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Do It Yourself Electrical Tips

DIY electrical work can save the trouble and expense of calling out an electrician for simple tasks. Therefore it is useful to have an idea of how the electrical systems in your home work.

Electrical current (I) flows round electrical circuits in your home. These circuits must be unbroken for it to work. This is what switches do: break the current to turn an appliance off, and reconnect it again to switch the appliance on. For most DIY electrical work, current is usually measured in amps . Occasionally you get currents measured in milliamps (mA) which are a thousandth of an amp. Generally domestic electrical circuits use copper wiring to conduct the electricity, with plastic coverings as insulation to keep the current within the circuit.

In the UK electricity is distributed as alternating current or AC. This is when the flow of current changes direction approximately 50 to 60 times a second. Voltage (V) measures the strength of the electrical supply between two defined points. When only one point is defined, it is assumed that the other point is the earth. Mains supply in the UK tends to be 230V. The higher the voltage of electricity distributed, the more efficient it is. However an electric shock of 230V could do a lot of damage.

Nothing conducts electricity perfectly - there is always some resistance (R) which is measured in ohms (O). The voltage equals the current multiplied by the resistance, which allows us to work out one factor if the other two are known. The way a fuse works is by creating greater resistance than the rest of the cable, so if resistance builds up too much, the wire will heat up and melt causing the current to cut out. If you don't use a fuse, there is a risk of the copper cable conducting the electricity heating up and causing a fire in part of the house.

Power (P) is the rate at which an electrical appliance consumes electricity and is measured in watts (W) or kilowatts (kW) which are 1,000 watts. Power measured in watts is equal to the voltage multiplied by the current in amps. This allows us to work out what size fuse to use for an appliance. For instance an appliance with a power rating of 2.5 kW would require a fuse of about 10.9 amps according to this formula (I amps = 2500W divided by 230V). Plug fuses are usually available in ratings of 3, 5 and 13 amps so you would need a 13 amp fuse.

The fuse board for the main circuits is usually located under the stairs, in the hall or even in the basement. Before undertaking any electrical work, make sure the mains are switched off. If electricity cuts off in part of the house then check the main fuse board to see if one of the switches has gone off, in which case, you simply turn it on again.

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