Which machines are better and more reliable for apartment wiring

Circuit breakers are common devices that are designed to protect the indoor wiring from network congestion and short circuit currents. If an emergency occurs and overcurrent passes through the wires, the insulation can melt instantly, resulting in a fire. The consequences can be dire. To prevent tragic events, it is enough to install a circuit breaker taking into account the technical parameters of the network.

Why do we need automatic machines for electrical wiring

Before you figure out which machines are better and more reliable for apartment wiring, you should find out why these devices are needed at all. The reasons why it is better to purchase a machine for an apartment:

• In the event of an emergency or emergency, it is easier to establish the cause, provided that the protection is installed on each line.
• Lighting devices will be switched off only in one room, and not throughout the apartment, therefore, there will be no need in complete darkness to look for alternative light sources. The same goes for outlets. If there is a malfunction on the line where the refrigerator is operating, the water tank will continue to operate normally.

In comparison with traffic jams equipped with fusible inserts, and automatic traffic jams, automatic machines have many advantages.

Basic rules for calculating parameters

It should be decided which machines to put in the apartment and how to correctly carry out the calculations to select the appropriate model.

There are two basic rules for calculating the parameters of circuit breakers:

• The rated current should slightly exceed the permissible power of a particular line at maximum load. To ensure maximum load on the line is quite simple, you must simultaneously turn on all household appliances, lighting and electrical appliances. If you neglect this rule, the machine will turn off continuously.
• In order to prevent overheating of the wires, there must be a limit on the maximum current indicators. Otherwise, with respect to the wiring, the machine will not fulfill its protective function. It is worth paying attention to one common mistake when choosing an automaton - “the main thing is that it is no less current”. This approach will lead to the fact that the machine will not work even at the moment when the wiring is on.

The maximum current can be calculated by the technical characteristics of the cable products. This parameter for the protection device should be slightly less than for the conductor.

Permissible current load limits for electrical wiring in the apartment are indicated in the PUE table (for cables with copper cores):

Core section	Current for laid wires
	Open	In one pipe
		One three-core	One twin core	Four single core	Three single core	Two single core
0,5	11	–	–	–	–	–
0,75	15	–	–	–	–	–
1	17	14	15	14	15	16
1,2	14,5	16	15	16	18	20
1,5	23	15	18	16	17	19
2	26	19	23	20	22	24
2,5	30	21	25	25	25	27
3	34	24	28	26	28	32
4	41	27	32	30	35	38
5	46	31	37	34	39	42
6	50	34	40	40	42	46
8	62	43	48	46	51	54
10	80	50	55	50	60	70

Criteria for choosing an electric machine for an apartment

For high-quality protection of wiring and household appliances in the apartment, you need to correctly calculate the important parameters of the device. When purchasing a machine for sockets, you need to pay attention to the following selection criteria:

• short circuit current;
• working current;
• tripping current;
• selectivity;
• number of poles.

Short circuit current

To select an automatic switch for short-circuit current, one important rule must be taken into account - machines with a breaking capacity of less than 6 kA must not be installed (this rule is prescribed in the EMP). Devices with ratings of 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10 kA are used. If the apartment is located in a house located near a transformer substation, it is better to give preference to machines with a nominal value of 10 kA. In other cases, it is advisable to mount circuit breakers with an extreme short circuit of 6000 Amps.

Rated (working) current

This characteristic feature reflects the value of the current above which the circuit breaks and the machine shuts off electricity to avoid overloads and combustion of household appliances.

To choose the appropriate value, you need to analyze the total power of consumers of electricity, as well as the cross-section of the cable for domestic wires. The larger the cross section of the cores, the greater their throughput, i.e. they will be able to withstand heavy loads.

To select the appropriate technical characteristics of the machine, it is necessary to find tables for selecting the cable cross-section for current, the rating of the machine and a table for choosing power. They are spelled out in the publication of the Electrical Installation Rules.

Tripping current

In parallel with the rated current, it is necessary to select the rated current tripping. When you turn on household appliances, the starting current can significantly exceed the nominal values. So that each time the machine does not work, you need to correctly select the class of the switching device.

At home, classes B, C and D can be used. But it is most preferable to purchase a class B, especially if the kitchen is not equipped with powerful electrical appliances. If an electric boiler or powerful household appliances is installed in the room, it is worth purchasing a model from class C.

Selectivity

The essence of this concept is the emergency shutdown of not the entire apartment, but only the emergency line. In this case, you need to delve into the technical features and select the ratings of the circuit breakers in accordance with the service line.

The rated current of the input switching device must exceed the operating current indicators of all other working nodes located in the distribution panel. For private apartments, it is recommended to give preference to a machine with an input of 40 A.

Number of poles

With the number of poles, as a rule, the least difficulties arise when choosing a protective device.

• For a single-phase network of 220 W, it is necessary to install a bipolar single-phase circuit breaker.
• If the wiring in the apartment is three-phase, a four-pole switching device must be mounted on the input.

To protect electric motors of household appliances, it is better to give preference to three-pole devices at 380 Volts.

Features of machines for sockets of some well-known brands

In construction stores you can see a large assortment of circuit breakers from different manufacturers. Some of them use their own marking system, you can get acquainted with the characteristics of the model by a special catalog number.

The most popular and reliable circuit breakers include:

• "ABB" - machines with a modular design. The developers are a Swedish-Swiss company. They produce various modifications designed for different voltages and rated currents.
• "AE" is an effective device manufactured in Russia. This protective armature is produced in different configurations, therefore, difficulties in choosing a suitable device should not arise.

Also, when choosing a circuit breaker home, you should pay attention to the manufacturers of General Electric and Legrand. Most foreign manufacturers license their products at Russian and Chinese factories.

Common buying mistakes

When choosing equipment, inexperienced people in this field often make the same mistakes in terms of load and current strength. If the protective device is chosen incorrectly, the consequences can greatly “hit” your pocket and take a lot of time.

To prevent such things, you need to familiarize yourself with common mistakes. In the future, this will allow you to choose the correct circuit breaker for your apartment.

• When choosing the rating of the machine, more attention should be paid not to the power of all household appliances, lighting and electrical appliances, but to the state of the wiring. If the wiring is old, it can be dangerous to focus on the technical specifications of the used electricity consumers. For example, to protect an electric stove, an automatic rating of 32 A is required, and the cross-sectional area of ​​an old cable made of aluminum can only withstand a current of 10 A. Result - the wiring overheats and melts, which causes a short circuit. If you need a powerful protective switch to meet all your needs, first of all in the apartment you need to replace the wiring.
• Electricians strongly recommend purchasing all the automation in an apartment from one manufacturer. This approach avoids the problems associated with the mismatch of elements during installation and operation of devices.
• It is necessary to purchase circuit breakers only in specialized stores from an official representative of a well-known and well-established manufacturer. Only this approach will protect against the acquisition of fakes. When buying from official representatives, the cost of machines will be lower than from intermediaries.

It happens that when calculating the potential of the machine according to the working current, the indicator goes the average between the existing ones. For example, the result is 14 A, and in stores models with ratings of 10 A and 16 A are presented. If the wiring is new, you can give preference to the latest model. If there is no guarantee that the wiring can withstand such a load, it is better to choose the first.

Circuit breakers are a valuable device that helps prevent many problems related to electricity. If in doubt, to select a suitable machine, it is better to contact the technical department of RES for expert advice.