Design, layout of the apartment panel and its connection

For people who are far from electricians, a house or apartment shield is nothing more than a box with some kind of devices, a meter and wires. Not everyone understands what it is for. The switchboard is a complex and dangerous subject. In order to properly design and assemble it, it is necessary to possess not only a large amount of knowledge, but also rich experience.

Instead of joining

It’s worth highlighting several points that need to be done before starting the assembly of the apartment panel diagram:

1. Creating a wiring project.
2. Choosing a place for installation.
3. Choosing a scheme for assembling the shield.
4. A competent approach to choosing a case. It can be plastic or metal, mounted or recessed.
5. Selection of component parts.
6. Installation of equipment.
7. Proper connection of the shield to the power cables.

Please note that even the slightest mistake can lead to sad consequences, up to the failure of household appliances, as well as a fire at home.

Where to install the shield

First you need to decide where it is best to place the distribution panel. It is best to place it directly at the front door. If it will be installed in the hallway, then you do not need to pull the power cable from the landing. As for height, it is recommended that the shield be flush with the eyes of an adult. This will make it easier to take readings, as well as turn off the machines, if it suddenly needs to be done.

If you prefer to install everything under the ceiling, supposedly for safety, as you did before, then you should consider this point. Previously, electric meters with fuses were installed directly on the wall, they were not protected by a box. That is why it was necessary for safety reasons to place them under the ceiling, away from children.

Modern designs of electrical panels have a very durable case and are locked, so children, even if they wish, will not be able to get into it. Unless, of course, you will not leave the keys in a conspicuous place. Be sure to consider how and where the cable from the supply line will be taken into account when choosing the installation location.

Buy or do it yourself?

Today it’s not at all necessary to make shields on your own, you can buy ready-made ones, with all the filling. On sale there are a large number of shields of standard designs. If they do not suit you, then you can order the manufacture of a box that will fully satisfy your requirements. But it is necessary to clarify one point.

Specify, the electrician whom you hired to work, if you had business with ready-made electrical panels before. If this is his first job, then it is recommended to purchase the box and all its filling separately. In this case, the chance of damage to the elements is much lower.

The main components of electrical panels

In the design of a single-line diagram of the apartment panel, the following devices can be distinguished:

1. The main circuit breaker, which allows you to protect the entire wiring circuit in the apartment, is placed at the very beginning. The wires from the input cable are connected to it. Quite often, for convenience, special knife switches are installed. With their help, you can turn off the entire house in order to replace certain components. The power cable is first wound on the switch, and from it to the circuit breakers.
2. The electric meter is mounted after the input machine, it allows you to control the consumption of electric energy in the apartment and house. Quite often, they install the meter separately, for example, on the site.
3. Device for protective shutdown. It allows you to protect against electric shock, as well as prevent a fire. You can install as one device, immediately after the meter, or several. Usually, several pieces are put in case the lines have a large electricity consumption. For example, they can be mounted for a washing machine, air conditioners, electric stoves.
4. Linear circuit breakers. They allow protecting individual lines in various rooms, as well as lighting and power supply circuits for household appliances. They are able to break the circuit if an overcurrent or short circuit occurs. They are also used in the scheme of a three-phase apartment panel, but there is one difference - the number of terminals for connection is greater.
5. Special machines can be installed instead of RCDs and linear ones. They perform, in fact, the functions of these two devices.
6. A rake is necessary in order to install the equipment. It is fixed on the back wall of the electric panel. Depending on what dimensions the cabinet has, a different number of rails can be installed. Accordingly, this affects the number of modules mounted in the panel. If you do not want to make a mistake with the purchase of the case, then make a wiring diagram in advance.
7. Tires for connection. They are necessary in order to connect and connect working zeros and ground wires. The terminal board uses terminal blocks for zero, as well as for grounding. Distribution buses are installed in order to connect linear automatic machines, diflavomaty, protective shutdown devices.

Wiring diagram without grounding

The first thing to do is make a detailed diagram. The article shows the connection diagrams of the apartment panel for 380 V and 220 V. If there is no grounding in the wiring, then the connection will be slightly different. For one-room apartments, you can use the simplest option for making a shield. In its design there will be such elements:

• Housing and din rails.
• Electric meter.
• Bipolar machine, rated at 32 A.
• Residual Current Device
• 16 A single-pole circuit breakers for sockets, lighting and a washing machine.
• Zero PEN bus required to separately connect protection and zero.

In order to ensure that this wiring can be safely operated in the future, the working neutral and protective conductors in the bus cable must be separated, even if there is no ground loop.

In order to protect against voltage surges in the event of zero burn-off, it is necessary to add special voltage monitoring relays. It will be triggered if insulation breaks through and the neutral and phase wires come into contact. In this case, the relay will break the circuit and protect household appliances from damage. If the apartment has more than one room, this scheme can be expanded to the required number of circuit breakers.

In the event that large household appliances, for example, a washing machine or a dishwasher, are plugged in, it is recommended to install additional two-pole protective disconnect devices. You will ensure a high degree of security even without an earth wire.

In the presence of grounding

In the event that you live in a new house or at the entrance changed the input cable and mounted the ground loop, the circuit will be slightly different. As an example, again, let's take a one-room apartment in which an electric stove is installed.

To make a shield, you will need the following elements:

• Plastic case with two din rails.
• Two-pole circuit breaker rated for 40 A.
• Single phase electric meter.
• Residual Current Device The connection diagram of the apartment panel with an RCD is the same as without it.
• Bipolar package switches on 16 A, for an electric stove requires a device on 25 A.
• Grounding and zero bus.
• To connect the circuit breakers, you need a comb bus.

If the apartment has a large number of rooms and cable lines, all powerful equipment will need to install additional protective shutdown devices. It is advisable to use bipolar.

How to assemble the shield in the apartment - instructions

Now directly about the assembly procedure of the shield. All work can be divided into two stages - preparatory and main.

The preparatory stage includes such manipulations:

1. Checking the completeness of the shield elements.
2. Installing the housing in a pre-selected location.
3. Preparing wiring cables for connection. Remove the top insulation, check the color marking and all signs.

Main stage

The main stage includes:

1. Install the circuit breaker first (if provided).
2. Mount the opening circuit breaker.
3. Set the zero bar and connect working wires to it. But only in addition to the lines that will be connected through the RCD.
4. Mount an electric meter, if you plan to put it inside the apartment.
5. Install a common RCD.
6. Mount and connect linear automata through a phase wire. First mount them on the rail, then connect them with a comb comb or jumper. The connection is made through the upper terminals, the lower ones are necessary for connecting the load wires.
7. Install and connect linear RCDs to all groups in rooms with high humidity. Strictly follow the layout of the housing shield.
8. Install a protective earth bar and connect to it all PE wires coming from the load cables.
9. After mounting and connecting all the elements with each other, with N and PE buses, load wires, you can enter the power cable from the shield in the entrance.
10. Phase and zero conductors must be connected to the circuit breaker, if one is provided. Or to the machine at the input. The PE conductor must be connected directly to the protection bus strictly according to the layout of the apartment shield.
11. After connecting the power cable, the contacts of the input machine and the terminal blocks of the meter should be immediately sealed. This must be done by the inspector of the power supply organization.

Before turning on the switch to supply voltage, it is necessary to check all the equipment, the fasteners of the cables, contacts, if necessary, stretch everything. The chains are dialed and insulation resistance is measured. If everything is in order, you can apply test voltage to the switchboard and turn on the test load to check the operation of all elements of the input-distribution device circuit of the apartment panel.