How many sockets can i have on a radial circuit

Socket Radials: Can be used where only a few sockets may be required, such as a conservatory or garage. It is wired using 2. Voltimum plus. Login or Login with Google Login with Facebook. Voltimum technical content is free for all our users. This will allow you to: Read all technical articles and content Take advantage of giveaways and prizes Make comments and influence our community Register for our newsletters so you never miss an update LOG IN Or. It's OK to install sockets on a radial circuit using 2.

If you were to use Appendix 15 of BS , the options given are: 20A overcurrent protection device any type - All live conductors can be wired in 2. Experts from leading organisations provide online answers to your technical questions on a broad range of subjects. If you want to leave your comment, please register or log in. Please Login or Register. Training Webinars Training Courses.

Schneider Electric. Voltimum plus. Using sockets as the example, as each socket in the chain is powered by the one before, in most cases, all you have to do is find the point in the chain where the sockets stop working and the fault should reside with the unit just before that.

If none of the sockets are working, any faults should are then likely to reside with the consumer unit or power source. In principle, you can add as many sockets to a radial circuit as you like, but in reality there are some caveats to this.

If you adhere to the principles above e. However, if you are only wanting to run a TV, charge some phones, power a router and a few other items then chances are you will have no issues. One other point to consider is if you are creating a new sub-circuit from an existing radial circuit, even though this will also be a linear circuit it is technically not a radial circuit, but a spur.

In essence, a spur is similar in concept to a radial which can cause some confusion between the two if you are new to the world of electrics as they can be wired up in the same way more about spurs can be found in our project here but they are essentially quite different. With this in mind, a spur should only feature one additional new socket or appliance, unless it is preceded by a fused unit, in which case it can again feature as many sockets etc as you like providing the draw on the circuit does not exceed that of the fuse in the fused unit.

Also the secondary fuse should never be more than the orignal rating of the MCB. If you have ever done any basic electrics, you will be aware of the various different types of wires. If not, then there are quite a few, these include twin and earth flat cable or flex or flexible cable which are the most common and all come in various sizes which should be selected approprately for their intended purpose. More information on the different types and sizes of cable can be found in our cable sizes project here.

As in this instance we are talking about sockets, the most appropriate cable to use is 2. Although in almost all situations, certainly domestically, 2. For a radial socket circuit, the size of MCB used should be no more than 16 amps. This will ensure that if the circuit is overloaded, the breaker will trip before the wiring itself gets so hot that it melts and possibly catches fire. Using a 16 amp MCB and 2. For any more heavy duty appliances, such as a cooker, a more substantial cable is required.

One final point to mention when it comes to wiring is the colours of the internal cores. Before March and the introduction of amendment 2 to British Standards BS , standard wire colours were red for live, black for neutral and green and yellow for earth or bare copper with a green and yellow sleeve. With the above in mind, be aware that wires of different colours may be present so take note of these colours and what they represent.

For more information on this, please also see our project on the New Wiring and Cable Colours. To prevent injury and the possibility of fire due to overheating, the correct size of MCB should be used so that it trips the second a fault is present on the circuit or the overall draw of power across the circuit is greater than it is built to allow and in turn, too great for the size of cable or wire used. In the sections above, we used the example of plugging in 10 tumble driers on a radial circuit formed from 2.