Electricity (do-it-yourself)

electric work in the dwelling recovers the whole of necessary works to creation, the extension, maintenance or the setting in conformity of an electrical installation.

In France, the professionals electrician S are legally only the entitled to carry out this work: in addition to their formation in the electric field, they have obligation to follow an instruction in safety with regular recyclings ( UTE C 18-510 and the UTE C 18-513 ).

In France, the reference in term of electrical installation in a dwelling is the standard NF C 15-100 . This standard undergoes regularly evolutions or updates.

In other countries, each and everyone is entitled to carry out such work, but it must state them in order to allow an inspection. In the other countries finally, no rule is necessary.

Below a list which enumerates various electric work:

synthetic Presentation of the standard NF C 15-100;
components of an electrical installation;
the realization of the Diagram of an installation;
installation of a electric Control panel;
various types of distribution;
various types of sheath;
the passage of cable S electric in a sheath.

The realization of a electrical installation domesticates does not claim a particular gift. It is enough to learn the elementary gestures, to have sufficient good sense and to know the rules well.

Needs

One will start by counting all the potential points of use of the future construction while starting with the catches of courant :

Extérieur : catches for tools électroportatif of gardening, do-it-yourself… These catches must be able to be crossed interior of the house, and must have their own circuit provided with a driver with protection towards the electric control panel. To think of drawing the sheaths before the thermo isolation.
Garage : a catch every two meters on each side of the surface of arrangement of the vehicles.
Atelier : one to two catches per meter above the bench, taken under the bench, catches with the ceiling, powerful lighting above the work places.
Cave : a catch and a lamp (switch with witness located outside the room).
Chaufferie : catches for the boiler, the electric water-heater…
Cellier : catches for the freezer.
Buanderie : catches for the washing machine, dryer.
Lingerie : one or two catches per meter on the level of the schemes of work (sewing machine, domestic iron…) powerful lighting with the top of the schemes of work.
Room-of-bain : particular standards. Catches protected by sensitive differential circuit breaker. Catches for razor, hair drier, auxiliary heating, SE…
Cuisine : a catch per meter behind the pieces of furniture for the fixtures (dishwasher, refrigerator, terminal for furnace and hotplates, microwawe oven). Several catches above the schemes of work for apparatuses electric household appliances.
Living room, dining room, rooms, bureau : two catches per wall plus one at the entry of each part for the vacuum cleaner.
Room of jeu : as for the rooms but equipment made safe for the children.

The double catches count normally for a point of use.

To make an inventory of the needs according to the known apparatuses and foreseeable acquisitions. To take account of the various possibilities of installation of the parts. The number of catches can seem enormous and yet it will appear inevitably insufficient in certain particular cases. The dimensioning of the catches depends on the power which will be required of them. The circuits of the electric heating are to be distinguished from those of the banal catches.

Tables

The electric control panel is the convergence point of all the circuits basic of the house. If the number of circuits exceeds a dozen one interest will have to install under-tables which will facilitate wiring and the breakdown service. The entry of the principal table is connected directly to the meter via a differential circuit breaker. The diameter of wire used must be consequently selected (e.g. 6 mm ²).

A circuit is made of a driver of phase and a driver of neutral supplemented of an obligatory driver of protection. As the circuit must be able to be completely isolated from the network, it is obligatory to cut the phase with a fuse holder (or mieux : a small circuit breaker, expensive but much more practical) and to cut the neutral with a kind of fuse holder whose fuse would be replaced by a small metal cylinder. Currently the two shutting-off devices (phase and neutral) are joined together in only one module. On the table, each circuit breaker will be located by a number corresponding to the description of the circuit on a diagram placed near the table.

The tables could be placed in a wall cupboard or a service shaft provided that they are easily accessible. To envisage sufficiently large tables to allow future extensions. A witness with neon will indicate on each table the presence of electricity.

Electrical circuits

A circuit is a whole of catches OR points of lighting. The number of points of use of a circuit is limited to 8. A circuit of catches will include/understand the driver of protection to the ground. The circuit is protected by a fuse or better, by a modular Disjoncteur placed on the table from where share the circuit. This protection can also be a differential circuit breaker, i.e. cutting the circuit when an electrical leak is detected.

The section of wire used depends on the nature of the circuit : for ordinary socket-outlets one will use wire of section 2,5 mm ² higher than for a circuit of points of lighting 1,5 mm ². In the same way the section of wire of food of a hotplate 6 mm ² is larger than that of an ordinary catch.

The color of wire is standardized, the phase can take all the colors except the blue which remains pricipalement for the neutral, and the driver of protection (ground) green/yellow, the wire of return of a switch… are different colors. One will avoid passing from identical wire of colors in the same sheath. At the time of wiring one will may find it beneficial to put labels numbered on each wire, each sheath and to leave a small diagram in the distribution box or the table concerned to facilitate possible maintenance. The distribution boxes must be easily accessible, sufficiently vast and located on the general outline of the installation.

The connection of wire is done on equipment, the terminals or circuit breakers of the table or using “ dominos ”. To strip wire précautionneusement and to take care of tightening the screws well.

See aussi : electric raceways

Equipment

Equipment is made up mainly de :

interruptory simple - a circuit of lighting of lamp, for example,
interruptory with two positions - for a lighting “to and from”,
pushbutton - for a time-lag circuit (timer) or a telebreaker,
interruptory with 2 positions - electric drive of travelling shutter, blind, etc,
socket-outlet,
taken television and telephones
connector blocks of connection,
telebreaker, timer, clock

Receipt (reception) of the installation

To be connected to the general network of distribution of electricity, the domestic facility must meet precise standards. The checking of conformity to these standards is carried out by an organization which will send an inspector to control that the resistance of the catch of ground is not too high, that the switchgear is standardized, that each catch is correctly cabled… A private individual who carried out itself his installation will be systematically inspected. The issued certificate is valid for the installation in the state where it was the day of the receipt (or reception in France)

With the Canada, a contractor electrician is only authorized to carry out the request for inspection and connection. The handyman must thus get along with a contractor before beginning his work because otherwise the contractor can refuse to guarantee any work which it will not have made itself.

Anti-effraction installation

There exist several warning systems anti-effraction. One two consists in providing each opening with a detector of opening or broken windows. Even if no protective system is considered at the time of the beginning of work, it is advisable to pass the sheaths which could be necessary.

See too

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