A guide to the installation of electrical wiring standards. European standards of electrical wiring, installation of sockets and switches. The modern standard of installation of sockets and switches

The rules for laying electrical wiring in the apartment are different from other rules for conducting electromechanical work, free interpretation is necessary, first of all, for the safety of the electrical wiring against accidental mechanical damage during the next repair, furniture installation, installation of technical devices. From the whole variety of ways of laying electrical wiring, the above rules are applicable for the installation of an in-apartment power network from copper wire, in a closed manner, using the TN-S and TN-C-S systems, which use three conductors in single-phase network  (phase L, zero N, PE ground) or five conductors in three-phase network  (three phases L1 - L3, zero N, PE grounding).

The basic rules of laying electrical wiring in the apartment

• The wires are laid parallel to or perpendicular to the floor. Vertical sections at a distance of 20 cm from the edge of the walls, door and window openings. Horizontal at 20 cm from the ceiling. The distance from the floor depends on the height of the sockets. Different sources give other figures, but in fact it does not matter, the distances can be any, the main thing is that uniformity in all rooms of the apartment is maintained except for the kitchen and bathroom, where the location of the wiring is based on other considerations.
• The track must be located no closer than 50 cm from the radiators and other metal pipes.
• Furniture for the kitchen is characterized by a large number of hanging cabinets, for fixing which will have to repeatedly drill the wall and it will be very good if the path of the drill is not hidden under the plaster of the conductor. Therefore, it is better to hold the horizontal part of the gasket in the kitchen at the bottom of the wall.

• The peculiarity of installation in a bathroom and a combined bathroom is the use of waterproof electrical sockets of protection class not less than IP44, which provide protection against splashes flying in all directions. Power outlets should be located no closer than 60 cm horizontally and 1 m vertically from the water source. The electrical outlets in the bathroom must be connected to a separate dedicated line. Wires in the bathroom should not have connections and branches, so the junction boxes are not needed there.

• The rules provide for even the number of electrical outlets. Russian, departmental building codes require the installation of at least one outlet for every 6 m² of living room, in the kitchen more than 8 m², 4 pieces, in corridors with an area of ​​10 m², at least one must be installed. German standards are closer to modern realities: 7 - 11 pcs. in the kitchen; 3 pcs. In bathroom; 3 - 11 pcs. in the living room.
• Electrical wiring hidden under ceilings: tension and plasterboard ceilings, interior gypsum plasterboard partitions, laid along the shortest path.
• There should not be too many consumers in one chain. Simply this means that you do not need to "plant" all the sockets on one wire, and the light bulbs on the other. About what principles can and should be guided when drawing up groups of electric consumers, read the article "".
• For powering high-power electrical equipment: electric stove, dishwasher, water heater, washing machine, a dedicated line must be used separately. Although household refrigerator and does not consume a lot of electricity. it is better to connect it to a separate circuit. Depending on how important it is to save files stored on your computer, you should consider connecting it to a separate dedicated line.

• All branching connections are made and hidden in the junction boxes.
• Electric switches are located 90 cm from the floor, so that they do not block the opening doors. As for all the other rules of the wiring rules, this is a non-categorical requirement, the distance can be any.
• In the places of output of the wiring from under the plaster to connect the luminaires it is more convenient to use plastic bushings, although it is quite necessary to do without them. Decorative pads, which are equipped with all kinds of fixtures, will cover the exit places.
• Theoretically, the wiring should be replaceable. For this, the wires are stretched in a metal or plastic pipe, corrugated laid and immured in a pre-cut slot. If necessary, the area of ​​the damaged electrical wiring is pulled out, and new wires are stretched instead of it, without destroying the plaster. In practice, only the wires are stacked and plastered, without any pipes. This frivolity, strange as it may seem, is explained by practical calculation. The period without problematic period of operation of the correctly chosen wiring is several tens of years and is comparable to the period of the between-repair period of the plaster coating.

• As already noted in the article "Power outlets for hidden wiring", It is better to avoid the use of paired, built-in sockets, and use single sockets united in one unit and having a common decorative frame.
• Simultaneously with the laying of electrical wiring, it is necessary to start laying other networks: television, information, telephone. This will allow you to design outlets of different networks in the same style.

No matter how confident you are in the trajectory of hidden electrical wiring in the apartment, it is better to use a detector (seeker) of hidden wiring. This simple to use device will help to avoid many troubles during repair and installation works.

How to connect electrical wires correctly

Perfect electrical circuit, one-piece ie for each consumer a separate line is laid. This approach is justified in wooden houses, where fire safety is at the forefront, excluding all potentially dangerous causes of ignition. For an urban apartment in an apartment building, this approach is too wasteful and unnecessary. Different connections electrical conductors  are quite possible and even mandatory in lighting circuits, sockets of one group.

Wiring Connections

A twist.  The most common and most incorrect point of view is the electrical engineering method. Despite the "irregularity" of a quality connection with the help of twisting will serve for more than a decade. "Correct" twisting is different in that it connects conductors from a homogeneous material. The length of each contacting conductor is 5 - 7 cm. Dense crimping is ensured using pliers.

• Soldering.  It is considered the most reliable way of connecting conductors, but with one essential caveat. It is necessary that the soldering was performed qualitatively, otherwise such a connection will turn into a difficult-to-identify, problematic section of the chain.

• Connecting insulating clamps (PPE).  The stability of the contact is provided by the spring in the insulating cap. In fact, the connection with the help of PPE, the modernized way of twisting.

• With a screw. Provides reliable connection of any wires from various materials (copper, aluminum) of the most problematic worn out networks. Unfortunately, the design of the connection together with the insulation is quite large, so this way of contacting the conductors is most suitable for repairing the internal power network. For all the features of repairing the old electrical wiring, read the article "".

• Pads of the "nut" type.  Specific way. The design of the device provides a sufficiently reliable contact of the conductors when connected to the backbone cable.

There are many other ways of connecting electrical wires: by welding, with the help of pressure pipes, piercing clamps, couplings, but their use in a city apartment is either inefficient or unreasonably expensive.

The electrical network is one of the most important components of any home. Without it, today it is difficult to imagine our life, whether in a country house, office or apartment. On the other hand, we are all so used to it that often when repairing an apartment we do not give due importance to works connected with wiring, which includes wires and shields, sockets and switches, lamps and electrical appliances. Electrical installation work in the apartment - the rules and advice for implementation of which are given in this article is the provision of electricity for the whole apartment, the installation of lighting systems of various types, emergency lighting systems, and, if necessary, the installation of warranty power systems.

The electrical wiring diagram in the apartment is necessary for installers as a guide and owners for calculations before purchasing a cable and wiring accessories

It should be convenient and safe to use, because electricity is an area where negligence is unacceptable. When repairing apartments, electrical work consists, as a rule, of 2 stages.

So it looks like an electric board: it houses a protective automatics for each of the established groups

The first stage is the markup

It is produced at the beginning of the repair, after the re-planning and dismantling work was carried out.

At this stage the following works are performed:

The second stage is directly installation

Works are made immediately after finishing the walls, floors, ceilings of the room. These include:

• installation of sockets;
• installation of lighting fixtures - chandeliers, spots, lamps;
• installation of power consumers.

Electrical installation work in the apartment

Electrical installation as a whole consists of:

• dismantling works;
• markup;
• mechanical works;
• cable laying;
• wiring harness;
• installation of electrical installation equipment (switches, sockets, lamps, etc .;
• connecting the cables into a single system;
• commissioning works.

Attention! All electrical work in the apartment must be carried out only by professionals!

How to dismantle

This kind of work includes the removal of old switches, sockets, and if necessary - and wires.

The first rule: to avoid defeat electric shock  When dismantling old equipment, as well as old wiring, switchboard  you must turn off the power.

Rules for marking

The marking is made according to the design documentation. On all surfaces (where it is needed), rooms are designated lines for laying cables and wires, places for installing switches, sockets, lamps. Currently, the sockets are set at 40 cm, and the switches are 80 cm from the floor. An exception are the sockets in the kitchen: here they put them 10 cm above the level of the countertop.

At this stage of work, the laying of other networks (water, sewerage, heating, air conditioning, television and computer networks, security system) is studied and taken into account.

Mechanical work - shtroblenie

This kind of electrical installation works  includes the process of drilling the walls (making a stunt) for concealed wiring and for inserting a supply cable into the room.

Shtroblenie do with a perforator, a grinder with a diamond disc or a cutterbar. This is dusty and noisy work, so you need to work in a respirator, glasses and headphones.

Most often for stoning of stone walls use a perforator

Rule two. Before shtrobleniem, it is mandatory to call the wall to search for hidden wiring, since crossing with the previously installed wiring may lead to a short circuit or even a fire.

After installing the wire in the rod, the hole is covered with plaster, small areas can be covered with alabaster

Under the wiring, you need to drill a hole exactly vertically at a distance of at least 10 centimeters from the corners of the intersection of walls, windows and doors, and horizontally - 15-20 centimeters from the skirting, 20 cm from the ceiling, 10 centimeters from the cornices and beams. This is done in such a way that afterwards, when performing with the walls of other finishing and decorating works, do not damage the wiring.

The third rule.  Deepening for switches and sockets is made by drilling holes with a circular cross-section of 80 mm in diameter.

You can not put the electrical wiring and the television cable into a common penalty - there will be great interference.

It is advisable to make a wiring diagram after the end of wiring.

Cabling, wiring

After marking, having determined the method of installation, they make the laying of cables either in the open form in special boxes or hidden behind plaster, suspended ceilings, building structures. Inside the premises is most often used concealed installation.

Convenient laying of wires in the baseboard with a cable channel makes it possible to easily find the place of damage and repair without problems

This method is more secure, but in the event of a breakdown, the installation site is not available, and as a result, a new wiring needs to be installed.

Advice! To purchase a cable of the required cross-section, it is necessary to calculate the total load of all electrical appliances in the apartment.

To avoid overloading, the power supply system is divided into several lines and to each of them certain consumers are connected, including sockets, switches, lamps and various electrical equipment. The sum of capacities on any line should not be more than 4 kW.

Wiring in junction box: to eliminate errors, the wires are equipped with a shell of different colors

For equipment with high energy intensity - electric stoves, washing machines, electric fireplaces, hydromassage bathtubs, electric heaters, separate lines are connected, each of them must be equipped with its automatic circuit breaker, which allows to protect electrical network  from overloads and short circuits.

Advice! When wiring power to the apartment must observe the principle of single color: zero working wire - blue, phase wire - red or brown, the ground wire - yellow-green color.

Installation of wiring equipment

When performing this type of work, it is necessary to observe certain rules that guarantee the safety of the home and people living in it.

Rule Four . When the wiring is open, the installation of switches and sockets is carried out on podrozetnikah thickness of 10 mm and a diameter of 70 mm, made of materials that do not conduct current - wood, plexiglass,

Rule Five. Boxes are installed in special depressions in the wall, fixing them then with plaster solution.

Rule Six. Switches are installed in the break of the phase wire (not zero), which goes to the cartridge lighting device. This will quickly disconnect the power grid in case of short circuits, and also provide a safe replacement of cartridges and lamps. Installation of switches should be carried out in such a way that switching on of illumination occurs by pressing on the top button or the top part of a key.

Rule seventh. The sockets must be connected in parallel with the main electrical wires.

Sockets are mounted parallel to the main channels

Rule eighth. Separating boxes, as well as sockets and electricity meters need to be installed in places easily accessible for maintenance and repair.

Connecting wires in a single system

When the junction boxes are disconnected, special terminals are used.

The wires entering the junction boxes must be marked.

This is necessary for the subsequent maintenance of electrical wiring.

Checking connections in the junction box

Commissioning works

include:

Regardless of where and how electrical work is done, they must be carried out exclusively by specialists, since they have many specific features. If you can paint the walls or, for example, paste wallpaper yourself, then such a complicated and responsible business as the installation of electrical wiring in the apartment is better to entrust to specialists with special knowledge.

Over time, the electrical wiring in the apartment wears out and needs to be completely changed in order to avoid undesirable consequences in the future. Also this article will be useful for those who are going to lay electrical wiring in a new building. It is necessary to do this according to the European standard. Before proceeding to its laying, it is necessary to accurately determine the locations of the counter and flap, sockets and switches, lamps and junction boxes.

How to install electrical wiring

First of all, it is necessary to mark the places of passage of the main cables, then the places of branches, turns and entrances to the walls. In this case, the cables must be located only vertically or horizontally, that is, the rotation angles must necessarily be 90 °. The horizontal wiring should be distant from the ceiling by 10-20 centimeters, and go parallel to it. This is necessary to reduce the risk of any damage.

Switches in the room must be installed in such a way that they do not touch the door trim. Best if the distance from electric cables  up to doors will be more than 10 centimeters. The same rule applies when you set the switch near the window. The level of installation of the sockets and switches will depend on the purpose of the room, the arrangement of electrical appliances and the interior of the room. The switches can be located up to 1 meter from the floor, and the sockets according to the European standard should be at an altitude of about 30 centimeters.

According to safety precautions, the sockets should not be placed near cooking stoves, water pipes and gas pipes, sinks and heating appliances. The smallest distance from them to the electrical wires should be 50 centimeters. It is not desirable to install switches and sockets in rooms with high humidity. If nevertheless it is necessary, they should have additional protection.

If the installation of the sockets in opposite rooms is opposite to each other, they are connected in parallel through the through hole in the wall. A shield with an electric meter is usually installed at the entrance to the dwelling at an altitude of about 1.5 meters from the floor. I want to note that when conducting wires it is worth making marks not only on the walls, but also drawing the corresponding scheme on paper. This will be useful in the future with possible repair or re-planning of electrical wiring, when the walls are painted or wallpaper will be on them.

The output of the wires, for example, to a luminaire, outlet or switch, must be carried out through special tubes with insulation. Separation or connection of electrical cables must be done only in junction boxes that can be made of plastic or any other material having insulating properties. Of the metal boxes can only be used if they are equipped with gaskets with insulation on the inside. To connect the lighting fixtures to the mains it is mandatory to use a flexible copper wire with a cross section of 0.75 mm2. In this case, the length of wires in rooms with high humidity should be minimal.

Hidden installation of cables can be performed in the holes of panels or slabs of reinforced concrete, under layers of plaster, in small gaps, which are subsequently sealed with alabaster mortar or in the gaps that form between the bricks. If there is a base of wood, the conduct of electrical wires is carried out under the plaster. In this case, the thickness of the plaster should be at least 5 millimeters.

Any repair necessarily involves electrical installation work that is carried out during preparatory work. Eurostandard - works carried out in strict accordance with certain norms can guarantee the electrical and fire safety of the premises. In accordance with safety requirements, you need to use electrical wiring with grounding.

Any repair necessarily involves electrical installation work, which is carried out during the preparatory work. - work carried out in strict accordance with certain norms, can guarantee the electrical and fire safety of the premises. In accordance with safety requirements, you need to use electrical wiring c.

It is advisable to replace all electrical wiring in the room to avoid copper and aluminum connections. It is best to use copper wire. It is necessary to install sockets, switches. In the case of layout features, use special channels for cable routing. It is forbidden to lay wires under skirting boards and through openings in windows.

Use for work of high-quality fittings that meet the requirements of GOST. In addition to the features of technology, it implies the professionalism of specialists and quality warranty service.

At the request of the client. Our company will install switches clearly in the places where it will be convenient for you. Not looking at any standards and not at the expense of security.

Installation of sockets.

Sockets can also be installed at different distances from the floor, but in this case, the most rational, since they are installed at a distance of 30 cm from the floor. This is much more convenient than the usual Soviet version, when they were installed at a distance of 90 cm from the floor, it allows you to comfortably use household appliances and hide the wires. But here one should also remember the appointment of a room in which sockets are installed, as, for example, in the kitchen sometimes wires are needed above the table where the technique is directly used. And a few words about the technical part of the installation of sockets, we all use sockets of the European standard, since those sockets that stood in the recent past do not allow us to use most of the home appliances. There is such a thing as adapters, but their use is far from safe, as it can lead to a fire. In sockets of the European standard, the diameter of the pins is 0.8 mm larger than in domestic ones. The distance between them is also different. The current strength in the Euro-grid is 10 A or 16 A, in domestic - 6.3 A or 10 A e. In this case, the European standard of installation of the outlets gives great opportunities in the use of household appliances.

Eurostandard installation of sockets and switches.

When it comes to repairs, everyone is faced with the question of how to install sockets and switches in their home. There is no single standard in this matter, since it depends only on the convenience and needs of each person.
  To get a better understanding of this issue, let's start with the switches.

There are three options for installing switches:

Soviet. It is that switches are installed at a distance of about 160 cm from the floor. For many people, this option was and remains the most suitable. First, people are used to the fact that the switch is at eye level, and secondly, this option is the most rational when in the area of ​​the switch there is low furniture that does not allow to install the switch below. Also, an important factor is the presence of children, kids are very fond of playing with light, and in this version it is impossible.

Eurostandard installation of switches. This option is more modern and for some more comfortable. With the European standard, the switches are installed at a distance of 90 cm from the floor. This allows, without raising your hands or just passing by to turn off and turn on the light.
  Installation of switches at the request of the client. Electricians of our company will install switches clearly in the places where it will be convenient for you. Not looking at any standards and not at the expense of security.

  Installation of sockets.

Sockets can also be installed at different distances from the floor, but in this case the European standard of installation of sockets is the most rational, since they are installed at a distance of 30 cm from the floor. This is much more convenient than the usual Soviet version, when they were installed at a distance of 90 cm from the floor, it allows you to comfortably use household appliances and hide the wires. But here one should also remember the appointment of a room in which sockets are installed, as, for example, in the kitchen sometimes wires are needed above the table where the technique is directly used.

And a few words about the technical part of the installation of sockets, we all use sockets of the European standard, since those sockets that stood in the recent past do not allow us to use most of the home appliances. There is such a thing as adapters, but their use is far from safe, as it can lead to a fire. In sockets of the European standard, the diameter of the pins is 0.8 mm larger than in domestic ones. The distance between them is also different. The current strength in the Euro-grid is 10 A or 16 A, in domestic - 6.3 A or 10 A e. In this case, the European standard of installation of the outlets gives great opportunities in the use of household appliances.

Obviously, the location of wiring devices in the rooms largely determines the level of their comfort. It is no less obvious that the optimal location and the number of outlets and switches in terms of the convenience of their operation involves taking into account when installing them functionality, interior features of rooms, the planned location of household electrical appliances.

Standard, almost meter-high location of outlets and switches - at a meter and a half (see photo), a sample of convenience in use, of course, you will not name. Therefore, it is understandable that the desire of the majority of homeowners to repair (replace) old wiring changes this location, maximizing the degree of convenience of their use.

  On the "European standard". However, this undoubtedly good initiative is often limited to the "requirements" of the so-called "European standard" that replaced the "Soviet standard", which assumes the installation of sockets at a height of 0.3 m, switches - at an altitude of 0.9 m. In different regions of our country, data the dimensions may vary slightly in both large and small side.

In fact, there are no "European standards" regarding the location of wiring devices. In the Rules of the Electrical Installation Device, the requirements of which are drawn up taking into account the IEC standards, there is a mention - the recommendation of installing plug sockets on the height suitable for connecting them to electric appliances (chapter 6.6.30).

Therefore, when designing the installation locations of outlets and switches, it is necessary to be guided, first of all, on the basis of the convenience of their operation, while observing, however, the existing limitations of normative documents related to the arrangement of wiring devices (PUE-7 Internal electrical equipment, Ch.7.1.48-7.1 .54).

The convenience of using wiring devices according to the above-mentioned "Soviet" standard is rather doubtful. As practice shows, the notorious "European standard" for most of us is more preferable.

Indeed, the unit of low-mounted and located in close proximity to household electrical appliances outlets is less "conspicuous" than a pair of sockets with "tees", to which the supplying power cords of all electrical appliances in this room are reduced.

And the convenience of using switches installed directly at the entrance to the room, at the level of the lowered hand of an adult person, i.e., at a distance of 0.8-0.9 m from the floor, is apparently not less. This arrangement will quickly find a switch at the entrance, without doing long searches in the dark.

Of course, we must admit that the sockets and switches installed by the "European standard" are seriously benefiting from the convenience of their use. However, take a height of 0.3 m to install the sockets and 0.9 m to install switches as the only true, definitely not worth it.

In rooms with a long extension, for lighting control, it may be worthwhile to install two switch-disconnectors in different locations in the room. Agree, it is not very convenient to make your way in the dark at the risk of hitting the exposed corner of the cabinet or stumbling.

  Do not install switches and socket Outlets, not protected by tripping currents to the "ground" devices (Difa automats, RCDs) directly in the premises of the bathrooms. All wiring devices, including sockets for washing machines, must be "taken out", for example in the hallway.

Sockets in the kitchenSpecial attention should be given to the places of installation of sockets in the kitchen - a room with a large number of household electrical appliances. Sockets near the table are located just above its surface - 5-10 cm above the countertop.

As a rule, a group of several outlets for a food processor, an electric kettle, a mixer, a microwave oven, etc., are located above the table. Practice shows that a pair of outlets installed "in reserve" will not be superfluous. In the demand for such a reserve, it is often necessary to ascertain if additional electrical appliances are needed.

The number of outlets and switches in the apartment should provide convenient operation of lighting and household electrical appliances. At designing it is necessary to consider a degree of comfort, being guided, certainly by common sense, observing thus all requirements of standard documents.

The modern standard of installation of sockets and switches

In the 20s of the last century, during the implementation of the electrification plan, an old standard for the installation of electro-communications, such as sockets and switches, was developed. The standard was developed taking into account the then existing specifics of conducting electrical work. The installation of electrical wiring was then carried out mainly in an external way, that is, the electrical wiring and wiring accessories, sockets, switches, wiring boxes were mounted, on a fuel base, wood or plaster covered with wallpaper. The wires of that time were mostly made in rubber or fabric insulation, which made them exceptionally fire-dangerous with current overloads and. The fire hazard of electrical wiring was further enhanced by the absence of modern electromagnetic circuit breakers (automata). Thus, at that time, the old scheme of wiring installation, sockets 1.2 meters from the floor surface, and switches at the level of human growth was necessary. In addition, the presence of electrical wiring in the house or was then prestigious, with all the consequences of this fact.

  Concealed wiring.

When switching to concealed wiring, which is absolutely fireproof if it is laid in concrete or brick, this transition occurred gradually, starting from the 50s of the last century, began to be performed according to the old configuration designed to meet the old requirements fire safety. Outlets and switches were then a bit and they did not spoil the design of the room.

Modern standards.

Modern standards adopted in most European countries suggest the installation of sockets in rooms at a height of 0.3 meters from the floor surface of the living room, and switches 0.9 meters. In the kitchen, the sockets are installed at a height of 110 centimeters above the floor of the room. This is determined by the standard of the height of the tables of kitchen furniture, usually 90 centimeters. Television and telephone sockets are installed at a height of 30 centimeters from the floor surface of the living quarters, their installation is usually carried out by combined units together with electrical outlets.