In the country, it is quite possible to live without running water and sewerage. However, without such a procedure as connecting a new house to electricity (power lines), its owners, of course, cannot do. Until quite recently, no permits from government agencies were required to connect to the public electricity grid. The owner of a suburban building only needed to install a meter and register it. Today the situation has changed radically.
First steps
So, let's take a closer look at how electricity is connected to the house. And first, let's figure out what is needed to obtain permission for this.
When developing a house project, one should draw up, among other things, a detailed scheme for its electrification. One of the mandatory operations in this case should be the calculation of the total power of all those household appliances that are supposed to be used in the future. This will allow not only to correctly calculate the cross section of the wiring cables and parametersadditional equipment, but also useful for obtaining permission to connect to the power line network.
Having determined the required capacity (preferably with some margin), the owner of the house must go to the local power supply organization and obtain a technological connection agreement there. Specifications will be attached to it. The latter are drawn up by a letter addressed to the director of the supplier company. To obtain a contract, among other things, you will need to write an application and provide the specialists of the energy supply organization with documents confirming the ownership of the house and land, as well as the plan of the latter.
Specifications
This appendix to the contract specifies exactly how the electricity will be connected to the house. This may be, for example, the laying of a conventional new line or an enhanced one, the replacement of an old one, or perhaps even the installation of a new substation. The latter may be needed if the building is located very far from the power line itself. That is, in fact, in this application, the requirements that the owner of the house must comply with in order to obtain a permit.
Collection of documents
Connecting a country house to electricity begins with the installation of a meter, ASU and cable to power lines (to the connection point). All these operations, including the selection of equipment, must be carried out in strict accordance with the requirements of the technical specifications. The home owner will then need to contact the local RES forreceiving an act of entry. This document is handed over to him after the specialists of the organization check the connection scheme, inspect the ASU and the metering unit (meter) and seal the latter.
The owner of the house from the RES must also be provided with such a document as the “Act of delimitation of balance sheet ownership”. It defines the boundaries of operational responsibility with the supply company.
Conformity check
Connecting a country house to electricity (power lines) is possible only after inspecting the meter, ASU and cable by a representative of the energy supply company. In the event that no violations are identified, the owner of the building will receive another document - the "Act of the implementation of the specifications." Next, the actual contract for the supply of electricity will be concluded.
Connection procedure
It is forbidden to connect the supply cable to power lines independently by modern standards. Electricity is connected to the house exclusively by employees of the supply company. Its representatives go to the place and connect the cable prepared by the owner of the house to the power line.
Connection Methods
Next, we will consider what actions may need to be performed according to the specifications and how. Connecting electricity to a private house can be done in two ways - overhead and underground. The first method is most often used. The fact is that the underground connection is more expensive and technically considered more complicated. This method is chosen only in exceptional cases.
Air connection
In addition to low cost, such a connection of the house to electricity (to power lines) is also distinguished by ease of installation and maintenance. Repair or replace the wiring if necessary, it will not be difficult at all. This procedure is performed as follows:
- The wire from the power line is introduced into the ASU. At the same time, an automatic three-pole switch must be installed at the entrance.
- Next, the wire is pulled to the electricity meter.
- Then the connection is made to the difavtomat with four poles.
- In the same part, automatic single-pole home lighting switches configured for one phase should be located.
- Separate RCDs should be provided for the lighting and power subsystems.
- For courtyard lighting and power supply of outbuildings, a separate section is provided in the shield.
You can hang the ASP both on the wall of the house from the outside or from the inside, and on the power line pole itself. From it, the wires are brought into the building itself, the wiring is carried out through the rooms. The counter can be located both in the ASU itself and in the house on the wall. This metering device should also be chosen correctly.
Meter Requirements
Such a procedure as connecting a country house to electricity should be carried out, as already mentioned, with the selection of equipment that meets the technical conditions. This also applies, of course, to the counter.
According to GOST 6570-96, residential buildings should be equipped with electricity meters with a working current notless than 30 A and an accuracy class of at least 2.0. Otherwise, the choice of a meter depends solely on the personal preferences of the owner of the house. Of course, if additional parameters are not separately specified in the TS. Sometimes, for example, supply companies require homeowners to install only electric meters. Of course, the technical specifications should indicate the number of required phases of the device. Usually, devices with a current of more than 50 A are chosen for private houses.
Requirements for ASP
So, the connection of electricity to a private house is carried out through an input device. Structurally, it consists of the following elements:
- Input wires, which can be single-phase or three-phase.
- Terminal contacts designed to connect incoming and outgoing cables to consumers.
- Knife switch, with which you can turn your home network on and off.
- Automatic protective switches and RCDs. The last device is responsible for reducing the resistance in the event of a power surge.
In modern ASUs, knife switches are often replaced by three-pole circuit breakers. The parameters of the latter are calculated depending on the total capacity of all possible consumers with a small margin.
Among other things, it will be necessary to install the main ground bus, to which the neutral wire from the power line should be connected. If desired, you canconnect a neutral wire to it and already from the ASU. Re-grounding of the circuit is also carried out to the GZSH. In this device, the neutral wire is divided into ground and zero going into the building.
What should be the input cable
When connecting electricity to a private house, you should choose the right one, including the outer wire itself. The requirements for the cable connecting the power line with the wiring of the building are as follows:
- It must consist of at least four cores. In this case, it is possible to distribute the energy in three phases.
- Copper cable is best.
- Minimum input cable thickness is 4mm.
- The insulation layer on it should be thick enough and, of course, intact.
- The cable is run in a corrugated PVC pipe.
- The wire must have certificates from the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Rostest.
Rules for wires to the house
To the house itself, the cable must be laid in compliance with the following recommendations:
- The cross section of a copper cable of 4 mm is designed for a length of no more than 25 m. In the event that the house is located farther from the power line, it would be best to install intermediate poles.
- Pull the outer wire so that it does not come into contact with metal elements (parapets of balconies, fences in the yard, etc.).
- If the wiring will run along the outer wall of the building, it should be placed no closer than 75 cm to the windows and one meter to the balcony. In this case, the possible fluctuation of the wires should be taken into account.
- Through the wall, the cable must be run inconduit.
Rules for connecting electricity to the house by laying a cable underground
Next, let's talk a little about this method of connecting the network at home to power lines. When connecting underground, the cable is led down the pole. At a height of up to three meters from the ground, it must be protected from mechanical damage by a steel pipe. A trench is dug from the post to the house with a depth of 70 cm to 1 m. When laying a cable along the building, a ditch is dug at a distance of at least 70 cm from the foundation of the house. It is strictly forbidden to pull the wire under the buildings. There must be a distance of at least 2 m from the cable to trees, and 75 cm to shrubs.
Final stage
After the input cable of the house is connected to the power line by the employees of the supply company, commissioning is carried out to identify various kinds of problems. If the latter are available, work is being done to eliminate them. The cable insulation is also carefully inspected.
This is the order in which electricity is connected to the house in Russia. Ukraine recently introduced similar rules on its territory. The owner of the site will also need to first submit a package of necessary documents to the supply company. Next, the owner of the house will have to purchase a meter and register it with the local distribution zone. The supplier company will have to consider the application within 15 days.
One copy of the contract signed by both parties for the supply of electricity remains onthe hands of the owner of the house, the second - in the supply company.
