Electrical installation of the house

The electrical installation of the house consists of two parts:

 

1. Link installation: The electrical installation of the building or block is called link installation. It is the path of electricity from the public distribution network of the electric company to the subscriber's home.

 

1. Interior installation: The interior installation is made up of the different independent circuits of the house (light points and power outlets)

 

Link installation

The electrical installation of the building is made up of the following elements:

 

• Rush line.
• General protection box.
• Delivery line.
• Centralization of counters.
• individual referrals.
• Power control switch.
• General control and protection panel.
• Grounding of the building.

 

1. Connection line

It is the line that connects the electricity distribution network of the electricity company with the General Protection Fund. The connections are carried out aerially or underground, depending on the distribution network to which they are connected. It is a line owned by the electric company, and it is made up of 3 phase conductor cables and the neutral cable (three-phase).

 

2. General protection box

The General Protection Box (CGP) houses the protection elements for the subsequent distribution line. Inside there are three fuses (one for each phase conductor) that protect against possible short circuits. The CGP tends to be located on the facade, or other common places of the building with easy access.

 

Note: The fuse is a protection element that is connected to the phase conductor. It is formed by a metal wire of a certain thickness, which melts when a current greater than its maximum rated current flows through it.

 

3. Delivery line

The Distribution Line or General Supply Line (LGA) connects the CGP with the room destined to contain the centralization of meters. It includes the three phase cables (three-phase), the neutral cable and the protection cable (earth connection).

 

4. Centralization of meters

The meter is an element responsible for measuring and recording the subscriber's electrical energy consumption. There is one meter per user or dwelling, but in a building all the meters are located in a common space (closet, enclosure, room) called meter centralization.

 

The centralization of meters is made up of the following functional units:

 

General maneuvering switch: switch to disconnect the complete centralisation. It acts by cutting off the current in the Distribution Line that reaches the concentration of meters.

General busbar unit and safety fuses: these are four metal bars that are connected to the four conductors of the Distribution Line (3 phases + neutral). From the busbar the electrical cables lead to each meter. They add security fuses.

 

Measurement unit: contains the meters to control the electricity consumption of each user, as well as control devices and time switches.

Individual Derivations and protection busbar: The power lines that leave each meter and arrive at the user's home are called Individual Derivations. The protection busbar is a set of metal bars attached to the ground where the ground cables of each Individual Derivation will be connected.

 

5. Individual referrals

The individual derivations leave the meter of each subscriber and carry the electrical energy to the Power Control Switch, installed inside the house. Each individual branch is made up of a phase conductor, a neutral conductor and a protection conductor (earth). Therefore, the final supply to subscribers is carried out in a single phase.

 

6. Power control switch (ICP)

The Power Control Switch (also called ICP or limiter) is a switch installed by the power company. It serves to limit the customer's energy consumption to the power that has been contracted. It is connected to the conductors that arrive from the Individual Derivation, so that if the power consumed by the electrical devices connected in the home is greater than that contracted, it interrupts the supply. The ICP is usually located in the General Control and Protection Panel, already inside the home, in an independent and sealed compartment (to prevent manipulation).

 

7. General Command and Protection Panel (CGMP)

The single-phase supply to the home comes from the Individual Derivation to the General Control and Protection Panel (CGMP), the beginning of the interior electrical installation of the home. The independent circuits that make up the interior installation (lighting, generic power outlets, kitchen and oven outlets, washing machine and dishwasher outlets, and bathroom outlets) start from the CGMP.