Everyday life is unthinkable without various electrical appliances. The electrical wiring that ensures their functioning is the same mandatory engineering system as water supply, sewerage and ventilation. In the process of planning it, when building new housing or overhauling an existing one, certain rules should be observed and the typical mistakes discussed below should not be made.
1. Insufficient number of outlets
It is advisable to install at least four sockets in the rooms, evenly distributing them around the perimeter. Given the popularity of gadgets, at least some of them should have USB ports, Figure 1.
In the kitchen, the lower general-purpose outlets are complemented by at least four regular outlets for kitchen appliances. Some of them can be placed under the worktop for permanent connection of a washing machine, dishwasher, and stove. The rest of the sockets are located above the countertop and are used, if necessary, under a microwave oven, mixer, meat grinder, etc.
2. Application of long stubs
The loop in this case is a series connection of individual sockets. Passion for them leads to the risk of overloading the cable and disconnecting all subsequent outlets in the event of an accident of one of them. Therefore, only the socket modules of one block are connected via the loop.
It is advisable to form the linear part of the wiring based on junction boxes with taps, Figure 2. Each socket or block should, if possible, have an individual outlet from the box.
3. Combining power and low-current lines
This error is very similar to the previous one in that several sockets are connected to one beam. The inexpediency of such a decision is determined by the fact that even a completely serviceable and complying with all standards an electrical appliance with a power consumption of more than a kilowatt creates an unacceptably high level of current surges in lines. They lead to electronics malfunction.
In addition, for protection outside the shield, the cables for connecting such outlets should be additionally spaced at a distance of at least 60 cm.
4. Passion for remote control switches
Such a switch is sometimes convenient, but it makes sense, if possible, to reduce their number to a minimum in favor of classic keyboard devices.
Considerations such as the following play a key role in this decision:
- high risks of losing the control panel;
- low reliability;
- the battery runs out at the most inopportune moment.
5. Combination of sockets and overhead lighting in one beam
The inadmissibility of combination is dictated by the fact that a short circuit, which in the overwhelming majority of cases occurs in the outlet, will leave the entire room in the dark. You should connect sockets and overhead lights to different machines.
6. Formation of splices on cables embedded in the wall
Any splice has two or three orders of magnitude less reliability than a cable. Therefore, they must always be placed in a place accessible for repair, which is initially a junction box.
7. Angled cable routing
The flush-mounted cable must always run parallel to the architectural lines, i.e. vertically or horizontally. The use of an oblique laying according to the example of Figure 3 leads to the risk of damage to the cable with a drill when hanging shelves, paintings, fixing furniture to walls, etc.
8. Application in the linear part of flexible wires
Flexible stranded conductors are convenient for laying in hard-to-reach places. However, their characteristic half the service life and the absence of an outer shell with a high degree of probability in a few years will lead to the appearance of leakage currents and the constant operation of the RCD. In addition, such wires are simply noticeably more expensive.
9. Installation in shields of 10 mm RCDs
Such RCDs, Figure 4, are too sensitive for household wiring, which is accompanied by constant false alarms. Moreover, their cost is higher in comparison with 30-mA RCDs, which are optimal for household use.
10. Savings on machines
The automatic machine is a rather cheap and small-sized device, therefore, it is impractical to save on their quantity, because this makes it easier to find a short circuit in the wiring. It is advisable to install separate machines in the kitchen (you can even two), the bathroom, for overhead lighting in the room and hallway, as well as for sockets. It is imperative to indicate the purpose of each of these elements with the appropriate marking.
11. Savings on quality
Electrical wiring is created for more than one day. Therefore, when creating it, it is imperative to observe the rule of short-sighted stinginess and not allow a situation that it will quickly work out its resource and will become the root cause of unplanned repairs, which, due to its vastness and hidden nature, will grow into capital.