• varyingExpertise@feddit.orgEnglish
    4·
    2 days ago

    Whenever I look at US domestic electric installations, it all looks so… temporary. Seems like there are no standards regarding cable colors, cable configuration, central distribution of N and PE, segregation of the panels contens, suddenly there’s a length of uninsulated copper in the middle of it all and a yellow isolation - I mean, you guys don’t die more often than we do, so I guess it works all out and is probably a lot cheaper.

    I have no good counterexamples, but I snapped a few pictures when I redid the main distribution in the basement

    …and that’s what the sub-panels per floor look like:

      • varyingExpertise@feddit.orgEnglish
        3·
        2 days ago

        Yep, neutral is blue, ground is green/yellow striped. The latter everywhere, e.g. in a server cabinet you’ll mostly find the strap between body and door in yellow/green.

        Phases, L1 to 3 are brown, black, grey. Or you may use numbered cables for rail interconnects if necessary. You can see me getting a bit sloppy with all brown 16mm² for L1 to 3 leaving the meter slots, but they are numbered then.

        Every outlet gets ground, neutral and one phase, so usually I’d enter a room with 5x1.5 NYM and then connect the phases alternatingly to the outlets while forming a chain throughout the room, so phases get loaded equally in daily use.

          • varyingExpertise@feddit.orgEnglish
            1·
            2 days ago

            So only defined isolation distances between phase and ground exist which would not be the case when an unisolated ground wire could just slip into phase distribution rail or into a phase connection.

            EDIT: Also, the distribution panel even with the front off is defined as touch safe for something the diameter of a finger. An uninsulated ground wire that suffers an error would break that definition.

            • DominusOfMegadeus@sh.itjust.worksOP
              1·
              2 days ago

              Fair, and that makes sense. But it’s the US, so…we suck 🤷‍♂️.

              (I just imitated what the electrician did when he installed the load center.)

              • varyingExpertise@feddit.orgEnglish
                1·
                1 day ago

                so…we suck 🤷‍♂️.

                Wouldn’t say that, you just put the weight between “git er done” and safety/predictability somewhere else. Has downsides, has upsides.

    • fubarx@lemmy.world
      1·
      2 days ago

      Cries in cable colors.

      The last light switch I replaced, all the wires behind it were black. Except the two, vaguely splattered in white paint. All going to a Stab-Lok (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stab-Lok) panel that is a known fire hazard.

      At least the houses are framed in wood, laid over with plywood, and covered in wood shingles. Ah, those carefree times.

  • litchralee@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    3·
    3 days ago

    TIL Leviton makes breaker panels. I always thought they just made switches, outlets, and home automation stuff.