Electrical Terms
A bit of ‘electrician speak’. A few definitions you may or may not know.
Consumer unit – Often referred to using the slightly outdated term of 'fuse-box', a consumer unit is essentially the main control centre for a home's electrical supply. ... To break it down simply, the consumer unit is found at the point where the electrical supply enters your property from the electricity meter.
Miniature Circuit Breaker MCB — An automatic device for stopping the flow of current in an electric circuit. To restore service, the circuit breaker must be reset (closed) after correcting the cause of the overload or failure.
Conductor — Any material where electric current can flow freely. Conductive materials, such as metals, have a relatively low resistance. Copper wires are the most common conductors.
Fuse — A circuit interrupting device consisting of a strip of wire that melts and breaks an electric circuit if the current exceeds a safe level. To restore service, the fuse must be replaced using a similar fuse with the same size and rating after correcting the cause of failure.
Load — Anything which consumes electrical energy, such as lights, transformers, heaters and electric motors.
