How to properly repair the apartment wiring.

In our long-suffering country, people do not have enough money to buy new housing. Secondary market of apartments, i.e. Apartments "B.U." becoming more popular.

In the last century, when this housing was built, they counted on the energy consumption of an apartment of 1-2 kW, and now it can easily reach 10 kW. Almost everyone has a washing machine, microwave oven, iron, hair dryer, vacuum cleaner, electric toaster, electric grill, etc. Most of these devices easily consume 1-2 kW, but they can be turned on at the same time!

But how to start repairing electrical wiring? There are certain rules for this. They will help you save time, money and health ...

The way the cable is laid always depends on such factors: the type of electrical wiring (hidden / open), the category of the room (domestic, industrial, and so on) and the material from which the building is built, that is, its combustibility.

In residential premises, most often, hidden wiring is preferred. Most people who are far from electrical work imagine it this way: a groove (in a professional language - a stroba) on a wall or ceiling in which cables are wired, reaching for outlets, boxes and switches. Actually, this option of hidden wiring is the most common.

But what to do if the wall bearing and gating can weaken its structure? Or another option: a wooden house. In addition, it is somehow not very convenient to ditch a tree, because it is also unclear how to coat it later. And, even by hiding the cable in a wooden wall, we grossly violate the fire safety rules ...

The choice of sockets for stoves and washing machines. The selection is made according to some basic operating parameters. Here they are:

1. The number of phases required to power the electrical receiver, that is, its "phase". In any case, a three-phase connection requires a socket with five connectors: L1, L2, L3, N and PE. A single-phase power supply is enough for a socket with three connectors: L, N and PE. Three-phase in our case can only be a stove, and even then only if it is possible to connect to a three-phase network.

2. The rated current load on the outlet. The passport of any device usually indicates electrical power, and data on the current drawn from the network may not be available. But electric power is never indicated on the body of electrical outlets - there is only information about the maximum permissible current ...

Suppose we have decided on the place of installation of the electric stove or washing machine. We decided where we would install the appropriate sockets, chose a cable, even purchased it in the required quantity, taking into account the required margin of several meters.

The current question is how to install this cable all the way from the apartment panel to the power outlet? After all, we are not just pulling the cable, we are installing a part of the electrical wiring, which is subject to electrical safety and fire safety requirements. In addition, since this is an apartment, the newly installed part of the wiring should not offend our aesthetic taste. Everything should be neat, beautiful and safe. Consider popular cable management methods. If the walls in the apartment are made of non-combustible materials (concrete, brick or something like that), and the installation of equipment was timed to a major repair ...

The TN-C electrical grounding system has long been outlawed and banned for use. But it is easy to ban, but what about those whose homes were commissioned long before the introduction of new norms and rules?

Indeed, for the operating organization, the modernization of the common house wiring and bringing it at least to the TN-C-S system is an overwhelming waste of time, effort and money. And therefore, people living in old-built houses often face the challenge of incorporating modern household appliances into a two-wire network with a TN-C grounding system. And most of the questions arise when connecting powerful devices with a metal case.

The latter relates, first of all, to the electric stove and the washing machine. So, how do you enable these devices in your TN-C home network? The sequence of actions is ...

Have you ever thought about what path electric energy takes before you find yourself, for example, in a power outlet, into which your computer is now plugged in? Synchronous generators, transformers, power lines, distribution and step-down substations, cable or overhead lines of 0.4 kV ... In short, the path is not easy and not close.

But here the coveted 220 or 380 volts through the input cable came to your apartment or private house. It would seem that all ordeals are over. But it was not there. It turns out that electricity in an apartment also needs to be divided, distributed across various networks. And this completely responsible task is often necessary for the owners of residential premises to solve independently or with the help of hired specialists. It was only at the dawn of the use of household electricity that it was customary to bring two wires into the house, and then twist them in one input box ...

"Retro" and "vintage". These two words alone can cause a sinking heart in a certain category of people endowed with an increased sense of beauty. These people are consistent in everything, so the retro wiring in their eyes represents good taste and originality.

And if the house is built, for example, from logs, and the interior is deliberately missing, then retro wiring on casters will certainly look the most aesthetically pleasing. Indeed, in such a situation, the plastic cable channel will not fit snugly against the wall because of the grooves between the logs, and cable installation using brackets on combustible structures is prohibited. About the dull gray and everyday corrugated pipe and completely silent.

It turns out that the choice of retro wiring for installation in a wooden house is quite justified. So what is retro wiring? ...

Sometimes it happens, you go into the room, turn on the light, and the light does not shine. Replacing the lamp does not help. If in other rooms all the lights shine normally, then most likely the switch has broken. If it is not possible to call an electrician or sufficient funds to pay for his services, you can replace the light switch yourself.

To replace the switch, you will need: a screwdriver, a phase indicator (indicator screwdriver), a new switch, pliers, a knife and an insulating tape.

First of all, it is necessary to turn off the electricity in the room in which the switch will be replaced. To do this, in the storey electrical switchboard on the landing, you must turn off the circuit breaker (automatic) that powers this room or the whole apartment ...