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Regent Hill International Secondary School

P.O. Box 80513 Gaborone | Plot 26125, Block 9, Gaborone
Tel: 391 9727 | Fax: 391 9729 | Cell: 77912449
email: [email protected]
web: www.rhis.ac.bw

IGCSE PHYSICS NOTES

ELECTRICAL SAFETY.

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ELECTRICAL SAFETY
Electrical Hazards
Mains electricity is potentially lethal – potential differences as small as 50 volts can pose a
serious hazard to individuals.

The risk of electrocution is indicated by hazard signs but other risks which would not be
signposted are listed below.
Common hazards include:
Damaged Insulation – If someone touches an exposed piece of wire, they could be subjected to
a lethal shock.
Overheating of cables – Passing too much current through too small a wire (or leaving a long
length of wire tightly coiled) can lead to the wire overheating. This could cause a fire or melt
the insulations, exposing live wires.

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Damp conditions – If moisture comes into contact with live wires, the moisture could
conduct electricity either causing a short circuit within a device (which could cause a fire) or
posing an electrocution risk.
Excess current from overloading of plugs, extension leads, single and multiple sockets
when using a mains supply - If plugs or sockets become overloaded due to plugging in too
many components the heat created can cause fires.

MAINS CIRCUITS
Mains Electricity
Mains electricity is the electricity generated by power stations and transported around the
country through the National Grid. Everyone connects to the mains when plugging in an
appliance such as a phone charger or kettle. Mains electricity is an alternating current (a.c.)
supply. In the UK, the domestic electricity supply has a frequency of 50 Hz and a potential
difference of about 230 V.

A frequency of 50 Hz means the direction of the current changes back and forth 50 times every
second. Mains electricity, being an alternating current, does not have positive and negative sides

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to the power source. The equivalent to positive and negative is called live and neutral and these
form either end of the electrical circuit.

Three-pin Plug & Earth Connection

The plug socket and inside of a three-pin plug showing the three wires and their
connections. The live and neutral wires deliver the electricity to the device. The Earth wire
is for safety.
In order to protect the user or the device, there are several safety features built into domestic
appliances, including:
 Double insulation
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 Earthing
 Fuses
 Circuit breakers.

Insulation & Double Insulation

The conducting part of a wire is usually made of copper or some other metal. If this comes into
contact with a person, this poses a risk of electrocution. For this reason, wires are covered with
an insulating material, such as rubber.

The conducting part of a wire is covered in an insulating material for safety

Some appliances do not have metal cases and so there is no risk of them becoming electrified

Such appliances are said to be double insulated, as they have two layers of insulation:

Insulation around the wires themselves

A non-metallic case that acts as a second layer of insulation

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Double insulated appliances do not require an earth wire or have been designed so that the earth

wire cannot touch the metal casing

Earthing

Many electrical appliances have metal cases

This poses a potential safety hazard:

If a live wire (inside the appliance) came into contact with the case, the case would become

electrified and anyone who touched it would risk being electrocuted. The earth wire is an
additional safety wire that can reduce this risk

If this happens:

The earth wire provides a low resistance path to the earth. It causes a surge of current in the earth
wire and hence also in the live wire. The high current through the fuse causes it to melt and break

This cuts off the supply of electricity to the appliance, making it safe.

Fuses & Trip Switches

A fuse is a safety device designed to cut off the flow of electricity to an appliance if the current
becomes too large (due to a fault or a surge).

The circuit symbol for a fuse - take care not to confuse this with a resistor.

Fuses usually consist of a glass cylinder which contains a thin metal wire.

If the current in the wire becomes too large:

The wire heats up and melts. This causes the wire to break, breaking the circuit and stopping the
current. A trip switch, found in the Consumer Box (where the electricity enters the building)
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does the same job as a fuse. When the current is too high the switch 'trips' (automatically flicks to
the off position). This stops current flowing in that circuit.

Choosing Which Fuse to Use

Fuses come in a variety of sizes (typically 3A, 5A and 13A) - in order to select the right fuse for
the job, you need to know how much current an appliance needs. If you know the power of the
appliance (along with mains voltage), the current can be calculated.

using the equation:

The fuse should always have a current rating that is higher than the current needed by the

appliance, without being too high - always choose the next size up.

Example:

Suppose an appliance uses 3.1amps. A 3amp use would be too small - the fuse would blow as
soon as the appliance was switched on. A 13amp fuse would be too large - it would allow an
extra 10 amps to pass through the appliance before it finally blew. A 5 amp fuse would be an
appropriate choice, as it is the next size up.

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