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Mains Electricity

Ah, look here, one of the circuit breaker switches has turned the electricity supply off. This sometimes happens if there is an electrical fault or if there is a power surge. This is my circuit breaker box; some houses have a fuse box instead. The circuit breaker protects my house by switching the electricity supply off if there is a fault. Every electrical appliance that connects to mains electricity has a fuse, usually in the plug. The fuse protects both the appliance and us by stopping the appliance working if there is a power surge.

The box next to the circuit breaker is my electricity meter. It measures how much electricity I use every day. The electricity comes into the house through the wires underneath the meter. It then passes through the meter and into the circuit breaker. The electricity flows through wires that come out of the circuit breaker and all around the house, to the lights and the plugs.

The wire has to go all the way round the house and back to the electricity supply in a big circle (called a ring main), or it won’t work.

Now, let me see, I think I have a diagram of this in my book of wisdom. Ah, here we are:

1. The 230v mains electricity enters the house
2. It then passes through the meter and fuse box
3. The wall sockets are connected along the ring main
4. The ceiling lights have their own circuit which runs between the ceiling light fittings

Mains electricity (the electricity that comes through the plugs in your house) is much more dangerous than the electricity produced by torch batteries because it is more powerful. Voltage is the force, which pushes electricity through a wire. The bigger the voltage the more dangerous the electricity is. Mains electricity is 230 Volts. The batteries used to power a torch are 1.5 Volts.

The electricity in our homes is very powerful and can be dangerous but this torch has given me a good idea about a safe way to show you how the lights work.

Next page: The lights are back on

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