Electrician jargon explained
Website Editor
We’re talking about electrical jargon as we know how hard it can be to understand. If you’ve a general understanding of the terms, then it becomes easier to understand what’s going on with your electrical appliances and supply. We’re not expecting you to become electrical experts, and we certainly don’t advise carrying out repairs yourself, get in touch with our Edinburgh electricians to do that.
Electrician Jargon Explained
Amps – This is how we measure the flow of electrical currents. The more electricity there is then the stronger the current itself will be.
Volts – This is the pressure measure, yes it sounds fun, but it isn’t, it’s just how the current is measured against the flow. Volts help the electricity flow, and by measuring it you know how powerful it is.
Watts – if you multiply volts by amps - you get watts. It’s like an equation, and it’s the measurement of the power used by an electrical circuit. More power is required for a higher wattage in an appliance, so it’s about how much electricity is released.
RCD – this is a Residual Current Device and it’s what switches off the electricity automatically when there’s a fault. It’s important because it’s what will stop you getting an electric shock. It can and does save lives.
An RCD will monitor the flow of electricity and if it finds that it’s flowing down the wrong path and that a human could touch that when it’s live, then the RCD switches the circuit off. This helps to reduce the risk of serious injury and more seriously - death.
Fuse boxes – A fuse box is where the fuses or circuit breakers sit within a property. They are sometimes also called a consumer unit; your electricity will be distributed from here and controlled with the aid of an RCD. It’s important you know where yours is, so you can find it in an emergency. A fusebox will contain circuit boxes, RCDs, fuses and the main switch.
Main Switch – this important switch can turn off electricity in your home. Make sure you know where yours is.
Circuit Breakers – protection devices that work automatically and switch off a circuit when there’s a fault.
VC Electrical – electricians in Edinburgh
If you need an Edinburgh electrician, then please do get in touch. We’re here to help and if you need any electrical advice as well then call us and we’ll be more than happy to help. Our website has some helpful blogs too, where you may find a lot of the answers to any questions you may have regarding electrics, hazards and common day-to-day problems.