Country electrician from A to Z: safety, quality and reliability - HouseChief - online edition for modern craftsmen

For some, the summer cottage season lasts only 3-4 months, while someone, due to a pandemic or a craving for changing places, already perceives the dacha as a second home. Both in the first and in the second case, it is worth thinking about how to update or completely replace the country electrics - from wiring to sockets and switches. Let's talk about how to solve this strategic problem with the maximum level of safety and comfort.

Electricity at the dacha is primarily distributed to household electrical appliances and lighting, including around the perimeter of the house, on the site and in outbuildings. To begin with, it is worth planning the organization of the wiring.

General requirements for sockets and switches

Country houses are often "empty" most of the time. In autumn, winter and spring, weather conditions affect the premises - humidity rises, which also affects the electrical equipment of the house. In such conditions, it is worth making a choice towards high-quality and reliable manufacturers of wiring products, whose products will serve for many years. In addition, you should pay attention to the ease of installation of such devices, especially if the installation is planned independently.

Advice! An electrician in the country is a capricious business and a responsible approach is needed to her. Don't skimp on items like sockets and switches. However, with the arrival of the series Inspiria Groups Legrand quality wiring products have become more affordable. Ease of installation, wide functionality and extended color palette will be a pleasant bonus.

Internal equipment

The requirements for the placement of electrical lighting devices and sockets in the house are not much different from those for an apartment. Is that security should be given a little more attention. This means:

• All circuits should be protected against short circuits and overloads by means of circuit breakers, and to eliminate risks fire and electric shock, use RCD (RCD) with a rated residual current of no more than 30 mA .;
• switches should be placed at a height of 0.6 to 1.5 meters above the floor;
• the distance from the corner and from the door handles to the switch is 0.5 and 1 meter, respectively;

Regulatory requirements must be considered when determining the number of outlets and their locations. In living rooms, at least one socket with a current of 10 (16) A must be installed for each complete and incomplete 3m of the perimeter of the room, in the corridors - at least one outlet for every complete and incomplete 10 m2 of area corridors. The kitchen should provide at least four outlets for a current of 10 (16) A. If preference is given to electric stoves, sockets should be connected directly to the power line.

One more point - note that country houses often have high humidity inside, especially if the house has poor ventilation. Choose sockets and switches based on the microclimate of your home.

Advice! It is worth thinking about switches and sockets with a high index IP. In series Legrand INSPIRIA has such. In addition, the products are made of special plastic that does not fade under the influence of UV rays - you can experiment with color schemes even in the "brightest" rooms.

Site electrification

Outdoor lighting is a much more vulnerable area of ​​electrical equipment in a country house. To illuminate paths, an entrance group, a gate to a site, an open terrace or a gazebo, you need waterproof lamps with a dust and moisture protection index of IP44 and above. And it is also worth considering where to control the on and off. It is better if the outdoor lighting is controlled from the house, and a switch is installed for each group of local lamps. An exception is the lighting of the gate and the entrance group: it is better to control them remotely, from a smartphone or remote control, but the option with placing a switch near the lamp is also suitable.

Do not forget about installing sockets outside the house with a degree of protection of at least IP44. They will be required to connect garden equipment: lawn mowers, trimmers and power tools.

Advice! Solar powered garden lights can be used to illuminate paths or the garden. So you will reduce both the cost of buying light bulbs, laying cables, and the load on the network.

Electrician from scratch: how to calculate the number of electrical appliances

Normally, any country house receives no more than 15 kW with three-phase input and 5 kW with single-phase input: this should be the starting point when planning the number of lighting and household electrical appliances.

Heaters and electrical appliances that heat water especially consume a lot - it doesn't matter if it's a kettle, a boiler or a flow water heater. The least amount of electricity is needed for lighting: a good LED lamp has a power of no more than 0.01 kW, and the backlight in the form of an LED strip is even less.

Exceeding the allowed power can lead to power outages, so it is better to calculate in advance, how many lamps do you need, how many electrical appliances you can use at the same time, and which ones are better refuse. For this:

• make a list of all electrical appliances;
• determine the power of each device (written on the packaging and the case of the device);

The safety and reliability of suburban electrical equipment is not only an accurate calculation of energy consumption, but also high-quality components: copper cable with a cross-section of at least 1.5 mm2 for lighting circuits and 2.5 mm2 for sockets 16 A. Compulsory protection of all circuits by means of RCD (RCD). Circuit breakers for socket circuits must have a rating of no more than 16 A and have an instantaneous release type "B". For lighting circuits, 10 A type "B" or 6 A type "C" circuit breakers are used.

The arrangement of a country house often differs from the level of preparation of "urban" housing. And although many refer to the repair of the summer cottage as something secondary, it is worth giving time and attention to an electrician in a summer home: this will ensure you, first of all, safety and reduce anxiety about possible incidents in bad weather or for a long time absence.