ENERGY SYSTEM AND

FIRE SAFETY
AP- 312
Handouts of Presentation

Abstract
Electrical wiring
Star/delta connection
Power protection system
Transformers

- By
Rashmi Goyal
Karan Kashyap
Pankaj Nishad
Bhaskar Sharma
 ENERGY AND FIRE SAFETY
 ELECTRICAL WIRING
Electrical wiring is an electrical installation of cabling and associated devices such as switches,
distribution boards, sockets and light fittings in a structure.

 TYPES OF WIRING
1) Domestic wiring
2) Commercial wiring
3) Industrial wiring

 FACTORS AFFECTING THE CHOICE OF WIRING SYSTEM

Generally, there are six points that are considered when choosing wires for electronic equipment.
1. Safety: A paramount factor, the wire should be designed to protect the user and the
equipment from any hazard. This can include electrocution, fire hazard, and physical
damage. If the wire will be used in areas with fire hazards, then it should have conduit
wiring.

2. Load: The design and specifications of the wire should allow it to handle voltage loads of
certain levels. A simple point to keep in mind when choosing a wire according to the
electrical load is – the smaller the wire diameter, the smaller the load.

3. Durability and Permanency: The wiring should be able to transfer electric currents at
maximum level without ever overheating. The wire material, sheathing, and cable material
 should make the product extremely durable. Also, the wiring should not deteriorate from
exposure to, or long-term effects of fumes, moisture, chemicals, and harsh weather.

4. Appearance: The wires and wiring assembly should be identifiable, and should have a
decent aesthetic appearance after installation. Choose wires that will meet the requirements
without being too expensive.

5. Cost of wiring: You need to consider three factors when looking at costs. The first two are
safety, and product cost-effectiveness. The system should also have low maintenance costs.

6. Design Versatility: The wiring should be designed such that it can be upgraded, or modified
to meet the changing requirements of an application.

 TYPES OF WIRING

1. Cleat Wiring
a) This system of wiring comprise of ordinary VIR or PVC insulated wires (occasionally,
sheathed and weather proof cable) braided and compounded held on walls or ceilings by
means of porcelain cleats, Plastic or wood.
b) Cleat wiring system is a temporary wiring system therefore it is not over nowadays
Advantages of Cleat Wiring:
 It is simple and cheap wiring system
 Most suitable for temporary use i.e. under construction building or army camping
 As the cables and wires of cleat wiring system is in open air, Therefore fault in cables can be
seen and repair easily.
 Cleat wiring system installation is easy and simple.
 Customization can be easily done in this wiring system e.g. alteration and addition.
 Inspection is easy and simple.

Disadvantages of Cleat Wiring:

 Appearance is not so good.
 Cleat wiring can’t be use for permanent use because, Sag may be occur after sometime of the
usage.
 In this wiring system, the cables and wiring is in open air, therefore,
oil, Steam, humidity, smoke, rain, chemical and acidic effect may damage the cables and wires.
 It is not lasting wire system because of the weather effect, risk of fire and wear & tear.
 It can be only used on 250/440 Volts on low temperature.
 There is always a risk of fire and electric shock.
 It can’t be used in important and sensitive location and places.
 It is not lasting, reliable and sustainable wiring system.
2. Batten Wiring (CTS or TRS)
Single core or double core or three core TRS cables with a circular oval shape cables are used in
this kind of wiring. Mostly, single core cables are preferred. TRS cables are chemical proof, water
proof, steam proof, but are slightly affected by lubricating oil. The TRS cables are run on well-
seasoned and straight teak wood batten with at least a thickness of 10mm.

The cables are held on the wooden batten by means of tinned brass link clips (buckle clip) already
fixed on the batten with brass pins and spaced at an interval of 10cm for horizontal runs and 15cm
for vertical runs.

Advantages of Batten
Wiring
 Wiring installation is simple
and easy
 cheap as compared to other
electrical wiring systems
 Paraphrase is good and
beautiful
 Repairing is easy
 strong and long-lasting
 Customization can be easily
done in this wiring system.
 less chance of leakage current
in batten wiring system

Disadvantages of Batten
Wiring
 Can’t be install in the
humidity, Chemical effects, open
and outdoor areas.
 High risk of firs
 Not safe from external wear & tear and weather effects (because, the wires are openly visible
to heat, dust, steam and smoke.
 Heavy wires can’t be used in batten wiring system.
 Only suitable below then 250V.
 Need more cables and wires.
 3. Casing and capping wiring
Casing and Capping wiring system was famous wiring system in the past but, it is considered
obsolete this days because of Conduit and
sheathed wiring system. The cables used in this
kind of wiring were either VIR or PVC or any
other approved insulated cables.

The cables were carried through the wooden

casing enclosures. The casing is made up of a
strip of wood with parallel grooves cut length
wise so as to accommodate VIR cables. The
grooves were made to separate opposite polarity.
The capping (also made of wood) used to cover
the wires and cables installed and fitted in the
casing.

Advantages of Casing Capping Wiring:

 It is cheap wiring system as compared to
sheath and conduit wiring systems.
 It is strong and long-lasting wiring system.
 Customization can be easily done in this
wiring system.
 If Phase and Neutral wire is installed in
separate slots, then repairing is easy.
 Stay for long time in the field due to strong insulation of capping and casing.
 It stays safe from oil, Steam, smoke and rain.
 No risk of electric shock due to covered wires and cables in casing & capping.


Disadvantages Casing Capping Wiring:

 There is a high risk of fire in casing & capping wiring system.
 Not suitable in the acidic, alkalies and humidity conditions.
 Costly repairing and need more material.
 Material can’t be found easily in the contemporary.
 White ants may damage the casing & capping of wood.

4. Conduit Wiring
There are two additional types of conduit wiring according to pipe installation

1. Surface Conduit Wiring

2. Concealed Conduit Wiring
5.1 Surface Conduit Wiring
If conduits installed on roof or wall, it is known as surface conduit wiring. in this wiring method,
they make holes on the surface of wall on equal distances and conduit is installed then with the
help of rowel plugs.

4.2 Concealed Conduit wiring

If the conduits is hidden inside the wall slots with the help of plastering, it is called concealed
conduit wiring. In other words, the electrical wiring system inside wall, roof or floor with the help
 of plastic or metallic piping is called concealed conduit wiring. Obliviously, It is the most popular,
beautiful, stronger and common electrical wiring system nowadays.

In Conduit wiring system, the conduits should be electrically continuous and connected to earth at
some suitable points in case of steel conduit. Conduit wiring is a professional way of wiring a
building. Mostly PVC conduits are used in domestic wiring.

The conduit protects the cables from being damaged by rodents (when rodents bites the cables it
will cause short circuit) that is why circuit breakers are in place though but hey! Prevention is better
than cure. Lead conduits are used in factories or when the building is prone to fire accident.
Trunking is more of like surface conduit wiring. It’s gaining popularity too.

It is done by screwing a PVC trunking pipe to a wall then passing the cables through the pipe. The
cables in conduit should not be too tight. Space factor have to be put into consideration.

Types of Conduit
Following conduits are used in the conduit wiring systems (both concealed and surface conduit
wiring) which are shown in the above image.

 Metallic Conduit
 Non-metallic conduit
Metallic Conduit:
Metallic conduits are made of steel which are very strong but costly as well.

There are two types of metallic conduits.

 Class A Conduit: Low gauge conduit (Thin layer steel sheet conduit)
 Class B Conduit: High gauge conduit (Thick sheet of steel conduit)
Non-metallic Conduit:
A solid PVC conduit is used as non-metallic conduit now a days, which is flexible and easy to
bend.

Size of Conduit:
The common conduit pipes are available in different sizes genially, 13, 16.2, 18.75, 20, 25, 37,
50, and 63 mm (diameter) or 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 1, 1.25, 1.5, and 2 inch in diameter.

Advantage of Conduit Wiring Systems

 It is the safest wiring system (Concealed conduit wring)
 Appearance is very beautiful (in case of concealed conduit wiring)
 No risk of mechanical wear & tear and fire in case of metallic pipes.
 Customization can be easily done according to the future needs.
 Repairing and maintenance is easy.
 There is no risk of damage the cables insulation.
 it is safe from corrosion (in case of PVC conduit) and risk of fire.
 It can be used even in humidity, chemical effect and smoky areas.
 No risk of electric shock (In case of proper earthing and grounding of metallic pipes).
 It is reliable and popular wiring system.
 Sustainable and long-lasting wiring system.
 Disadvantages of Conduit Wiring Systems
 It is expensive wiring system (Due to PVC and Metallic pipes, Additional earthing for metallic
pipes Tee(s) and elbows etc.
 Very hard to find the defects in the wiring.
 Installation is not easy and simple.
 Risk of Electric shock (In case of metallic pipes without proper earthing system)
 Very complicated to manage additional connection in the future.

5. Lead Sheathed Wiring

The type of wiring employs conductors that are insulated with VIR and covered with an outer
sheath of lead aluminum alloy containing about 95% of lead. The metal sheath given protection to
cables from mechanical damage, moisture and atmospheric corrosion.

The whole lead covering is made electrically continuous and is connected to earth at the point of
entry to protect against electrolytic action due to leaking current and to provide safety in case the
sheath becomes alive. The cables are run on wooden batten and fixed by means of link clips just
as in TRS wiring.
 STAR\ DELTA CONNECTION
 There are two types of system available in electric circuit, single phase and three phase
system.

 In single phase circuit, there will be

only one phase, i.e. the current will flow
through only one wire and there will be
one return path called neutral line to
complete the circuit.

 So in single phase minimum amount

of power can be transported.

 Three phase circuit is the

polyphaser system where three phases are
send together from the generator to the
load.

 Each phase are having a phase difference of 120°, i.e. 120° angle electrically. So from the
total of 360°, three phases are equally divided into 120° each.

 The power in three phase system is continuous as all the three phases are involved in
generating the total power.

 The three phases can be used as single phase each. So if the load is single phase, then one
phase can be taken from the three phase circuit and the neutral can be used as ground to
complete the circuit.

 In three phase circuit, connections can be given in two types:

1. Star connection
2. Delta connection

 Star Connection
In star connection, there is four wire, three wires are phase wire and fourth is neutral which is
taken from the star point.

Star connection is preferred for long distance power transmission because it is having the neutral
point. In this we need to come to the concept of balanced and unbalanced current in power
system.

During balanced condition there will be no current flowing through the neutral line and hence
there is no use of the neutral terminal.

But when there will be unbalanced current flowing in the three phase circuit, neutral is having a
vital role. It will take the unbalanced current through to the ground and protect the transformer.

Unbalanced current affects transformer and it may also cause damage to the transformer and for
this star connection is preferred for long distance transmission. The star connection is shown
below-
In STAR connection, the starting or finishing ends (Similar ends) of three coils are connected
together to form the neutral point. A common wire is taken out from the neutral point which is
called Neutral.

In star connection, the line voltage is √3 times of phase voltage. Line voltage is
the voltage between two phases in three phase circuit and phase voltage is the voltage between
one phase to the neutral line. And the current is same for both line and phase. It is shown as
expression below

The speeds of Star connected motors are slow as they receive 1/√3 voltage.

In Star Connection, the phase voltage is low as 1/√3 of the line voltage, so, it needs low number
of turns, hence, saving in copper.

Low insulation required as phase voltage is low.

 Delta Connection
In delta connection, there is three wires alone and no neutral terminal is taken.

Normally delta connection is preferred for short distance due to the problem of
unbalanced current in the circuit.

In DELTA connection, the opposite ends of three coils are connected together. In other words,
the end of each coil is connected with the start of another coil, and three wires are taken out from
the coil joints

The figure is shown below for delta connection. In the load station, ground can be used as neutral
path if required.

In delta connection, the line voltage is same with that of phase voltage. And the line current is √3
times of phase current.

Heavy insulation required as Phase voltage = Line Voltage.

The speeds of Delta connected motors are high because each phase gets the total of line
voltage

In Delta connection, the phase voltage is equal to the line voltage, hence, it needs more number
of turns.
 POWER SYSTEM PROTECTION

Power-system protection is a branch of electrical power engineering that deals with the
protection of electrical power systems from faults through the isolation of faulted parts from the
rest of the electrical network. The objective of a protection scheme is to keep the power system
stable by isolating only the components that are under fault, whilst leaving as much of the network
as possible still in operation. Thus, protection schemes must apply a very pragmatic and
pessimistic approach to clearing system faults. The devices that are used to protect the power
systems from faults are called protection devices.
Protection systems usually comprise five components:

 Current and voltage transformers to step down the high voltages and currents of the electrical
power system to convenient levels for the relays to deal with
 Protective relays to sense the fault and initiate a trip, or disconnection, order
 Circuit breakers to open/close the system based on relay and autorecloser commands
 Batteries to provide power in case of power disconnection in the system
 Communication channels to allow analysis of current and voltage at remote terminals of a
line and to allow remote tripping of equipment.
For parts of a distribution system, fuses are capable of both sensing and disconnecting faults
Failures may occur in each part, such as insulation failure, fallen or broken transmission lines,
incorrect operation of circuit breakers, short circuits and open circuits. Protection devices are
installed with the aims of protection of assets and ensuring continued supply of energy.
Switchgear is a combination of electrical disconnect switches, fuses or circuit breakers used to
control, protect and isolate electrical equipment. Switches are safe to open under normal load
current, while protective devices are safe to open under fault current.
 TRANSFORMER
A transformer is a static electrical device that transfers electrical energy between two or
more circuits through electromagnetic induction. A varying current in one coil of the transformer
produces a varying magnetic field, which in turn induces a varying electromotive force (emf) or
"voltage" in a second coil. Power can be transferred between the two coils, without a metallic
connection between the two circuits. Faraday's law of induction discovered in 1831 described this
effect. Transformers are used to increase or decrease the alternating voltages in electric power
applications.

 PRINCIPLE
An ideal transformer is a theoretical, linear transformer that is lossless and
perfectly coupled. Perfect coupling implies infinitely high core magnetic permeability and
winding inductances and zero net magneto motive.

Construction Cores
Closed-core transformers are
constructed in 'core form' or 'shell
form'. When windings surround the
core, the transformer is core form;
when windings are surrounded by the
core, the transformer is shell
form. Shell form design may be more
prevalent than core form design for
distribution transformer applications
due to the relative ease in stacking the
core around winding coils. Core form
design tends to, as a general rule, be
more economical, and therefore more
prevalent, than shell form design for high voltage power transformer applications at the lower
end of their voltage and power rating ranges (less than or equal to, nominally, 230 kV or
75 MVA). At higher voltage and power ratings, shell form transformers tend to be more
prevalent.

WINDING
High-frequency transformers operating in the tens to hundreds of kilohertz often have windings
made of braided Litz wire to minimize the skin-effect and proximity effect losses. Large power
transformers use multiple-stranded conductors as well, since even at low power frequencies non-
uniform distribution of current would otherwise exist in high-current windings. Each strand is
individually insulated, and the strands are arranged so that at certain points in the winding, or
throughout the whole winding, each portion occupies different relative positions in the complete
conductor. The transposition equalizes the current flowing in each strand of the conductor, and
reduces eddy current losses in the winding itself. The stranded conductor is also more flexible
than a solid conductor of similar size, aiding manufacture.
  TYPES OF TRANSFORMERS

 Autotransformer: Transformer in which part of the winding is common to both primary and
secondary circuits, leading to increased efficiency, smaller size, and a higher degree of
voltage regulation.
 Capacitor voltage transformer: Transformer in which capacitor divider is used to reduce
high voltage before application to the primary winding.
 Distribution transformer, power transformer: International standards make a distinction
in terms of distribution transformers being used to distribute energy from transmission lines
and networks for local consumption and power transformers being used to transfer electric
energy between the generator and distribution primary circuits.
 Phase angle regulating transformer: A specialized transformer used to control the flow of
real power on three-phase electricity transmission networks.
 Scott-T transformer: Transformer used for phase transformation from three-phase to two-
phase and vice versa.
 Polyphaser transformer: Any transformer with more than one phase.
 Zigzag transformer: Special-purpose transformer with a zigzag or "interconnected star"
winding connection.
 Grounding transformer: Transformer used for grounding three-phase circuits to create a
neutral in a three wire system, using a wye-delta transformer, or more commonly, a zigzag
grounding winding.
 Leakage transformer: Transformer that has loosely coupled windings.
 Resonant transformer: Transformer that uses resonance to generate a high secondary
voltage.
 Audio transformer: Transformer used in audio equipment.
 Output transformer: Transformer used to match the output of a valve amplifier to its load.
 Instrument transformer: Potential or current transformer used to accurately and safely
represent voltage, current or phase position of high voltage or high power circuits.
 Pulse transformer: Specialized small-signal transformer used to transmit digital signaling
while providing electrical isolation, commonly used in Ethernet computer networks as
10BASE-T, 100BASE-T and 1000BASE-T.