Electrical cables are seen everywhere you go – right from your homes, offices, and schools, to hotels, hospitals, shopping malls, and vehicles. Nothing in today’s world can be imagined without electricity and power, which has made electrical wires an unavoidable part of everyone’s life today. In fact, more and more complex machineries are coming up in every industry, with a single machine requiring hundreds of wires to be installed! To make the task of installation easier and to have an organized space, people use cable harnesses instead of the hundreds of wires. In fact, professional cable harness manufacturers in India like Miracle Electronics have made the task of getting customized cable harnesses easier to suit the particular requirements of users. However, apart from cables and harnesses, there are many other small yet important accessories that play a role to bring in electricity into the premises. Without these components, you couldn’t bring in safe electricity into your homes and offices. Let us look at some of the most important accessories.
Switch
We know that we can on and off an electrical supply with the help of a switch, which makes it one of the most common and important electrical accessory. But how does it work? An electric circuit is a pathway made up of numerous wires through which electrons can flow with the help of a power source. When the switch connected to such a circuit is switched off, a gap is created in the circuit that hinders electrons from flowing. Conversely, when the switch is turned on, the gap is closed, allowing electrons to move about and make the device work.
Main switch
This is the main on/off switch that controls the main supply that is responsible for the entire home’s power supply. In a single-phase circuit, Iron Clad Double Pole (ICDP) main switch is used; and in a three-phase circuit, Iron Clad Triple Pole (ICTP) main switch is used to control the power supply.
Sockets and plugs
Sockets allow plugging in of appliances to attach them to the electric grid and provide power for them to run. They allow electrically operated equipment to be connected to the primary alternating current power supply in a building. These sockets differ in voltage and current rating, and shape, size, and type of connectors. Sockets used in every country are set on the country’s individual national standards. To derive power from the socket into the appliance, plugs are used to be inserted into the socket, while being connected at the other end to the appliance.
Lamp holder
As the name itself indicates, a lamp holder is used to hold the lamp. It is a device designed to connect a lamp to an electric circuit supply terminals, and support it mechanically. Depending upon the requirements and how they need to be used, lamp holders are manufactured in different designs. These include batten, angle, pendant, swivel, and bracket lamp holder.
Fuse
Fuse in an electrical safety device that is designed to provide protection from excessive current in an electrical circuit. It contains a metal wire or strip that melts down when too much current flows through it, thus interrupting the flow of current. The fuse wire can be made of lead, tin, copper, silver, or aluminum.
Circuit breaker
A circuit breaker is an automatically operated electrical switch that can protect an electrical circuit from damage of over-current, by disconnecting the circuit supply. Its basic function is to interrupt the flow of current after a fault is detected or when the current drawn from the circuit increases to a pre-determined value. It has the same function of a fuse, with the difference that a fuse needs to be replaces, while a circuit breaker can be simply reset by lifting the operational knob to resume normal operation.
