different sizes of phase
conductors.

Phase conductor ECC (mm2) Bonding lead Earth lead in mm2

(mm2)

2,5mm2 2,5 6,0 10,0

4,0mm2 2,5 6,0 10,0

6,0mm2 4,0 6,0 10,0

10,0mm2 6,0 6,0 10,0

16,0mm2 10,0 10,0 10,0

BONDING
A bonding conductor shall be used to connect:-
-Water mains pipes.
-Other service pipes and ducting
-Air conditioning system
-Exposed metallic parts of the building
-Waste water pipes
-Sink, bath taps, and tub, tanks , gutters
-Metal roofing.
COMMON FAULTS THAT CAUSE INSTALLATION TO FAIL.
METER BOX
WRONG POSITION
1).Heights
2). Next to water points
3). Toilet walls
4).Loose mounting
5). Type & size
6). Loose connections
7). Jumpers to small
8). Colour cording not adhered to
9). Wrong cable entries
10). Missing blanks and round box covers
11). Labelling of circuits
CONDUIT WORK
1). Lacking support
2). Saddling too far apart
3). Improper conduit terminations
4). PVC conduit exposed to direct sunlight
CIRCUITS
1). M.C.B. sizes erased
2). M.C.B. loose in tray
3). Loose connections
4). More than one circuit from an M.C.B.
5). Wrong use of C/L.
6). Missing locking plate for C/L.
7). Over rating of circuits.
8). Use of wrong size conductors for circuits.
9). Different circuits run in the same pipe.
SWITCHES & SOCKET OUTLETS.
1). Non water proof type of switches / socket outlets installed outside.
2). Socket outlets installed above or under water points.
3). Height of switches to low.
4). All socket outlets must be switched and shuttered.
5). Loose mountings, & plug points in bathrooms.
6). Flush boxes used for surface mounting.
LIGHT FITTINGS.
1). Height of lighting points too great.
2). Failure to earth metallic fittings.
3). Pendant fittings in bathrooms and for outside lights.
4). Lamp holder used to take more than two appliances.
5). Loose connections.
6). Wrong terminations of conduit in light fittings.
GEYSER CIRCUITS.
1). No metallic flexible conduit.
2). No geyser local isolation which must be double pole.
COOKER CIRCUIT
1). Cooker directly below the D.B.
2). Cooker less than 1,2m from a water point.
3). No cooker control unit for a cooker in a different room.
4). Sprague tube and connectors missing when connecting cooker to fixed wiring.
5). Conductors for cooker too small.
BONDING & EARTHING.
1). Cold and hot water not bonded.
2). Bonding of metallic waste pipes not done.
3). Bonding of all metallic parts e.g. metallic sheets, gutters e.t.c. not done.
4). Installations complete without main earth, earth spike, earth mat etc.
5). Earthing and bonding too loose.
6). Joints in cables.
7). Main earth be half the x-cross sectional area of Zesa’s mains incoming supply.
(Earth between meter box & distribution board.
ADDS & ALTERATIONS.
1). Joints in cables.
2). Broken accessories.
3). Flexible cords running all over the shore.
4). Substandard installations.
PROCEDURES FOR NEW CONNECTIONS OR ALTERATIONS.

Application for a supply of electricity for any purpose whatsoever, shall be made in
writing on the appropriate printed C3 forms, and are obtainable at any Zesa office
free of charge. The wiring of all new installations or extensions and alterations to
existing installations will be inspected and tested before connection is effected to
the authority’s supply.

It is important that when the forms are completed, they represent accurately the
conditions and details of the installation. In no circumstances will an installation be
connected to the Authority’s network unless a completion of wiring form E38 has
been completed.