Looks Of The New 2 Way Switch

Even though the wiring installation method of a 2 way switch cannot be changed, the looks and designs of switches these days are really modern pleasant looking. Switches nowadays come in different colour to compliment and blend in to the interior design of the houses. The designs too has taken a great leap as compared the the plain and boring white coloured switches that we have accustomed ourselves to.

Here are a couple of modern looking light switches that are available in the market these days.

New 2 Way Switch Wiring Installation Video

The information age is certainly here to stay and today, if you want to learn something, the Internet is the best place to start. This neatly done video of how the wiring installation of a 2 way switch is laid out and how the 2 way switch functions.

Watching the video below will give you a clear picture of how you can utilize a pair of 2 way switches to switch on a light from one location and then switch the same light off on another location.

Why The 2 Way Switch Is So Useful

The 2 way switch is one of the best things you can have in your house. This especially so if you have a multi level house or a house that has many shared rooms. By installing a 2 way switch, you can have the lights on when you want to go up the stairs to that level and than rather than leaving the lights on when you have entered, you can now switch the staircase lights off and save some on your electrical bill.

2 way switches are also very useful in office buildings, schools, hospitals and places with many corridors. Installing one switch at one end of the corridor to switch the corridor lights one and another at the other end to switch them off is very sensible.

What Is A Ring Circuit

A ring circuit in it’s basic sense is just like a normal switch socket circuit with a “Live” wire supplying the power, a “Neutral” Wire for the returning electrical loop need to complete a full circuit and a “Ground” wire for safety purpose.

However, a ring circuit has an extra circuit connected to the last power source or in this case, the last switch socket in the circuit thus completing the “Ring”.

Installing the wiring this way, power is equally distributed, thus the circuit can take more load than an ordinary circuit. An ordinary circuit for switch sockets can take a maximum load or 15 amps while if you install a ring circuit, the load can be increased to 30 amps. Thus, you can have more equipments running in the ring circuit whereas if you use a normal circuit, you can probably use only 2 or the most 3 equipments.

Wiring Diagram On How To Install Wirings For A Ring Circuit

Sorry for the crude wiring diagram as all my wiring diagrams are for laymen who do not know how to read technical drawings and symbols. I feel drawing it crudely this way will give you a better idea on how the wires of a ring circuit are installed.

As you can see, S1, S2, S3 and finally SL or the last socket are all connected within the same circuit. You can “loop” your switch sockets this way up to more than 10 switch sockets depending on the size of the wire and the power load of the equipment you plan to use.

All the wires to the switch sockets are installed exactly the same way as you would do in a normal switch socket circuit except in this case, another circuit coming from the same source or circuit breaker is connected to the last switch socket in the circuit. This completes the “ring” thus giving this kind of wiring installation for switch sockets the name “Ring Circuit.

The video below describes the ring circuit and how it is installed very clearly.

Check The Main Electrical Panel

checking the main electrical panel

The main electrical panel is where all the circuits in the whole house starts. The main supply from your Power Company comes to this main electrical panel after passing through the KWH Meter and this power is the distributed to the whole house with individual circuit breakers as protection against short circuits and overloads.

Thus the Main Electrical Panel is where the mother load is and is the most important part of the wiring installation of your house. The first place you should start checking is the wiring inside the Main Electrical Panel.

CAUTION – Make sure you switch off all incoming power supply before even opening the panel cover!!

Refer to the video below. Though it is made for US audiences, it will pretty much be the same for other countries like the UK. Except in the UK, the ground wires are insulated in green whereas in the US it is simply bare. The method of checking is still the same.

Check The Terminal Connections Of All Switch Sockets

Switch Sockets are the nest thing you should check. As switch sockets are usually used for electrical utensils in the house that are more power hungry like the Refrigerator or the Oven, these switch sockets runs the highest risk of getting overloaded or connections getting loose due to overheating and overloading power surge.

Simply dismantle the switch sockets and check for loose connections. Sometimes you might find fungus like growth around the terminals. This is due to oxidation from overuse. These can be cleaned with a fine sandpaper.

So take sometime off before this festive season starts to give your Wiring Installation a good and proper check.

UV or Ultraviolet Lights In The House

The common use of ultraviolet lights in a normal household can be found in houses where the house owners keeps aquariums of have fish ponds in their house. Normally, these lights are used in the form of ultraviolet light bulbs or ultraviolet light tubes.

If you have seen a well maintained aquarium, you would have noticed the purplish glow emitted by these ultraviolet light tubes. This ultraviolet light tubes not only beautifies the overall look of the aquarium, it also acts to kill harmful bacteria in the water that might infect and harm the fishes.

These ultraviolet light tubes however, do not emit enough UV rays to be harmful to the human owner.

UV Or Ultraviolet Lights Used In Fish Pond Filtration Systems

A Pond Filtration System With UV Lights Built In

As fish ponds are located outdoors and exposed to the sun and rain, algae growth is the most common problem. An algae infected pond will look quite ugly and dirty. Though these algae are said to be good for the water and the fish in it as it provides fresh oxygen, most enthusiasts take great pain to remove them and keep the water crystal clear.

The most effective method is through the use of Ultraviolet lights to sterilize the water and kill these algae. Modern fish pond filtration systems comes equipped with built in UV light tubes to do the job.

How To Install A Ultraviolet Light For Your Aquarium

Installing an ultraviolet light for your aquarium needs no special equipments or any high-tech accessories.

All that is needed is a normal fluorescent lighting set which you can buy in any electrical outlets. The only difference is the light tubes. Replace the ordinary light tubes that you use with ultraviolet tubes which are commonly available in all pet shops selling fishes and aquariums.

For large outdoor ponds, you can insist on a filtration system that comes with ultraviolet protection. Unlike the aquariums inside the house where the UV lights are hung above the water, this kind of system is very effective as the water is pumped trough the ultraviolet lights before being released back into the pond. The UV light tubes are encased in water proof glass containers so there are no worries of any electrical leakage caused by the water.

Why And When Do We Need A 3 Phase Switch Socket.

The only reason I can think of when we need a 3 phase switch socket is when we have bought a machine that needs that kind of power. This is evident with many DIY enthusiasts who uses a lot of power tools for their hobby.

Some example are those high powered air compressor or even bench drills, but even then, they must be really serious hobbyist to go for such tools.

How A 3 Phase Switch Socket Looks

3 Phase switch sockets comes in different looks and makes. Some are made for outdoors and some for indoors. Those which are made for outdoor installation is of course made to be waterproof.

Here are a couple of pictures depicting a 3 phase switch socket.

A 3 Phase Switch Socket With Switch

A 3 Phase Extension Socket

Wiring Diagram To Install 3 Phase Switch Sockets

WARNING! Electricity Kills! Turn off all main power supply before attempting any electrical installations by yourself.

Installing a 3 phase switch socket is no different from installing a single phase switch socket. The only difference is a 3 phase switch socket will consist of 3 live wires and an earth wire whereas a single phase switch socket only consist of one live wire, a neutral wire and an earth wire.

Though all 3 phase motors runs without a neutral wire, when it comes to installing the socket, it is advisable to refer to the machine manual which you have bought to find out of the machine needs a neutral wire to operate.

The neutral wire in a 3 phase supply is normally used to operate the motor starter and not the motor itself.

Here is a simple wiring diagram to install a 3 phase switch socket.

The Danger Of Wrong 3 Phase Wiring Termination

3 phase electrical supply carries a voltage of more than 300 volts. In many countries, the voltage is 440 volts. Needless top say, with such high voltage, it is extremely dangerous if mistakes are made when 3 phase power installations are done. It can lead to deadly circumstances.

The most vital accidents in a 3 phase supply installation is the “clash of phases” as described by a layman. What this means is two of the live wires are mistakenly connected together or accidentally touches one another. It can cause a rather big explosion that can blow the whole panel off the wall. If anyone is standing near, serious injuries or death might result.

So if you are doing it yourself, make sure you know what you are doing. Otherwise, get a qualified electrician. Better be safe than sorry.

Here is a video from Youtube showing you have to make a proper connection to the 3 phase switch socket.

Due to the increment of power used in modern homes, power shortage is often a problem faced by house owners. Thus many new houses comes equipped with 3 phase supplies. The advantage is of course they have extra electrical power to spread around thereby they do not have to worry about the risk of overloading one single line.

Even Distribution Of 3 Phase Wiring Supply

In using a 3 phase wiring supply, utmost care must be taken to ensure that no one phase is loaded heavier than the other. Thus the electrician entrusted with the job of installing the electrical system of the house must be knowledgeable in 3 phase power distribution. He must also know how to calculate the electrical consumption of all the electrical equipments intended for use in the house.

For example, a house has 4 Air-Conditioning units, an Oven, 2 refrigerators, A Cooker and a Washing Machine. All these are power hungry electrical items and if all these equipments are loaded into one single phase supply, then that phase will definitely be overloaded.

A good practice will be to distribute these equipment’s power supply evenly between all the 3 phases. The wiring diagram below shows how a 3 phase Wiring Power Distribution will look like in general.

Note that all the electrical equipment are distributed equally amongst the 3 phase supply and no one single phase is overloaded. This should be the most proper way in 3 phase wiring power distribution.

As the name suggest, a three phase electrical supply means 3 incoming live electrical feed. As compared to a single phase where there is only one live wire feeding the entire household, the 2 extra live feed will ensure that there is enough current to power whatever that is needed and not cause an electrical overload which can be quite dangerous.

A Three Phase electrical supply carries a voltage of 440 volts if all the 3 live feeds are used simultaneously. This is highly dangerous and extra care and protection must be ensured to avoid any electrical mishaps. However, the kind of electrical apparatus that needs a 440 not supply is rarely found in any household appliances. Most of these are only found in Industrial side.

Since there are no electrical apparatus in a house that needs such a high voltage, the question asked will be, why then do so many household need a three phase electrical supply. The answer is simple. It is because they have more energy hungry equipments like air conditions, heaters, oven, refrigerators so on an so forth.

When it was acceptable to have only one refrigerator in the house many years ago, it is now the norm to have at least 2 of this energy consuming appliances. Therefore the need for more power.

With a three phase electrical supply, the owner of the house or rather the electrician can plan out how to distribute the power supply evenly among all the apparatus in the house. It is of utmost importance that no one single phase is loading more heavily that the other. The ideal situation will be the electrical load is distributed eveny and all the 3 phases carries the same load. This will avoid any overloading of any one phase.

The most important thing, when trouble shooting is to keep to your basic knowledge. Most of the time, the trouble could be the most basic problem. Do not over think and start imagining all kinds of complex problems. Just remind yourself that the light has been working all this while, so nothing too complicated should happen.

If after replacing the light bulb does not solve the problem, then go for the next obvious one. The bulb socket holder. Check the holder to see if the terminals are still in good shape or if any wires have broken off from it’s terminals. After prolonged use, wires do get a little brittle and snaps off quite easily.

If that still do not solve your problem, go to the next obvious one. The light switch. Switches too will become faulty after a couple of years. If you know how, use a circuit tester to see if current is passing through the switch when it switched on.

In most cases, checking these places will take care of the problem. It is only after exhausting all these basic steps that you should start to worry about more complicated things.

Other not so common problems that will cause a light to stop working all of a sudden is:

A broken circuit –

Which means one or two of the wires in that light circuit have snapped somewhere. Unless you have some knowledge of electrical wiring and understand how the light circuits in your homes are laid out, this will be a job for a qualified electrician.

Important Reminder

When attempting to repair any electrical faults in your house, always REMEMBER TO SWITCH OFF THE MAINS!

As in all thing that rubs on electricity, make sure your old Christmas lights are in good condition before hanging them up. Check for any damage to the wire’s insulation. Cockroaches and mice likes chewing on wire insulation and many a mishap have happened due to leaking wires.

If you see the damage is too bad and yet still want to re-use them, do not simply wrap the exposed wires with insulation tape. Cut of the entire damage portion and join back the wires individually. Make sure you twist the joined wires tightly so there will not be any loose contacts. Then make sure you bind those exposed wires with a good insulation tape. You and your family will be spending a lot time under that Christmas tree, so you do not want any small children touching any exposed wires.

Have a safe and merry Christmas.

Basically an electrical lineman’s job is to make sure the giant electrical cables that we see hanging for miles and miles above giant steel towers are in perfect working condition. This ensures that whenever we flick on our electrical switches, the lights automatically comes on. When we are enjoying the comfort of our homes with our electrical heater turned on during winter or the air conditioner during summer, no one spared a thought for these special breed of electricians who made this possible.

To make sure the high tension cables are in good working condition, periodical checks have to made manually. If there is a fault, these giant cables too have to be fixed manually. All this is within the job scope of the electrical lineman. They have to hang precariously and do tightrope walking along the cables a few hundred feet above the ground.

In many places where these line towers runs across mountains and forest, they have no choice but to access them with helicopter. The video below shows how dangerous the job of an electrical lineman is.