For people who are far from electricians, a house or apartment shield is nothing more than a box with some kind of devices, a meter and wires. Not everyone understands what it is for. The electrical panel is a complex and dangerous item. To properly design and assemble it, you need to have not only a lot of knowledge, but also a we alth of experience.
Instead of intro
It is worth highlighting a few points that need to be done before starting to assemble the housing shield diagram:
- Create a wiring project.
- Choosing a mounting location.
- Choosing a scheme for assembling a shield.
- Competent approach to choosing a hull. It can be plastic or metal, hinged or recessed.
- Selection of components.
- Installation of equipment.
- Proper connection of the shield to the power cables.
Please note that even the slightest mistake can lead to sadconsequences, up to the failure of household appliances, as well as a house fire.
Where to install the shield
First you need to decide where it is best to place the switchboard. It is best to put it directly at the front door. If it is installed in the hallway, then you do not need to pull the power cable from the landing. With regard to height, it is recommended that the shield be at the same level as the eyes of an adult. This will make it easier to take readings, as well as turn off the machines if it suddenly needs to be done.
If you prefer to install everything under the ceiling, ostensibly for safety, as you did before, then you should consider this point. Previously, electric meters with fuse plugs were installed directly on the wall, they were not protected by a box. That is why it was necessary for safety reasons to place them under the ceiling, away from children.
Modern designs of electrical panels have a very strong case and are locked, so children, even if they want, will not be able to get into it. Unless, of course, you leave the keys in a conspicuous place. When choosing an installation site, it is imperative to take into account how and where the cable from the supply line will be installed.
Buy or make your own?
Today, it is not at all necessary to make shields on your own, you can buy ready-made ones, and with all the stuffing. On sale there are a large number of shields of standard designs. If they do not suit you, then you can order the manufacture of a box that will fully meet your requirements. But one thing needs to be clarified.
Check if the electrician you hired to work has de alt with ready-made electrical panels before. If this is his first work, then it is recommended to purchase the box and all its stuffing separately. In this case, the chance of damage to the elements is much lower.
Main components of electrical panels
The following devices can be distinguished in the design of a single-line diagram of an apartment shield:
- The main circuit breaker, which allows you to protect the entire wiring circuit in the apartment, is placed at the very beginning. The wires from the input cable are connected to it. Quite often, for convenience, special knife switches are installed. With their help, you can de-energize the entire house in order to replace certain components. The power cable is first connected to the switch, and from it to the circuit breakers.
- Electric meter is mounted after the input machine, it allows you to control the consumption of electrical energy in the apartment and house. Quite often, the counter is installed separately, for example, on the site.
- Device for protective shutdown. It helps to protect against electric shock, as well as prevent fire. It is possible to install both one device, directly after the electric meter, andsome. Usually several pieces are installed if the lines have a large power consumption. For example, they can be mounted for washing machines, air conditioners, electric stoves.
- Linear circuit breakers. They allow you to protect individual lines in various rooms, as well as lighting and power supply circuits for household appliances. They are able to break the circuit if there is an overcurrent or short circuit. In the scheme of a three-phase apartment shield, they are also used, but there is one difference - the number of terminals for connection is greater.
- Special machines can be installed instead of RCDs and linear ones. They perform, in fact, the functions of these two devices.
- Rail is necessary in order to install equipment. It is fixed on the back wall of the electrical panel. Depending on the dimensions of the cabinet, you can install a different number of rails. Accordingly, this affects the number of modules mounted in the shield. If you do not want to make a mistake with the purchase of the case, then draw up a wiring diagram in advance.
- Tires for connection. They are necessary in order to connect and connect the working zeros and ground wires. The electrical panel uses bus-terminals for zero, as well as for grounding. Distribution busbars are installed in order to connect linear automata, differential automata, residual current devices.
Wiring diagram without grounding
The first thing to do is to draw up a detailed diagram. The article provides wiring diagrams for a 380 V and 220 V apartment shield. If there is no wiring in the wiringground, then the connection will be slightly different. For one-room apartments, you can use the simplest option for making a shield. Its design will include the following elements:
- Case and din-rails.
- Electric meter.
- Bipolar machine, rated for 32 A.
- Residual current device.
- 16A single pole circuit breakers for sockets, lighting and washing machine.
- Zero PEN bus required to separately connect protection and zero.
In order for this wiring to be operated safely in the future, the working neutral and protective conductors in the bus cable must be separated, even if there is no ground loop.
In order to protect against power surges in the event of zero burnout, it is necessary to add special voltage control relays. It will work if the insulation breaks through and the neutral and phase wires touch. In this case, the relay will break the circuits and protect household appliances from damage. If the apartment has more than one room, such a scheme can be expanded to the required number of circuit breakers.
In the event that large household appliances, such as a washing machine or dishwasher, are connected to the outlet, it is recommended to install additional two-pole residual current devices. You will ensure a high degree of safety even without a ground wire.
When grounded
In thatif you live in a new house or changed the input cable in the entrance and installed the ground loop, then the scheme will be slightly different. As an example, again, take a one-room apartment in which an electric stove is installed.
To make a shield you will need the following items:
- Plastic housing with two din rails.
- Bipolar circuit breaker rated at 40 A.
- Single-phase electric meter.
- Residual current device. The connection diagram of the apartment shield with RCD is the same as without it.
- Bipolar 16A package switches, 25A required for electric stove.
- Grounding and neutral bus.
- To connect circuit breakers, you will need a Comb busbar.
If the apartment has a large number of rooms and cable lines, all powerful equipment will need to install additional protective shutdown devices. It is advisable to use bipolar.
How to properly assemble the shield in the apartment - instructions
Now directly about the order of assembly of the shield. All work can be divided into two stages - preparatory and main.
The preparatory stage includes the following manipulations:
- Checking the completeness of the shield elements.
- Installing the case in a pre-selected location.
- Preparing wiring cables for connection. Remove the top insulation, check the color coding and all markings.
Main Stage
The main stage includes:
- First install the knife switch (if provided).
- Mount the introductory circuit breaker.
- Set the zero bar and connect working wires to it. But only except for the lines that will be connected through the RCD.
- Mount an electric meter if you plan to put it inside the apartment.
- Install a common RCD.
- Mount and connect linear automata along the phase wire. First, mount them on the rail, then connect them with a comb bus or a jumper. The connection is made through the upper terminals, the lower ones are needed to connect the load wires.
- Install and connect linear RCDs to all groups in rooms with high humidity. Strictly follow the layout of the housing shield.
- Install a protective earth bar and connect all PE wires from the load cables to it.
- After mounting and connecting all the elements with each other, with N and PE busbars, load wires, you can enter the power cable from the shield in the entrance.
- The phase core and the zero one must be connected to the circuit breaker, if it is provided. Or to the machine on the input. The PE conductor must be led directly to the protection bus strictly according to the scheme of the apartment shield.
- After connecting the power cable, the contacts of the input machine and the terminal blocks of the meter must be immediately sealed. This must be done by the inspector of the power supply organization.
Before turning ona knife switch for supplying voltage, it is necessary to check all equipment, fasteners of cables, contacts, if necessary, stretch everything. The chains are called and the insulation resistance is measured. If everything is in order, test voltage can be applied to the shield and a test load can be turned on to check the operation of all elements of the input-distribution circuit of the apartment shield.
