It is impossible to imagine a comfortable life in an apartment or house without the well-established operation of electricity. In the old room, it becomes necessary to replace the aluminum wiring with copper. An electrician in an apartment, as a set of actions to provide energy to devices and maintain wiring functions, requires knowledge of wiring and circuit creation, but simple installation can be done on one's own.
Content
- Shield types
- Installation rules
-
Main works
- Shield installation and wiring selection
- Laying of cable channels
Shield types
Copper is much preferred over aluminum as a conductor. Such wires have greater ductility and electrical conductivity. They are more expensive, but the wiring is usually done for decades, so it is better to purchase quality components.
Before wiring an electrician in an apartment, it is important to understand how it works. In residential premises, several dedicated power lines are used. The switchboard must be located outside, close to the entrance.
The copper wire, which must be pulled from the distribution board to the inner shield in the room itself, should be no higher than one and a half meters from the floor.
The main elements of the shield:
-
machines - introductory and basic;
- residual current device (RCD);
- terminals with protective and working zero;
- electric meter.
The number of lines directly depends on the number of rooms, and the power depends on an individual set of electrical appliances. If there is only one dedicated line, you will have to lengthen the main wire from the shield from the entrance and lead it to the apartment. After that, it will become possible to provide the necessary devices with electricity through it.
Installation rules
There are strict canons of the building code regarding the installation and selection of equipment, observing which it is quite possible to do electrical wiring in an apartment with your own hands. According to them, it is necessary to ensure the following conditions:
- Free access of the master to switches, switchboard, electricity meters, and sockets.
- Switches are located on the side opposite to the moving part of the door, 1-1.5 m from the lower plinth. The direction of the wiring runs from the ceiling to the floor.
-
Sockets are installed half a meter from electrical appliances and household appliances, a fireplace, and 60-80 cm from the floor in order to avoid short circuits in case of an unexpected flood. The direction of the wires is from floor to ceiling.
- Outlets should not be more than 1 piece per 6 m², although it is permissible to put any required number in the kitchen, and none in the toilet. To install sockets in the bathroom, you need a special transformer.
- Designation on the main installation plan of the places of the internal and external network of wires in vertical and horizontal installation.
- The permissible location of horizontal wires is 10 cm from the eaves and 20 cm from the ceiling and floor. It is better to run vertical wires at least 50 cm from the gas pipeline. It is recommended to retreat 15 cm from doors and windows.
- Lack of contact with the metal components of the internal structures of the walls.
- Safe arrangement of parallel wires with firm fixation in the protective box. The distance between them during laying should not exceed 5-10 mm from each other.
- Insulate the wire connections inside the switchgear. It is strictly forbidden to mount aluminum wire with copper.
Main works
In older buildings, the issue of grounding was ignored, striving for a cheap and quick installation of electrical equipment. In the sockets of the last century, grounding was immediately brought to a working zero. The devices used only two types of wires - phase and zero. If a breakdown occurs in the iron case, a short circuit and fire will occur.
If the main lines are outdated, then you should not save and try to replace the wiring only on certain parts. All electrics will have to be changed - sockets, shield, switches.
It will be useful to familiarize yourself with the previous diagram in order to properly dismantle the highways and build a new wiring without problems. With the help of a special sensor, it is necessary to detect wires hidden in the walls and dismantle them.
Shield installation and wiring selection
It is not difficult to replace and connect the wiring in the apartment with your own hands. A power cable runs from the distribution board and the space intended for it. For basic installation, it remains do the following:
- place protection and automatic switches inside the shield;
- fix the device in a niche;
- connect the cable itself.
There are many colors for marking the working functions of the wires. For wiring, electricians use three main contacts:
- phase (brown or black);
- zero (blue);
- grounding (colors may vary).
In older houses, it is better to choose a hinged type of shield. Such a device is attached to the wall with dowels. For subsequent installation, it is used step-by-step algorithm of actions:
- drill a hole in the wall for the cable, stretch and connect the wire to the shield in the entrance;
- strip the lead-in wire;
- connect multi-colored cables: white - to the top contact, blue - to zero, yellow - to ground;
- bring the zero and phase wires, previously connected to the emergency shutdown device, to the machine and the zero terminal.
After that, you can start laying the cable in the apartment. There is two main options, which are quite within the power of novice builders:
- External wiring - in the apartment, all wires will be in sight, on the outside of the walls and ceilings. Plastic cables are required for fasteners. This is an easy and inexpensive way, although the result is not always aesthetic.
- Closed wiring - the house will have to thoroughly drill the walls to hide the electrical wires in the slots and holes inside the concrete panels. This will require more thorough and long work, the purchase of special tools, but the result will also be - the wires will hide behind a beautiful and even surface.
Laying of cable channels
For closed wiring, specialists are most often invited, since it is necessary to carefully measure and calculate space for placing with special parameters of electrical appliances and wires, as well as professionally work with walls. Open wiring, for example, laying a cable in an apartment, you can do it yourself:
- Cut the wall or floor cable ducts with a construction knife into the required lengths.
- Attach to the wall or floor with dowels and screws. It is undesirable to use scotch tape, as such an attachment will not last long.
- Lay the wires in the channels.
- Close the connections with special panels.
- Connect electrical appliances.
If it is important for the premises and its owners aesthetic component, then you can think over the lines along which the wires will go and place them either in places where they will be maximally closed by furniture and curtains, or place them in an interesting geometric pattern.
Closed with white panels on a dark background, they can be part of a retro or hi-tech design. This will be an additional plus to the main benefit of economical installation of electrics in the apartment without the help of highly paid foremen.