Electricity in the home

Electricity is such an integral part of everyday life now, that we often don’t give it much thought –  however, you wouldn’t be reading this without electricity!

Here is some information about basic electrical concepts that apply to most households. 

The wires in a plug

The three pins on a standard UK plug each have a different purpose. If you were to remove the back of a plug, the neutral wire, which is blue, would be on the left. The earth / ground wire would be green and yellow and positioned on the top pin, and the live wire, which is brown, would be on the right, attached to the pin, via a fuse. 

The plug’s case will often have the terminals labelled with E, L and N (earth, live and neutral) or with the colours of the corresponding wires. 

Although in AC circuits the electrons travel backwards and forwards, there is only one hot wire because the blue wire is grounded (neutralised) on entry to a property, before it reaches any outlets. 

The points of a socket correspond with the wires in a plug. The three terminal, earthed and fused UK standard plug should comply with BS 1363; a British standard. 

Mains electricity levels

There is a standardisation of electricity levels in the UK, which means that the household voltage is around 230v and has a frequency of 50Hz. 

What is household electricity used for?

In a typical UK household, the biggest electricity output is for entertainment purposes – that’s TVs, computers, sound systems, gaming consoles, etc. The next three biggest uses are heating, lighting and refrigeration. 

Short circuits

A short circuit occurs when more than the intended current is flowing between two points in a circuit, where there is little to no resistance (where there isn’t supposed to be a pathway). This can cause damage and overheating to occur. 

A short circuit can be caused by wires becoming loose and contacting with another, or if the resistance in a wire is too low. This can happen to any household device. 

The opposite of a short circuit is an open circuit, where no electricity flows.