Ring Main

• Fuses prevent electrical overloads.
• The live wire is BROWN. It carries current at a high voltage to houses and their appliances.
• The neutral wire is BLUE. It completes the circuits.
• The earth wire is GREEN and YELLOW. It carries current safely to the ground if there's a fault in an appliance with metal casing.
• Circuit breakers turn off a circuit if there's a fault.
• Ring Main advantages:

  • Parallel circuit so sockets can be placed anywhere & operated independently.
  • Each socket on the ring receives the same voltage.
  • Less current flowing in each part of the cable -> thinner wires.
• How FUSES prevent surges:

  1. The earth wire is connected to the metal casing of an appliance.
  2. Fuses are connected to the live wire.
  3. Breaking the fuse breaks the circuit and cuts off the live supply.
  4. This isolates the appliance making it impossible to get an electric shock.