Becoming An Electrician
Is It For You? Electrician is a broad term that covers a diverse range of jobs. The particular work undertaken by an electrician will depend upon his or her own specialist training and experience, although it will involve the installation, maintenance and/or testing of electrical systems, equipment or appliances.
Electricians operate in areas including: telecommunications, health and safety, domestic and industrial electrical installation and maintenance, IT, security, fire and safety systems, portable appliance testing, process control and building management systems.
Many Electricians are self-employed or work as contractors, while others are employed by building firms, local authorities, engineering companies, electrical manufacturers and power suppliers. They can work both indoors and outdoors, in residential areas as well as building sites and commercial buildings. Hours of work vary widely, although they are usually around 37-40 hours per week with the possibility of overtime and weekend work. Some electricians are involved in shift work.
Salaries are dependent upon experience and specialisms. The Industry Training Board recommends a rate of around
All About ELECTRICITY – RJB-SERVICES Electrician Nottingham
There are few aspects of modern life that do not depend, to some extent, on electricity. Available at the flick of a switch, it is a commodity we use every day for heating, lighting, and to power all those many appliances that make our lives easier and more enjoyable. It only takes a power cut or blown fuse to bring home just how reliant we are upon it.
In the 21st century, electricity has become such a basic part of our lives that most of us give little thought to how it works. This lack of knowledge is all the more surprising when we consider that, for all its usefulness, electricity can be lethal.
Because of this, electrical installations are subject to strict regulations and safety standards, and those working in the trade are required to demonstrate high levels of competence in order to qualify as electricians and register under government approved schemes.
At the start of 2005, legislation came into force making it illegal for people to carry out major electrical jobs around the house if they do not possess the appropriate qualifications. Figures show that 10 people die and 750 more are seriously injured each year in the UK as a result of DIY electrical work.
Electricity is a great servant to the modern world, but it can also be a killer. Treat it with respect at all times!
Under the new rules, amateur electricians are still allowed to undertake some minor electrical jobs in the home, although, in the interests of safety, it is always advisable to check first with a qualified electrician.
Certainly, before attempting to work on any electrical appliance or installation, it is very important that you possess at least a basic knowledge of the principles of electricity. The consequences could be very serious if you do not!
This section of the website will introduce you to some of the fundamental concepts and terminology involved, and help you to gain an understanding of how electricity works.
Electrical Safety for Nottingham Households
It is easy to forget that electricity can cause a fire as easily as any gas appliance. With an increasing number of electrical goods appearing in our homes, it is important to remember to use these appliances with care and safety, and to check them regularly for any potential dangers.
Around 35 electrical fires occur in UK homes every day. Prevent damage to your home and harm to your family by being aware of how you use and maintain your electrical goods.
In the event of an electrical fire, if the room is full of smoke get out immediately. If the fire is just small, you may be able to control it.
Pull out the plug or switch it off at the fuse box. If this doesn
Lighting from RJB-SERVICES.CO.UK Electrician Nottingham
In modern UK properties, the lighting circuits are distinct from the ring main circuit. Houses should generally have two lighting circuits that are protected by either a 5A fuse or 6A trip located in the consumer unit.
The lighting circuit differs from the ring main in that it does not create a returning loop to the consumer unit. Instead, the consumer unit connects to the first light, which connects to the second light, and it continues.
For domestic lighting, the cable is earth rated for up to 12A, and contains live, neutral, and earth wires inside its PVC sheath. The cable leads from the consumer unit to the lighting locations on ceilings or walls. The power for the lights is either connected at the switch, or directly on the light itself.
If the light switch is wall mounted, the box can either be affixed sunk into the wall, or as a surface-mounted fixture. If you wish to minimise the number of wall switches in a single room a multi-switch unit can be installed, allowing more than one light to be operated from one point.
To install the lights themselves, the wiring will either to a ceiling rose or a junction box. If it is a ceiling fixture, all the connections at the ceiling rose point. This does eliminate the need for one junction box per light/lamp, but it is a trickier task for a home installer to undertake.
With older lighting installations, the cable is passed through the junction box particular to that light. The junction box itself will be located under floorboards or between joists in the ceiling close to the switch. Like fluorescent lights, lighting systems that do not use a ceiling rose must have junction box connections.
Here are some of the different lighting types that you may consider for domestic or commercial installation:
Fluorescent
House Wiring
In UK homes, the standard wall sockets are usually connected to a ring circuit or ring main. The ring main in a domestic home supplies sockets and fixed appliances.
The ring circuit itself is created as the cable from the consumer unit leads to the first socket, and then onto the next, and continues until the cable again reaches the consumer unit. This means that the ring main consists of every socket having two cable routes leading back to the supply.
In older properties the cables for the ring main are sometimes fed through the wall cavity, whereby the cables enter through the back of the wall mounted socket. This is no longer a fixture in new homes, as cables within the cavity can become wet and cause moisture to enter the socket.
If old houses are rewired, new cables should be run through ducting in the inner wall or under floorboards.
Each ring main has a 32 amp fuse or trip installed in the consumer unit to protect it. In modern installations, a Residual Current Device (RCD) trips the entire system if it detects a fault.
Electrical appliances like cookers and showers use a lot of power, and as such should not be connected to a ring main unless they use less than the 30 amp current rating of the ring circuit. If they are connected to the ring main, it will cause trips in the consumer unit and will reduce the number of other appliances that can be used at the same time. These should be connected to the consumer unit using a specified fuse or trip and cable run.
There should ideally be two ring circuits in all properties; one for each floor in houses. A separate ring for kitchen can also be beneficial, due to the amount of electrical appliances present. This also means that the freezer will not defrost if there is an issue elsewhere in the house.
Sockets
Conventional electric sockets must not be installed in bathrooms, and similarly light switches cannot be near the wet area of bathrooms. They must be positioned some distance away, outside the room or set in the ceiling and switched on by a pull cord.
Shaver sockets are designed for safe use in the wet area of bathrooms, and are compliant with BS 4573 safety regulations.
Telephones
Standard UK telephone lines have two copper wires that are twisted loosely together, and connect from the local telephone exchange to the house
Burgler Alarms – Fitted by RJB SERVICES Nottingham
Burglar alarms are now a standard part of the equipment for businesses, and are installed by electricians in shops, offices, industrial estates as well as homes.
Security alarm systems range from simple self-install kits to top of the range networks that require professional installation, but they all stem from the same basic design.
Every burglar alarm comprises three main components:
- A Control Panel (CP)
- One or more Detectors
- One or more methods of signalling that an alarm has occurred
The simplest design has a basic electric circuit built into an entry way. To turn the electricity on or off, part of the circuit is either opened or closed.
When opening or closing a light circuit, you hit the switch. In an alarm, the switch is present to detect intrusion by a door or window opening. Burglar alarms fall into two categories: