A garage is a room in which powerful electrical equipment and light sources are often connected. In order for all these devices to work, you need wiring in the garage, made by hand or with the assistance of specialists. Installation is quite simple, you just need to follow the connection instructions and observe safety precautions.
How to officially connect the electricity to the garage
You can independently install a 220 volt network in the garage, which is private property. In this case, it is important to select in advance a meter with a current reserve of 50 A.
Wiring diagram
Before doing the installation work, a wiring diagram is being developed. It consists of a concept and a layout. The first describes how to expand the network itself, and the second describes how to separate the sockets and switches, where to hang the distribution board. The electrical wiring diagram in the garage should also take into account the location of the wires.
The scheme of a garage without a viewing hole contains the following elements: automatic machines, RCDs, counters, socket groups, switches, lamps. Installation is carried out using a three-core wire with phase, neutral and ground.
If there is an inspection pit in the garage, the layout changes. The pit is considered a basement and special rules of the PUE apply to it. The voltage must be reduced to 42 V. This results in a step-down transformer in the circuit. Before installing luminaires and other appliances, make sure that they are rated for this voltage. The circuit will also include automatic machines, a meter, an RCD, sockets and lamps with switches. An example of a cable for connecting lamps is VVG 3 × 1.5, for sockets - VVG 3 × 6.
Necessary equipment
To work, you need the following tools:
- a knife or special tool for stripping the insulation;
- cable of the required section;
- nippers;
- flat, Phillips screwdriver;
- multimeter;
- grinder for chipping walls;
- probe.
Particular attention should be paid to the choice of cable. What cross-section is needed for connection depends on the connected load. You can determine the diameter using special tables. When calculating the total power of devices that will be connected to the power point, add a margin of 20%.
It is recommended to do the wiring with "ground", even if the mains does not provide grounding. When choosing a wire, you need to check the quality of the insulation and its integrity. The insulation must be strong, but at the same time the wire must be elastic, bend easily and not break. In the choice of wire material, preference should be given to copper. It is more reliable than aluminum, has more advantages and a longer service life.
The procedure for conducting electricity in the garage
The work is carried out in several stages - preparation, cable pulling, do-it-yourself wiring in the garage, connecting light and sockets.
It is important to turn off the power before starting work. Work under voltage is prohibited!
The preparatory stage begins with the creation of a detailed drawing and calculation of the cable cross-section. A wall wiring diagram should be created. It should be borne in mind that cables must be laid strictly horizontally or vertically. The wiring itself must lie at a distance of at least 10-15 cm from the junction of the walls with the floor or ceiling. Also, the cable must be located at a distance of at least 15 cm from heating systems. The wiring diagram must be drawn with a pencil on the wall.
Further, external wiring is carried out. To do this, you need to obtain a legal document on the possibility of electrifying the garage from local authorities. Before you make external wiring in the garage, you need to choose a laying method. You can lay cables underground and in the air. The overhead line is drawn with a cable suspended from a steel wire with a diameter of 3 mm. The wires should not touch trees and bushes, otherwise noise will occur on the line. The underground cable is laid in a corrugated tube in a trench. The depth should be 80 cm, the tube is placed on a sand cushion 10 cm high.
Step-by-step instructions on how to wire the garage:
- On the applied mark in the wall, cuts are made with a depth of 2.5-3 cm using a grinder.
- Install the electrical panel in a pre-selected location.
- Install the modules in the shield. It is advisable to make a label on them indicating what a particular module is responsible for.
- Connect the modules to the wires.
- RCDs, machines, and a counter are connected.
- Connect the power cable.
- Wire the wires through cable channels or PVC pipes.
- They mount the box and stretch the wires to the sockets in the garage.
- In a similar way, wires are pulled to the lighting group.
After laying the cables, you need to check the quality of the connections, the correct installation, the integrity of the system. Only then can testing be carried out.
DIY grounding
It is not difficult to ground the electrical network; you can do it yourself. Indoors, you will need to drive a two-meter galvanized steel tube into the ground. It should be located next to the garage. A steel circle with a diameter of 8 mm must be welded to the tube. It is best to ground the wiring in a damp place.
The circle must be brought into the garage and painted with waterproof paint. It should be brought to the shield and a good reliable connection made using a thick copper wire. The grounding width must be large enough so that the resistance is less.
Work safety
The basic rule when performing electrical work is to turn off the electricity supply. At the work site, check that there is no voltage using a tester or multimeter. It is recommended to provide yourself with an autonomous light source in advance.
When connecting to a home network in an electrical switchboard, you need to know in advance the material of the wiring wire. It is impossible to directly connect copper and aluminum conductors - this leads to oxidation and destruction of the contacts. The connection is made using special blocks.
Do not connect 220 V sockets into the inspection hole. This is prohibited by the rules of the PUE. Liquid can accumulate in the pit and damage the electrical network. For lighting in the pit, 12 volt lamps are installed. An LED strip can be used as a backlight.
Be sure to put a shield with machine guns. This device will protect the room and make it easier to find a possible malfunction. The devices must be connected in compliance with the color coding.
Useful Tips
Unlike a residential building, a garage does not require the placement of sockets and switches in all corners of the room. It is enough to install several power points near the work table.The number of nests in the room must be at least two. One of the electrical outlets must be designed for connecting powerful equipment.
When designing a circuit, it is recommended to find and use a building plan. It already contains all the necessary data with the required dimensions.
The lighting group must be separately supplied with circuit breakers and RCDs.
If possible, it is recommended to make a three-phase input in the garage. It will be needed when connecting three-phase asynchronous motors, which are installed in most machines, both self-made and branded. This will allow you not to buy capacitors and save money. It will also allow connecting a load of higher power at the same current of the input machine.
When calculating the required length of the wire, you need to take into account that the cable will be installed both on the street and in the garage itself.
