Ring circuit
electrical wiring circuit developed in the United Kingdom
In electricity supply, a ring circuit is an electrical wiring topology in which power is distributed through a continuous cable ring. Each conductor of the ring is connected to the source of the supply at both of its ends. The topology contrasts with the typical radial circuit configuration, in which nodes and the distribution point at the protective device are connected in a line or a line with branches or legs off the main line.
Ring circuits are used in distribution for power and lighting. Rings at the final consumer current draw off point either for power or lighting are known as a ring final circuit. Ring final circuits are often termed by the historical name ring main in the United Kingdom.
Ring circuits are subject to typical cable protection relating for all types of circuit topologies, in which the cable is at a higher amperage loading than the protective device's (breaker) value.
In the United Kingdom there is an anomalous ring final circuit with the cable at a lower amperage loading than the protective device. It is under a waiver, 433.1.204 in British Standards 7671.
Ring final circuits in the United Kingdom splits ring circuits into two types:
The 433.1.204 ring final having the cable at a lower maximum amperage rating than the protective device;
Ring circuits having the cable at a higher maximum amperage rating than the protective device.
The public source identifies “Ring circuit” as electrical wiring circuit developed in the United Kingdom. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Ring, circuit and electrical.
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This entry incorporates text from “Ring circuit” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.