ELECTRICITY IN THE HOME

-----------------------------------------------------------Objectives-------------------------------------------------------------------
Students should be able to:
 Discuss the reasons for using parallel connections of domestic appliances
 Explain the purpose of a fuse or circuit breaker and the earth wire
 Highlight safety issues. Include fuse in live wire.
 Select a fuse or circuit breaker of suitable current rating for a given appliance
 State the adverse effects of connecting electrical appliances to incorrect or fluctuating voltage supplies.
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Series vs Parallel Circuits

Figure 1.0 shows a series circuit and a parallel circuit

Figure 1.0: Series vs Parallel Circuit

In the series circuit:

 The end of one device is connected to the beginning of another

 The same current flows through both lamps
 The total pd across the lamps is the sum of the individual p.d.s across each lamp?
In the parallel circuit:

 The same terminals of both devices are connected together

 Each device gets its own current
 The pd across each device is the same

What if one of the lamps in the series circuit burns out or if there’s a break in the wire between the two lamps?

 Neither lamp will light and this is one of the shortcomings of series circuits

What if one of the lamps in the parallel circuit burns out?

 If one of the lamps in the parallel circuit burns out the other will still light. A fault in one branch of the
circuit doesn’t affect the components in the other branch of the circuit.
 This is one advantage of parallel circuits over series circuits and this is why circuits in the home are
wired in parallel and not in series.

Table 1.0 below summarizes the comparison between series and parallel circuits

Difference Between Series and Parallel Circuits

Series Parallel

The same amount of current flows through all the The current flowing through each component
components combines to form the current flow through
the source.

In an electrical circuit, components are arranged in In an electrical circuit, components are

a line arranged parallel to each other

When resistors are connected in series, the When resistors are connected in parallel, the
voltage across each resistor is different even voltage across each of the resistors is the
though the current flowing through all of them is same. Even the polarities are the same
the same.

If one component breaks down, the whole circuit Other components will function even if one
will burn out. component breaks down, each has its own
independent circuit

If Vt is the total voltage then it is equal to V1 + If Vt is the total voltage then it is equal to
V2 +V3 V1=V2=V3
Table 1.0: Series vs Parallel Circuits
Safety Devices in Electrical Circuits
Safety devices are often used in electrical circuits. These include

 Fuses
 Circuit breakers
 Earth or Ground Wires

Fuses

Figure 2.0: Cartridge Fuses

Figure 2.1: The circuit symbol for a fuse

 Fuses are safety devices designed to cut off the flow of electricity to an appliance if the current flowing
gets too large (due to a fault or surge).
 Fuses usually consist of a glass cylinder which contains a thin metal wire
 Each fuse has a rating usually expressed in amperes (amps). The fuse rating is the current which will
melt or blow the fuse. The higher the fuse rating the thicker the wire.
 When the current flowing in a circuit gets too large:

 The wire heats up quickly and melts.

 This causes the wire to break, breaking the circuit and stopping the flow of current. When the wire
in a fuse melts, the fuse is said to blow.
 The blown fuse interrupts the flow of electricity and prevents further damage to the equipment, or a
fire.
Selecting Fuses

 Fuses come in a variety of sizes, typically 1 A, 3 A, 5 A and 13 A

 In order to select the right fuse for the job, the current through an appliance needs to be known

 If the power of the appliance is known (along with mains voltage), the current can be calculated using
the equation:

 Where:

 I = current in amps (A)

 P = power in watts (W)
 V = voltage in volts (V)

 The fuse should always have a current rating that is higher than the current needed by the appliance,
without being too high

 Because of this, the rule of thumb is to always choose the next size up

 If the fuse current rating is low, it will break the circuit even when an acceptable current is flowing
through
 If the fuse current rating is too high, it will not be breaking the circuit in enough time before damage
occurs

Worked Example:

If an appliance uses a current of 4.1 A, what would be a suitable rating for a fuse?

a) 3 A
b) 5 A
c) 13 A

 A 3 Amp fuse would be too small. The fuse would blow as soon as the appliance was turned on.
 A 5 Amp fuse would be an appropriate choice, as it is the next size up
 A 13 Amp fuse would be too large. It would allow an extra 9 Amps to flow through the appliance before
blowing.
Circuit Breakers

 A circuit breaker consists of an automatic electromagnet switch that breaks the circuit if the current
exceeds a certain value

Figure 3.0: The Circuit Breaker - The main circuit breaker can quickly shut off electricity to the whole
house. The branch circuit breakers can shut off electricity to specific areas of the house

 This has a major advantage over a fuse because:

 It doesn't melt and break, hence it can be reset and used again
 It works much faster

 For these reasons, circuit breakers are used in mains electricity in homes

 Sometimes they are misleadingly named "Fuse boxes"

Earth Wires

 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 it would risk being electrocuted

 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:

 The earth wire provides a low resistance path to the earth

 It causes a surge of current in the earth wire and hence also in the live wire
 The high current through the fuse causes it to melt and break
 This cuts off the supply of electricity to the appliance, making it safe
Effect of Unstable Voltage Supplies on Appliances

Figure 4.0: Power spikes and surges

 Electrical and electronic equipment are often ruined by fluctuations in voltage. The damages are
caused by surges, spikes or low voltages.
 A surge is an increase in voltage that is significantly above the normal level and lasts for more than 3
nanoseconds (3 × 10–9 s). Surges occur when high powered devices (i.e. devices taking large currents),
such as air-conditioners, refrigerators and motorised equipment, are switched on or off. A surge can
also occur when a generator is switched on to or off from a grid system.
 A spike is also an increase in voltage significantly above the normal level that lasts, however, for less
than 3 nanoseconds. The brief but massive discharges that take place during lightning tend to induce
spike voltages in power lines.
 Both surges and spikes inflict damage especially on electronic equipment such as computers and
amplifiers. Electronic components such as those present in semiconductor devices can easily be
destroyed by high voltages
 The resistive elements in appliances such as irons and lamps will overheat, and may even burn up
since the large voltages result in large currents. Wires connected to these devices can also overheat on
account of the excessive current.
 A surge-and-spike protector prevents the voltage, and hence the current that reaches the equipment,
from rising to dangerously high values.
 Low voltages occur when circuits are overloaded. Some voltage drop occurs along feeder lines
because of the large current in the wires. Low voltage damage occurs usually to motors (e.g.
refrigerator motors). There is not enough current to turn the motor fast enough, or at all, and hence the
low current passing through the motor produces heat in the motor coils instead of turning the motor and
doing mechanical work. It is this heat which eventually damages the coils of the motors.

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