Philippine Electrical Wiring – Building our

Philippine House
Wiring your Philippine house.  Philippine electrical wiring.   As part of our project to build
our house in the Philippines, we had to learn about Philippine residential electrical
systems. Here’s what we’ve learned. As with our other writings, we do our best to
chronicle our missteps as well as our successes, so that our readers get slice of reality
about coming to the Philippines and building a house, not a fairy tale.  This is not a how-
to guide, it’s a description of our experiences.

THE TRANSFORMER SERVING OUR HOUSE

OUR POLE-MOUNTED METER.  THE WIRES ON THE LEFT PROVIDE
POWER TO THE METER, THE BLACK LOAD WIRE ON THE RIGHT GOES
BACK UP THE POLE AND CONNECTS TO THE DUPLEX UTILITY FEED OR
“DROP” WHICH CONNECTS TO THE HOUSE WIRING AT THE WEATHER
HEAD.
From the standpoint of electrical engineering theory, the Philippine system is similar to
that used in the U.S. and Europe.  From the utility pole to the residence panel box
we have one or two load wires and neutral conductor. We have a ground (earth)
provided by the homeowner.   You can explore the technical details
at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthing_system and various other sites.   However
there are some big differences in materials and techniques between the USA, Europe,
the U.K. and the Philippines. Looking at how things were done when we built our
Philippine house may help other considering house building in the Philippines to get an
idea how things are done here.  One final note.  The Philippine electricians we have met
have been quite professional.  It’s best to hire an electrical engineer to do your plan
(you will need it for your building permit), and have good electricians to do the work.
Wage rates are negotiable and far more reasonable than in your home country.  We
hope this essay will be of help in making you a more knowledgeable home builder.
First, some background.  Understanding “hot” neutral and ground.  This from
Schneider Electric helps explain the purpose and nature of each of the three
conductors.
“Electrical power flows in the form of current, which must pass through the
equipment and then return to the power source. Therefore, it is convenient to
think of one wire to the load being the “source” wire and one being the “return”
wire. This simple model is appropriate for DC systems but does not work for an
AC system because the flow of the power is continually reversing direction with a
frequency of 50 or 60 times per second. From the point of view of the equipment
or the power source, the source and return wires are constantly being
interchanged. In fact, no equipment can tell which wire is which! It is easily
demonstrated that the two power wires to any piece of AC equipment can be
interchanged without any effect on function. In fact, in Europe [and the
Philippines], the plug on a piece of equipment can be plugged in either way! This
fact of symmetry seems to be at odds with the distinct labeling of the AC power
wires as “hot” and “neutral”. The reason that one of the power wires is named
“neutral” is because it is connected directly to the building ground connection at
the circuit breaker panel. Therefore it is connected directly to the grounding
(third) wire. In essence, then, two of the three wires at the wall receptacle are
actually grounded wires, one being used for power flow, and the other connected
only to exposed metal parts on the equipment. The power wire that is grounded
is called the “neutral” wire because it is not dangerous with respect to exposed
metal parts or plumbing. The “hot” wire gets its name because it is dangerous.
The grounding of the neutral wire is not related to the operation of electrical
equipment but is required for reasons of safety.”  [minor
edits] http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/SADE-5TNQYQ_R0_EN.pdf

TYPES OF ELECTRICAL SERVICE IN THE PHILIPPINES . There are two main

types of residential electrical service in the Philippines.
MANILA AND CITIES: Three wire 120/240V Systems.  In Manila, Iloilo City and
other large Philippine cities, residences are supplied with 240 volt, alternating current,
60 cycle power.  Power from the utility transformer to the residence arrives
through three wires, two 120 VAC load (“hot”) wires and a single neutral.  Circuits in
the residence are generally wired to supply 240 VAC to outlets using the two 120 VAC
load wires, much the same as a heavy appliance (dryer, hot water heater etc.) would be
supplied in the U.S. All small and large appliances sold in the Philippines are designed
to use 240 VAC, 60C.
However, it is possible to wire in 120 VAC circuits and outlets by using only one of the
load wires and a neutral.  These 120 V outlets are seen in hotels, some condos and
other places which expect American visitors.   Visitors must keep in mind that the
Philippines uses the same style of wall outlets as you see in America, but that the outlet
is supplying 240 V, not 120 V.  Plugging a 120 V appliance into a 240 V outlet will
generally destroy the appliance.

It seems likely that the American-style 120 / 240  VAC 60 cycle used in Manila may
have been the result of the fact that electrical systems in Philippine cities were
expanded during the American occupation of the Philippines between 1899 and WWII.
There may be areas around the big former U.S. military bases (Clark and Subic) which
are wired for 120 VAC service.

OUTSIDE OF BIG CITIES: Two wire 230V Systems  Areas outside of the old
established cities were electrified later and use a different and more economical system
using a two wire service drop to the residence.  This consists of one 230 VAC load
wire and one neutral wire.  120 VAC cannot be supplied by this type of system unless
the property owner, at his own expense and with the cooperation of the utility company,
installs his own transformer at the utility pole, a transformer having a secondary winding
which can supply 120 VAC.  This is not impossible as many utility transformers are
recycled from the U.S., but it is expensive and in our view the 230 V systems are better
unless the homeowner ships expensive appliances from the U.S.  It will be difficult to
find parts and service for these imported 120 V appliances.
Much of the rest of the world runs on 220-240 VAC but 50 cycle rather than 60 cycle
found in the Philippines, creating a problem in importing some European appliances for
use in the Philippines.

A FIELD GUIDE TO ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IDENTIFICATION.

How can you identify the type of power system you have?  You may look up at the utility
feed wires leading from the meter or pole to your house — or a neighbor’s house.  If
there are three  wires you probably have two 115 volt load (“hot”) wires and a neutral.
If you have two wires you probably have a single 230 volt load wire and a single
combined neutral/ground wire.  With a few exceptions,  Philippine utilities deliver 230
volt, 60 cycle power to your house, but there are differences based on where you live.
Our comments below mostly apply to areas in the Philippines which supply residences
using a single 230 volt load wire and a neutral wire to your residence.  They are not fully
applicable to urban areas using two 110 volt load wires (including Manila) or to systems
around former American military bases.
For our purposes let’s call the three wire urban systems as “ three wire 120/240V
systems” and the two wire systems as “two wire 230V systems”.
Our residence is located in a rural location served by an electrical cooperative so we
have a 230V two wire electrical supply.

DUPLEX CABLE FROM METER TO WEATHER HEAD

Here is a photo of the point where the utility company service drop or cable  joins with
our house wiring at the weather head and enters the house.

The utility feed cables on the right are from the pole, one black load wire and one un-
insulated neutral wire.  The black and green feed wires on the left go into our attic and
through conduit to our panel box. Again, from the fact that there is only one load wire,
we can guess that we have a two wire 230 v. system.  If you had seen two black wires
and a neutral leading from the pole to the house, you’re probably dealing with a three
wire 120/240V system.
The meter-to-house wire is referred to as “duplex cable”.  If it was three wire it would be
referred to as “triplex”.  Our duplex feed cable is a #6 AWG load wire which is insulated
and wound with an un-insulated neutral wire.  Both are aluminum.  We had to pay for
the duplex wire extending from the meter to our house. We paid about P17 per meter
for this cable at Western Lamp, an electrical supply house in Iloilo City. The utility may
provide the wire and/or the meter and bill you for it monthly until it’s paid for.  You’ll pay
more this way.

Also note that the utility feed is aluminum whereas the panel feed wire is copper.  The
two have to be spliced together at the weather head.  Ideally this is done with a special
compression splice and splicing tool because copper and aluminum have a different
coefficient of expansion, plus the two materials are subject to electrochemical reaction.

SPLICE CRIMPING TOOL

While the default service drop is the 6AWG aluminum cable, we recently replaced ours
with 4AWG aluminum cable to better accommodate a new 2HP air conditioner.
Remember that all resistance losses from the meter are paid by the homeowner. We
paid about P30 per meter for each strand of the 4AWG cable. We were happy to tear
out and replace the old 6AWG wire which had several splices with heavier cable all
connected with proper crimp connectors. The total cost for replacing the 60 meters of
service drop was P3,000. If there are any electrical engineers out there, they could
calculate the difference in resistance losses between the larger and smaller service
drops.

REPLACING THIN 6AWG DROP CABLE WITH 4AWG

At the bottom of each electrical pole is (or should be) a ground rod which is connected
to the transformer and to the line serving your house. These provide a ground to the
system, but it’s critical to have your own separate ground to ensure that your own
neutral wiring is properly grounded.  The utility’s ground is to make their system work.
The home owner’s ground is to protect the household and its wiring system from
electrical hazards.
GROUND ROD AT POLE
Many Americans considering a move to the Philippines want to know if they can get 120
volt power in the Philippines and whether or not they should bring their 120 volt
appliances with them.  If your residence has the two-wire 230 volt system, 120 volts is
not going to be available except by means of a step-down transformer inside the
house.  Step down transformers generate heat and waste power, but are quite popular
in the Philippines and available in almost all hardware stores.

There is no right answer to the question about bringing appliances from the U.S. to the
Philippines.  Items used only infrequently, say a food processor or sewing machine, it
might make sense to bring. We would not bring Items in constant use, such as a
refrigerator.   We have seen Filipinos using 120v power tools, dragging around a step-
down transformer.  Bob sold his power tools before leaving the U.S. and bought new
ones in the Philippines.  Just remember that electrical plugs in the U.S. and the
Philippines look the same, but the first time you plug your 120v gadget into a 230v
circuit, will likely be the end of that item.

Foreigners from places other than the U.S. may have an easier time but, even if their
appliances are made for 230v use, have to investigate the compatibility of 50 cycle
appliances when used on 60 cycle Philippine circuits.
STEP-DOWN TRANSFORMER.  IT PLUGS INTO A 230 VOLT RECEPTACLE
AND PROVIDES 120 VOLT POWER
Some expats have bought and installed their own power pole transformers and have
been able to get 120v that way. This is an expensive option, possibly more expensive
than buying new 230v appliances.

We have seen above that the utility drop cable attaches to the house wiring at the
weather head.  Now to follow the wiring from this point to the panel or circuit breaker
box.

Our electrical engineer originally proposed a 125 amp panel box for our house.  He
probably did this because he was designing for a foreigner who would have hot water
and air conditioning throughout and every conceivable electrical appliance and gadget. 
We went to the engineer and informed him of our plans and he agreed to a 100 amp
panel box using #2 AWG wire.  Even with a 100 amp panel box, at 230 volts we have
an almost 25KW capacity, far in excess of any load we can possibly use.

In the Philippines, metric sizing is replacing the AWG (American Wire Gauge) system. 
Our #2 AWG cable is designated as 30mm sq., under the metric system. This cable is
expensive.   Undersized cable is often used.  Our electricians were astounded that we
were using such heavy cable in a residence.  To run the main feed into the attic we
used 1″ galvanized pipe.  It should have been 32mm or 1¼”.  There are charts available
which specify the required size of conduit. Cable overcrowded in conduit can overheat.

RUNNING THE ENTRANCE CABLE IN THE ATTIC

The main feed cable has come into the attic through the weather head.  In this photo,
the workers are feeding the wire through plastic conduit.  The main feed cable does not
go directly to the panel box.  It first goes to a switch allowing the panel box to be
supplied by the electrical utility or, in the event of a power failure, by a backup
generator.  This switch ensures that no power from the generator can flow into the utility
lines, placing utility workers at risk.  It also allows us to put the switch in a neutral
position where no power from either source is flowing to the panel box.  This allows us
to safely work on the panel box without having the utility company remove the meter.
This photo shows the double-pole, double throw switch which switches between utility
company power and power from our generator.  The capacity of the switch is 100
amps.  It cost about $80.  Our generator hookup is the simplest and cheapest kind. 
Power from our utility comes in at the top of the switch.  Power from the generator
(when running) comes in at the bottom.  The middle terminals connect to the panel
box.   Normally, utility power flows through the DPDT switch to the panel box.  During a
blackout, the switch is changed to the lower position and the generator is started.  With
this simple set-up, power from the generator flows to all circuits.  Because the capacity
of the generator is limited, less than what’s available from the utility company, we check
to see that high consumption circuits (mostly air conditioning) are not on when we start
the generator.  After the generator is running, we have used one of our air conditioners
powered by the generator without a problem.

There are more complex switching systems which automatically determine which
circuits will be active when the generator is being used.  There are also systems in
which the generator automatically starts and automatically switches over when a
blackout occurs.  An automatic system would improve security at times when power
goes out at night and one has the choice of going outside in the middle of the night to
start the generator or to stay inside a dark house, hoping the security lights, air
conditioners and fans will come back on soon.
SUBPANEL FOR GENERATOR
Above is a snapshot of a generator switch which uses a separate circuit and breaker for
circuits which are energized when the generator is running.  Also the knife switch is in a
box, a good idea!

We did install battery operated emergency lights to illuminate our front porch and
garage during power outages.

PANEL BOXES.  The knife switch normally delivers utility power to the main buses of
the panel box via #2 AWG (30mm²) cable.  This brings us to a discussion about panel
boxes.  Panel (circuit breaker boxes) boxes vary in quality, the number of circuits they
can handle, the type of breakers they use and so forth.  We are far from being panel
box experts, but we will share our experiences.
If you buy your panel box and breakers in a hardware store you’ll generally find cheaper
brands such as Koten, Meiji, Royu and so forth.  We also saw crude copies of GE
breakers labeled as “American”.  Some of the panel boxes at hardware stores even had
aluminum buses.  It should be noted that these brands are not necessarily cheaper than
GE brand breakers sold at specialized electrical supply stores.

If you go to an electrical supply outfit which caters to electricians, you find a wider range
of products with better quality and lower prices.  The counter staff at these places can
be quite knowledgeable.  Two good places in Iloilo City are Western Lamp and Eastman
Electric.  Always ask for a discount, especially if you are buying in quantity.
BOLT ON BREAKER

PLUG IN BREAKER SHOWING PANEL BOX COPPER BUS BARS

We bought a good quality twenty-circuit panel box with a sturdy copper buses for about
P4,100 at Western Lamp in Iloilo City. This box uses GE-style plug-in breakers.  We
were offered a choice between a panel box using plug-in or bolt-on breakers.  We chose
plug-in because that’s what we were familiar with in the U.S.  As we will see, that was a
mistake.

This type of panel box is really engineered for use with the 120-240v three wire type of
system but can be used with the 230v three wire systems too.  In a 120-240v three wire
system, the two main buses each carry 120v. The buses on the plug-in panel boxes
have a zig-zag type of arrangement which works well if your two buses are hot and you
have separate neutral and ground busses – such as in the U.S. or in Manila or other
Philippine cities.  When you plug in a single-pole breaker you connect to one bus and
end up with a 120v circuit.  If you use a double-pole breaker you connect to both buses
and get a 240v circuit.

However, if you have a 230v two wire supply, you will use one of the buses as a load
bus and the other as a neutral bus.  This works fine except that you have to carefully
check the polarity of your circuits to be sure the neutral wires always connect with the
neutral bus.  The zig-zag or staggered  buses mean that the order of the load and
neutral buses are reversed on the left and right buses.

DIAGRAM OF PANEL BOX WITH STAGGERED BUS

The maximum capacity of the plug in breakers is 100 amps, so if you need a panel box
with a larger capacity, buy one designed for bolt-on breakers.  Further, in Iloilo City
single-pole breakers are not available in the plug-in style.  We strongly recommend a
panel box with bolt on breakers.

Here is when we got into trouble.  We decided to use single-pole breakers.  We only
had one load wire.  What was the point in “protecting” the neutral side of the circuit, we
asked ourselves?  It’s a general rule that neutral lines should not be switched or fused. 
So, we bonded the two panel box busses together and made them both hot with 230v. 
We would use single pole breakers protecting the load wires and tie the neutrals to a
separate neutral bus.  This simultaneously converted our twenty breaker double pole
box to a forty circuit single-pole box.  Brilliant!
Not really.  Since we found that single pole breakers were not available for our plug-in
panel box, we looked at double pole breakers and they seemed to be two single pole
breakers tied together.  We cut the links on the handles and wired up our panel box. 
Everything seemed to work just fine.
PANEL BOX WIRED SINGLE POLE.  NOTE THAT ONLY THE RIGHT BUS
WAS USED.
Gradually, we learned that circuit breakers are much more complicated than we
thought.  Breakers provide protection for both instantaneous large surges in current
(short circuit) and lower, longer term overages from an overloaded circuit.
INSIDE A CIRCUIT BREAKER (WIKIPEDIA) THIS IS A EUROPEAN DIN
MOUNT BREAKER.
1. Actuator lever – used to manually trip and reset the circuit breaker. Also indicates the
status of the circuit breaker (On or Off/tripped). Most breakers are designed so they
can still trip even if the lever is held or locked in the “on” position. This is sometimes
referred to as “free trip” or “positive trip” operation.
2. Actuator mechanism – forces the contacts together or apart.
3. Contacts – Allow current when touching and break the current when moved apart.
4. Terminals
5. Bimetallic strip.
6. Calibration screw – allows the manufacturer to precisely adjust the trip current of the
device after assembly.
7. Solenoid
8. Arc divider/extinguisher
The assumption that the two halves of DP breakers can serve as SP breakers proved to
be very wrong.  The double-pole breakers are NOT just two single pole breakers
physically joined.  We found this out the hard way when we had a total short in one of
our circuits and the 20 amp breaker did not trip, but instead melted a #12 AWG wire. 
This must have been a huge overload, far beyond 20 amps.

We then tested the breakers on a test circuit.  We found that only one side of our double
pole breaker provide short circuit protection. It’s unknown which side may provide over
current protection.  Presumably, breakers made to be used as single-pole provide both
protections in a single breaker, as do double-pole breakers used as a unit.

We decided we were not so smart after all. Since we had a plug-in type of panel box for
which single-pole breakers are not available, we had no choice but to wire our plug-in
style panel box, as many local electricians do, using double-pole breakers.

We took out the link we had installed connecting the two panel box bus bars and bought
new double-pole breakers.   Now, one of the buses was hot, the other bus was neutral.
When a double pole breaker is installed, one pole of the breaker protects the load wire
and one the neutral wire for each branch circuit.

We used a specific GE double pole breaker which is sold and in almost universal use
here – the TQL2415X or TQL2420X. Our electrical supply store only sells GE brand
breakers. I could not find these “X-suffix” breakers in the huge online GE breaker
directory, but did read elsewhere that the X designation is for “special purpose”
applications.  The GE breakers sold here are 240/415 volt rated.
Almost all U.S. residential single pole breakers are made for circuits with 120v loads. 
The breakers for the U.S. are generally rated at 120-240v.  The GE breakers sold in the
Philippines are 240/415 volt rated (see photo above). There may also be internal design
differences between the breakers used in the U.S. and in the Philippines which might
affect the safety and effectiveness of your system. Breaker engineering is way beyond
our comprehension.  We feel it’s best to buy product designed for the local market and
electrical systems.

Therefore, we do not recommend bringing breakers from the U.S. The part numbers of
the locally sold GE breakers are not the same and we are not certain if they are
designed to work properly with 230v two wire systems.  Perhaps, after being burned
(literally!) experimenting with breakers, we were not in a mood for further experiments.

We have not seen Siemens or Square D or C-H breakers.  Perhaps they are available
in Manila?  The GE double pole breakers we used cost P400  each – after negotiation. 
Single-pole GE breakers are available for bolt-in panel boxes.  These should work fine
on a panel box made for them but, as we have said, we have decided to follow local
wiring customs after our earlier misadventure and given the fact that we had already
installed a plug-in type panel box.
PANEL BOX WIRED USING DOUBLE POLE BREAKERS, ONE POLE LOAD,
ONE POLE NEUTRAL.
OUR RECOMMENDATION: We live in an area where electricians are called on to
install both 230 volt two-wire systems and 240 volt three-wire systems.  On the three
wire systems, the electricians must install a panel box using double-pole breakers.  On
the two wire systems they can use either single or double-pole breakers.  We feel we
were right in the first place in thinking that single pole breakers are a good (and more
economical)  choice to the 230 volt two wire systems. What is the point on spending
more to install double pole breakers?  Unfortunately, we bought and installed a plug-in
style panel box and ended up with no choice but to use double pole breakers.  Starting
from scratch, we feel the best option for the 230V two-wire systems is a good bolt-on
panel box using genuine GE single-pole bolt-on breakers.
GROUNDING.  One last, but important part of panel box installation is proper
grounding.  While the neutral line may be (or may not be) grounded at the base of the
utility pole, it is essential that the residence have its own grounding system.  This can be
in the form of grounding pipes or rods.  The Philippine 230v two wire system is called
a multi-ground system because it depends on a distribution ground provided by the
utility company and a protective ground at each panel box.
Rather than using a grounding rod pounded into the soil, we attached brass “acorn”
clamps to the rebar in one of the house’s main columns. This rebar leads underground
to a mass of rebar in the base of the footer and ultimately to all of the rebar and
concrete of the house.  A #6 AWG copper conductor runs from the clamp to the panel
box.  Rebar grounding is permitted by both the PEC and NEC.   One advantage of the
rebar ground being in the attic is that it is protected from the corrosion or damage risk
outdoor ground rods are prone to.

GROUNDING CLAMP ON REBAR IN ATTIC

See comments below why some feel rebar does not make a good protective
ground. See this link for an excellent discussion of
grounding.  http://www.creia.org/files/public/grounding_electrode_locked.pdf
Most Philippine houses are not wired with three-prong, grounded outlets.  Most outlets
have only a load wire and a neutral wire. The quality of grounding of the neutral wire
can be uncertain due to improper earthing at the pole or in the residence.   If you’ve
spent any time in the Philippines, you’ve probably been repeatedly shocked by your
computer, refrigerator and so forth.   The metal parts of these appliances either have no
ground (earth) connection and/or the neutral is not properly grounded. When you touch
them with bare feet on a tile, you become the ground.  Since bare feet on tile are a
pleasure of Philippine retirement, this is best avoided.

Sometimes proper polarity is not maintained in the wiring.  Make sure the neutral (white)
wires in branch circuits are attached to the neutral bus in the panel box.  Otherwise the
metal parts of an appliance may be connected to a hot wire rather than a neutral.

Unfortunately, it is typical for appliances sold in the Philippines to lack a grounding

prong on the plug.  The rusty plug shown above not only does not have a grounding lug,
the blades are identical, so that it can be plugged in without regard to the polarity of the
outlet.  Generally, outlets have one wider slot and one narrow slot so that plugs can only
be plugged in in one way.  This is to ensure that the polarity of the appliance connection
is correct, that the neutral rather than hot wire is attached to the metal case of the
appliance. See “Polarity Matters in AC
Wiring”  http://www.phillylicensedelectrician.com/polarity-matters-in-ac-wiring/
Fortunately, grounded outlets are readily available and that’s what we used.   We ran a
separate #14 AWG ground wire to each outlet.  This wire connects to the ground bus in
the panel box and from there to our earthing system.  The neutral and ground are
bonded in the panel box and only in the panel box.  This neutral to ground bonding is
a must.  See Mike Holt’s discussion
at http://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarchive/GB-HTML/HTML/Neutral-to-
GroundConnections~20020521.htm

APPLIANCE CORD WITH UNPOLARIZED PLUG AND GROUND LEAD

 We hardly ever see grounded three prong plugs on appliances sold in the Philippines.  
That’s because few houses have grounded outlets.  Sometimes you’ll get a two prong
plug with a separate ground wire that the homeowner is left to connect — or not. We
suspect that a very small percentage of these are ever connected.  For that reason, the
ground wire is more of a fig leaf than a real solution.  Generally we have found that if the
neutral wire is well grounded (earthed), these shocks are less common.  Still, it’s best to
use these ground wires to prevent serious shocks in case of a failure which connects
the hot wire to the metal parts of the appliance.  These grounding leads should always
go to a ground (earth) not a neutral.  The best approach may be to cut the original 2-
prong plug off of the appliance cord and install a grounded plug, making sure that the
polarity is correct.
Even if the neutral and hot wires are correctly connected, a shock hazard still exists
unless exterior metal parts of the appliance are not grounded via a separate ground
wire.  Above is a photo of a pretty old brass fixture.  Although the polarity of the two
conductors is correct, you will get a vicious shock if you touch this lamp because one of
the load wires is frayed and touches the brass case.  The barefoot retiree on a tile floor
makes an excellent ground!  If this lamp had the metal parts connected to a grounded
outlet, the breaker or GFI would trip.

Since the panel box only came with a load and neutral buses, we added a ground
(earth) bus.  We were able to buy a very nice brass ground bus to add to the panel box. 
The green ground wire from every circuit is connected to this ground bus.
AN ADDED GROUND BUS IN A PANEL BOX.  THE 2 #10 AWG WIRES
BOND THE GROUND BAR TO INCOMING NEUTRAL UTILITY CONDUCTOR
AT THE KNIFE SWITCH.
GROUND FAULT INTERRUPTER CIRCUITS (GFI) also called Residual Current
Devices (RCD). GFI protection in mandatory in much of the world but is expensive and
not often seen in the Philippines, despite the fact that electrical shocks and electrocution
are a common events here.  We’ll write more about this later as we add GFI protection
to our system.  In the meantime, keep in mind that ordinary circuit breakers are not
intended to protect humans from many of the most common types of shock hazards.   A
properly operating breaker is intended to carry loads without tripping, loads which could
easily electrocute a human being. Consider, for example, that (depending on the design
of the breaker)  a 30 A breaker will take one hour to trip at a current of 40 A.   Circuit
breakers protect circuits, GFI devices are designed to sense faults and trip fast enough
to prevent fatal shocks.
BRANCH CIRCUITS FOR OUTLETS AND LIGHTS .  Now we can discuss wiring
“branch” circuits.  Our house plan called for four lighting circuits, eight outlet circuits and
two circuits for our two split air conditioning units.  Three of the outlet circuits are
dedicated circuits as required by the electrical code, one for the refrigerator, one for the
water pump and one for the washing machine.
We wired our branch circuits using stranded 12 AWG (3.5mm²) THHN conductors for
the load and neutral wires and 14 AWG (2.0mm²) for the ground wire. Although this wire
is rated to handle 20 amps, we decided to use mostly 15 amp breakers.  A fifteen amp
breaker (and a #12 AWG wire) have a nominal capacity of 1,800 Watts on a 120v circuit
and 3,450 watts on our 230v system.  If we had used 20amp breakers, our circuits
would have a capacity of 4,600.  Using the 15 amp breakers on #12 AWG wire gives us
a very considerable margin of safety, but plenty of capacity for any combination of
appliances we can imagine on any single circuit.

It was our electrical engineer who specified using stranded rather than solid wire for our
branch circuits.  Stranded wire is somewhat easier to work with and stands up to
situations where the wire is flexed, better than solid wire.  If you are going to use
stranded wire you have to be sure to buy switches and outlets designed for stranded
wire.  Stranded wire has a larger diameter than solid wire of the same capacity and
therefore will not fit properly into most outlets and switches.  Most (but not all) switches
and outlets are labeled as to the type and size of wire they can accommodate.
Fortunately, the widely available and excellent Panasonic Wide Series switches and
outlets are designated for and work well with stranded wire. We used a mix of
Panasonic and Royu outlets.  The Panasonic outlets are much better and much more
expensive. Our switches are Panasonic and Anam.  Anam is a mid-priced Korean brand
which seems to be of very good quality.  If you are using stranded wire and on a budget,
Royu makes a low cost outlet (WD922 and WH922) with screw terminals which works
quite well with both solid and stranded wire.

ROYU OUTLET (RECEPTACLE)

Mistakenly, we bought Anam switches which were made for solid wire.  Our electricians
used them but cut off strands of wire so that they would fit into the switches.  Since we
used 12 AWG for our lightly loaded lighting circuits, we have plenty of capacity even
with the cut strands.   Perhaps we’ll gradually replace these switches at some point. 
We did all of the outlet wiring ourselves using outlets made for stranded wire, so we are
confident there are no problems with these.
OUTLET LABELLED FOR SOLID WIRE ONLY

Photo of switches with cut strands

PANASONIC WIDE SERIES – OK WITH SOLID OR STRANDED WIRE

THESE MEIJI OUTLETS ALSO WORKED WELL WITH STRANDED WIRE.

WE TINNED THE LEADS.  THE NEUTRAL LEADS SHOULD BE WHITE NOT
RED.  THIS WAS JUST A PHOTO TO SHOW THE MEIJI RECEPTACLE
The above photo shows the interior construction of a Royu brand outlet (left) and
Panasonic brand outlet (right).  The cheaper outlets do not seem to be the same quality
but less expensive.  The Panasonic housing and contact are quite a bit heavier.  The
Panasonic outlets grip the prongs of the plugs so strongly that we have pulled the
outlets out of the wall when trying to remove a plug.  Commercial buildings in Iloilo
almost always use Panasonic outlets and switches.

There is lots of poor quality electrical gear sold in the Philippines.  Below is a plug made
with brass-plated steel prongs rather than brass.  It does not take long for the prong to
start corroding.  The capacity of the circuit will be reduced. This is not a problem
restricted to the Philippines.  I have a Leviton brand made in USA outlet I brought with
me that has rusty terminal screws.  Corrosion of electrical components in the Philippines
is rapid, another reason to buy quality products for your own house.  If you buy a pre-
built house in a subdivision, did the developer use good parts?

RUSTY PLUG WITH NON-POLARIZED BLADES (PRONGS).  THE QUALITY

OF ELECTRICAL PARTS ON OFFER IS GENERALLY POOR.
CONDUIT. This brings us to the mechanics of running conduit for our branch circuits.  
Having a detailed electrical plan is essential.  You’ll be required to have one before you
get your building permit,  but, in any case, you’ll want a plan.   If you try to make things
up as you go, you’ll probably make a mess of things.
Romex-type (NM) cable (several conductors enclosed in a integral plastic sheath)  is
available, but not generally used.  In the Philippines, the branch circuit wires are
generally run from panel box to outlet to in plastic conduit.  We used individual load,
neutral and ground wires of THHN (Thermoplastic High Heat-resistant Nylon-coated)
wire in conduit, which is similar to what is used in commercial installations in the U.S.

When embedded in the floor or block walls, the conduit is 25mm rigid plastic.  In the
space above the ceiling, the wires generally run in flexible plastic conduit.   The
Philippine system of running conduit in the walls can be pretty horrifying when you first
see it. Basically, the house is built without much regard to electrical or plumbing runs.  
Then, when it comes time to run wires, channels are hacked into the hollow block to
accommodate the electrical conduit.  The house can look pretty massacred before the
thick finishing coat covers all construction sins.

We tried to neatly cut the conduit channels into the hollow block using a diamond
masonry blade in a 4″ angle grinder.  The end result will be the same but we’ll just feel
better at least trying to be neat.  Ideally, conduit runs should be anticipated and conduit
should be cast into beams so that the beams do not have to be cut later to
accommodate the conduit running to the lighting and ceiling fans above the beams.

CONDUIT IN PLACE BEFORE POURING CONCRETE

Above: before pouring a tie beam at the top of the wall above the location for the panel
box, the workers place eight pieces of electrical conduit through the form for the beam.
This will provide a path from the panel box for the circuits in the ceiling, mainly light
fixtures and ceiling fans.  Put in more conduit than you think you’ll need.  It’s easy to do
before the concrete is poured and very difficult afterwards. We should have used larger
conduit.  All of these shown are overstuffed with wires, not an ideal situation.

CONDUIT CUT INTO HOLLOW BLOCK WALL

Above.  Utility boxes which will contain switches are half buried in the hollow block wall. 
Boxes are plastic with brass inserts for the mounting screws.  The walls will be
plastered with a smooth 1/2″ to 1″coat of finishing cement which is then painted and
forms the final finish for both interior and exterior walls.
CONDUIT WILL BE IMBEDDED IN CONCRETE FLOOR
These electrical conduits were buried in the concrete floor.  The genius of this system is
that wires can be replaced (if necessary) by pulling them through the conduit embedded
in the floors.  For this to work, there can be no shortcuts.  The wide arc conduit elbows
must be used.  There are no electrical conduit tees.  The blue-color water system
fittings can be used with the electrical conduit, but such use may well defeat the ability
to pull new wires as the bends are too sharp to pull through.  These outlet circuits
embedded in the concrete floors are quite safe from gnawing rodents.

FLEXIBLE CONDUIT IN ATTIC

These photos show how wiring is installed in the attic or ceiling area.  This wiring feeds
ceiling light fixtures, ceiling fans, some outdoor lighting and our split air conditioners. 
Wiring is in flexible plastic conduit. The silver protrusions are the tops of recessed
lighting.  The four stubs of plastic pipe protruding through the top of the wall now carry
coax cable to CCTV cameras at each corner of the house.
RECESSED CEILING LIGHT FIXTURE
Except for table lamps, all lighting is recessed, no ceiling fixtures or chandeliers except
in the bathrooms. We are very happy with the clean look of the recessed lighting, so
many exposed fixures are ugly.

After three years in our house we had two recessed fixtures in our kitchen ceiling fail
because mice or rats chewed through the short, thin wire leads powering the recessed
lights.  They did not touch the THHN conductors which are in conduit.  Our theory is that
a thin layer of grease from the kitchen went up through the recessed fixtures and coated
the wires.  This made them attractive to the rodents.  Since our attic and roof structures
are all cement board and steel, the fire hazard should be minimal.

We have various circuits running outside the house; weatherproof outlets on the porch,
circuits to the bahay kubo bamboo guest house, circuits to lights on the perimeter fence
posts, circuits for security lighting, circuits for porch lights, circuits for the carport,
circuits for outdoor split air conditioning compressors and so forth.  All of these must be
anticipated and conduit leading outside installed before the house floor is poured.

This panel of switches controls all outdoor lighting; front and rear gate lights, lights at
each corner of the house, and sodium vapor lights in the garage (three way) and yard.
PANASONIC TIMER SWITCH FOR SECURITY LIGHTS
Our outdoor security lights can also be controlled by this Panasonic timer switch which
is wired into our panel box.  We bought this industrial duty switch after having a couple
of hardware store electronic timer switches fail.  This allows our lights to be on when we
get back after dark and to shut them off at dawn, even if we are still sleeping or away
from the house.

We installed a 250 Watt high pressure sodium light in our yard. It lights up the whole
neighborhood.  Our neighbors who raise corn like it as sometimes miscreants sneak in
and steal their corn. Generally we don’t use it, but can if we feel the need.
HP SODIUM YARD LIGHT
IT LIGHTS THE YARD QUITE WELL

HP SODIUM TUNNEL FIXTURE

We installed this 150 Watt high pressure sodium lamp in our garage.  These lamps are
made to illuminate highway tunnels.
 Please take time to read the many comments below.  It’s remarkable how little
consensus there is, even among those who are knowledgeable about wiring.   Take the
information here as hypothesis, not gospel.  We are home owners, not electricians or
electrical engineers.  Please feel free to offer comments, suggestions and corrections

Revised June 2016

Related
Building a Philippine House - IndexJuly 24, 2011In "About Building a Philippine House"
Our Philippine House Project - FloorsJune 13, 2010In "Floors, Ceramic Tile, Plastering, Finishing
and Painting"
Our Philippine House Project - Ceiling Support System and CeilingsJune 8, 2010In "Roof, Insulation
and Ceilings"

Related posts:

1. Building a Philippine House – Index

2. Our Philippine House Project – Building, Zoning, Fire Protection Permits
3. Our Philippine House Project – Floors
4. Our Philippine House Building Project – Final House Construction Cost Report
5. Our house project: building a hollow block perimeter wall
 OCTOBER 13, 2013
 
  COMMENTS 151

 Filed under: Electrical System and Backup Generator
 Tagged: Circuit beaker panel box, Circuit Breaker Philippines, earthing, grounding with rebar, Multi-
ground system, Philippine electrical system, Philippine electrical wiring, Philippine house
wiring, Philippine wiring, protective multiple earth system, TN-C-S system
Share this:
 Comments (151)Write a comment

1.
o Mark
o 28.06.18 @ 2:45 pm
o
Hi,

Can you tell me the approximate price range, to have 3 phase service installed in a
residential 1-phase home? Just a price range. I want to see if I should bring a phase
converter with me for $5500 or if I can buy 3 phase service there.
THanks
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 29.06.18 @ 8:16 pm

Mark, have you already bought property? We bought property adjacent to the
employee housing subdivision of our local utility. They spared no expense in
bringing power in, including three phase. This is a question best raised with your
local utility.
Reply

2.
o Paul
o 30.05.18 @ 2:26 pm
o
I had friends visiting me from Europe. They are engineers. I think half their pictures
were from the electrical wires in various towns, they could not believe their eyes. I think
they will look at the pictures when they are home to confirm they did not have a
nightmare here.
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 07.06.18 @ 11:34 am

Paul, it’s hard not to shake you head over the things you see here. We live near
our local high school. Lots of live wire dangling so that you have to duck to be
sure you don’t brush against them. I’m sure it’s the same in developing countries
around the world.
Reply


 Paul
 07.06.18 @ 12:13 pm

Ah, but it is not magic. People DO know how it should be done. Look to
Alabang. Done properly. Your highschool situation is a prime example of
unnecessary risks. I took a (very well insulated) electrical cutter and cut
the wires dangling from the post in front of our grandmother’s house. Don’t
care whose wires they were, somebody now has to do a better job. And I
do not run a risk anymore when I load my car which is parked under the
wires….
Reply

3.
o Paul
o 30.05.18 @ 2:18 pm
o
On grounding: Our house is on the top of a hill. I have a 6 meter high mast on the house
with a lightning rod and had 3 earthing points, “proper” rods, from Western Lamp. It was
not possible to measure the quality of the earthing as nobody could tell me where I can
get a contractor doing a proper assessment. Probably the electrical power company has
the tools, but they use it themselves. THEN… Then we got a lightning strike…. Full hit.
It blew the switchboard apart and the cover, we found 9 meters away where it bounced
off the wall…. All the 220V wiring is gone, there are faults in there, so I will have to
replace everything. So, I added 3 more earthing rods and (only then…), I made sure
that the reinforcement of the house, the steel roofing were connected to the earthing
and added another lightning arrestor cable along the top of the roof. And I bought my
own earthing tester and measured still 2000 Ohm (Oh shock, the maximum should be
25 Ohm). So, I will add a complete new earthing grid under the patio during the
refurbishment.
What I learned:
– Nobody measures and confirms the quality of the earthing. If you are exposed, this
SHALL be done.
– A friend installed his earthing rod very close to the earthing of Ileco overhead mast,
very clever as you basically make use of the capacity of their system, he had 30 Ohm.
Not good, but acceptable.
– Forget all the Mickey Mouse…. If you build a new house, include an earthing grid
below your house, do not trust anybody here unless he can show you that he works with
a good earthing tester and therefore knows what he is doing. Believing the electrical
people on their word is very costly. Relying on earthing rods can be difficult as I have
not found any contractor who has a professional equipment to install reathing rods
properly.

Good earthing is cheaper than having to rebuild your house after a fire or having to
replace all cables. Better safe than sorry in this case.
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 07.06.18 @ 11:36 am

Yikes, thanks for sharing this.
Reply


 DJA
 09.06.18 @ 2:19 pm

You seem to be confusing simple domestic electricity grounding , (which
does not need to be elaborate at all and is mainly just to prevent the metal
parts of any appliance from inadvertently being made hot by simply
causing a fuse/tripswitch to work,) with the need to ground by various
quite costly means anything that is liable to be struck by lightening.
Reply


 Pablo
 10.06.18 @ 3:36 am

DJA, your suggestion that a lower quality earthing is acceptable
could maybe only be true if you have earthleak switches installed.
Otherwise your substandard earthing might cause damage to life or
house. Simply said: electricity takes the path of least resistance. If
your earth has a high resistance, then you can be the path of least
resistance and get the shock of your life. Just make a proper
earthing and install earthleak switches and you can save yourself a
lot of damage.
Reply


 DJA
 13.06.18 @ 6:17 pm

Of course your earth should not have a high resistance to be
functional and you obviously should test it to make sure, but that still
 does not mean it has to be a complicated affair. In fact I don’t see
that you need an earth at all to make it ‘safe’. A neutral wire is, by
definition, ‘safe’.
Reply


 DJA
 14.06.18 @ 9:02 am

I still suspect that most of the posts in this thread are trying to make
things more complicated than they need be. I am obviously not
familiar with all systems worldwide, but I am pretty sure that most
230V generator systems offer the same type of supply i.e. One live
(hot) wire and one neutral wire which may be subdivided into two
wires ground and neutral ( but which are effectively the same thing,
but are so designated to show the way they are expected to be
connected up). All that is then needed by the consumer is a main
fuse set to a value that will protect the circuit and then appropriately
valued fuses on each sub circuit. From then on the point is that if
you touch the live with one hand and the neutral or earth with the
other you will receive a possibly fatal shock.
Various types of ‘cutouts’ may be used as a way of protecting your
circuit instead of a main fuse, but a residual current devise (RCD) is
primarily to proctect the person not the circuit .It does not stop you
getting a shock if you touch the live wire, but it makes the shock of
such a short duration ,(measured in milliseconds) that you don’t
even feel it.
Reply

4.
o JohnC
o 22.05.18 @ 5:50 am
o
One thing I don’t prefer or recommend to do is to cut few strands of conductor in order
to fit in into “Solid wire only” holes.
It would be better to insert the solid wire (with at least 6 inches protruding) and do the
splice between solid and stranded wire.
Or better, buy the appropriate device for stranded wires.
Reply

5.
o Dennis P. Gil
o 19.03.18 @ 1:35 pm
o
Hi. My house is located in Quezon City. I would like to transfer my service entrance post
from its present location to another location also on the same wall. Is it correct that I
would need to secure a wiring permit from the QC hall before I can do this? Thank you
Reply

6.
o Brooks Weiss
o 09.03.18 @ 12:02 am
o
None of the systems desxribed in this article match any I have seen here in Iloilo City.
My house is in the city but on the outskirts. We have two wires coming from the meter,
#6 AWG TW – neither is a neutral. Each wire goes to its own breaker in the panel, one
side of a two-pole breaker. All breakers are 2-pole. The existing house had no ground. I
drove a 3 meter ground rod to provide a ground for the oven in our stove. I did measure
110v from each hot to the ground. That was for my curiosity only. It would be impossible
to provide the ground to each device in the house. I’m going to do more research on
this. My neighbor is a licenced “master” electrician. He is the only one who I allow to
work on my electrical system. I buy all my panels, switches and outlets, etc. from New
Center Electric on Ledesma St. Best price for Panasonic, and all high quality stuff.
Philippines is a hodge-podge of electrical systems it seems!
 Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 11.03.18 @ 11:53 am

True, Iloilo City through its utility PECO supply two 110v drops. The areas
surrounding Iloilo City served by Ileco prove a drop with a 230v drop and a
neutral.
Reply

7.
o Allan De Guzman
o 01.02.18 @ 3:43 pm
o
hi i want to ask, what is multi line and line to line in electrical aspect. i only know is
single phase and 3 phase.
Reply

8.
o Richard C
o 01.02.18 @ 7:55 am
o
Hi, What a great helpful site, thanks! We’re in Metro Manila and have 2 phase 220, (two
110 lines and ground) We brought a 2 phase 220 45KW generator with us and it sounds
like we would be able to just hook up the two 110 leads and the ground and set it up for
standby power just like in the US using the automatic transfer switch, am I correct?
Everyone here has been saying there’s one hot and one ground, but each side of the
outlets test 110 to ground and the drop is 3 wires so I’m assuming that their knowledge
is lacking somewhat. Also I could be able to make 110 from any outlet just using one
lead plus a ground, right?
Thanks
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 03.02.18 @ 4:59 pm

I think people get confused because the electrical supplies in metropolitan areas
are so different than those in rural areas. They are as you describe in Manila, but
in rural areas one 230 VAC lead and a ground.
Reply

o
 Matt Gustafson
 11.05.18 @ 12:16 pm

There is no such thing as 2 phase. Only single phase or 3 phase. What you are
describing is single phase. You say you have a 3 wire drop. Two of the wires
would be hot and the third should be the neutral. To make an outlet 110 volts
you would need to connect one of the hot wires and then use the neutral for the
other wire. The neutral is the center tap from the transformer in the street. You
said there were 3 wires so it would be the one not currently connected to the
outlets. It will also be the wire that is grounded out by the transformer. Using a
ground instead of the neutral is not a safe solution. It will still provide the correct
voltage, but don’t be fooled.

When connecting your generator you need to use the 220 output from the
generator. That is likely the only way you will be able to get it to function.
Reply

9.
o Charlie Nelson
o 20.01.18 @ 8:42 am
 o
Hi,
Really like your website with all of the information. Would you have any idea how much
the electric company might charge me to get electricity installed on my street and run it
to a new house. The house is just about done. The street that I am on has no electricity
though the subdivision next door has electricity. Not sure this helps my situation.
Thanks
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 20.01.18 @ 9:23 pm

This is something where you will have to deal with your electric utility. It might be
best to have the negotiation handled by a local. Sad to say that many times the
only way to get such things done to to pay a “gratuity”. Good luck.
Reply

10.
o Edgar
o 25.12.17 @ 1:31 am
o
Hi Bob and Carol,
This is awesome! This is a wealth of very valuable information you had taken the time to
put together! The comments and questions at the end are likewise very informative. I’m
thinking of building a retirement/vacation house in Tacloban, Leyte and I have your site
properly bookmarked for reference when that time comes. Hope you are enjoying your
residence in Iloilo, a very nice area to live! Take care now guys and have a very Merry
Christmas!
Reply

11.
o jerry gerona
o 13.11.17 @ 3:46 pm
o
my comment about electrical wiring is in order…i saw spider style or spaghetti
wiring……. try to experience in tesda electrical student in how they install very well.
Reply

12.
o Teo Carino
o 08.11.17 @ 12:30 pm
o
The voltages coming in the three wire system are not 120 volts. They are 230 volts.
Line 1 is 230 volts. Line 2 is 230 volts and the neutral is Zero

You can get 115 volts out of the two 230 volts lines by connecting Line 1 on the gold
side of the receptacle and the Neutal line on the silver side. If you want you can connect
the ground of the receptacle to the ground side in the electrical box.
To compute the voltage of the receptacle: Line 1 + Line 2 Divided by the number of
lines = the receptacle voltage. 230 V + 0 V / 2 = 115 V
Reply

o
 Jonas
 13.01.18 @ 10:59 pm

Looks like I’m not agree regarding your comment about two hot wires are
carrying 230 v each. How did that happened when you got only 240 V supply?
You said too that you can have 115 V when you take neutral and one hot wire
which you said that one hot wire is 230 V. I just don’t get it. Would you mind to
elaborate your idea I might learn something new.
Reply
 
 Bob and Carol
 20.01.18 @ 9:43 pm

Different parts of the Philippines supply different power. Cities are often
two 115v load wires, combined to make 230v. In the country you’ll often
see one 230 load and a neutral.
Reply

13.
o Joe
o 10.09.17 @ 8:58 am
o
Hi Bob, Thanks very much for this informative article. I’m heading to the Philippines in
January to help some friends establish a business. I will be assisting in the plumbing
and wiring among other things. I’m trying to do as much planning as possible from
home. The information you have provided here will save us both time and money. Much
appreciated.
Reply

14.
o Joemhar
o 08.08.17 @ 8:13 pm
o
How much is the standard cost of labor for Electrical Installation on a new house in the
Philippines, specifically Cebu.
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 12.08.17 @ 2:28 pm

Sorry, we don’t live in Cebu. Here, electricians often charge per switch, per
fixture, per outlet. You’ll have to check with local electricians to get a price.
Reply

15.
o Nelson Nicolas
o 21.07.17 @ 4:48 pm
o
I am from Metro Manila and has the “three wire 120/240V system”. How come when
one of the hot wires got disconnected there is still 120V across both hot wires? How is
the circuit going to neutral completed? I was thinking that there should be 0V since the
circuit is open.
Reply

o
 Richard C
 31.01.18 @ 2:32 pm

Hi, I’ve been trying to figure out the same thing! All the electricians I’ve talked to
here are saying there is one 220 hot and one ground. But it’s actually 2 phase,
two 110 lines and a neutral back to the electric company. I also found 110 with
one side switched off, try checking each line with the other side of the tester to
ground, like a rebar and you’ll find you only have 110 on one side. It’s wired like
a dryer is in the US, but without a neutral or a ground at the outlets and
switches.
Reply

16.
o Gary Rosen
o 17.07.17 @ 5:23 am
 o
Great article. As a retired lineman that now lives permanently in the Philippines, I am
amazed at the hob-knobbed patchwork they call electrical wiring and grid. If they would
only look at other countries safety and wire/cable routing practices many lives would be
saved. It’s unfortunate that the local populace echo’s the sentiment “This is the
Philippines, we do it our way”. That’s OK but when something works, follow it. Thanks
again for ‘adjusting’ us to the local way of doing things.
Reply

o
 DJA
 27.09.17 @ 2:59 pm

The main problem I find with Philippine wireing is that most electricians don’t
care which wire has the on/off switch “provided it makes the light go on and off
that is OK so no need for systematic color codeing needed.”
DJA
Reply


 Bob and Carol
 27.09.17 @ 3:11 pm

Very true. You never if the appliance or fixture is hot or not.
Reply


 alfred
 24.10.17 @ 7:11 pm

That is not oranized electrician and just learned from a basic way
untrained.
But my questions its up to you if youwant color coding.you can advise
electricians to make color coded system.
Reply

17.
o John Kennett
o 15.07.17 @ 12:15 am
o
Wow, Thanks for saving me from some more costly mistakes. Although we already
have the finish coat on before installing electrical. Very casual here on permits,
inspections In a small fishing village.

I took a two year electrical course at a Virginia Community college before coming to
Mindanao, making this transition more frustrating. Like your logic I also broke off the
tandem breaker metal tabs. That alone was a gem of valuable wisdom. Now I Need
bigger box. I The staggered bus bars are a game changer.

You are fortunate to have electrician supply store up North, it’s a ten hour bus
adventure in Surigao to Davao through multiple martial law inspections. I believe you
are correct about the low tech knife switch making Neutral ground generator back feed
impossible since any danger will sink in the Rebar.
Reply

18.
o Bryan
o 27.06.17 @ 3:45 am
o
Hello Bob
First let my express my gratitude for making this wealth of technical knowhow available.
I am learning new things every day. Knowledge which I have tried to use when building
my house in Antique. In particular your essay on electrical systems and grounding I
found very instructive.
You previously mentioned the importance of bonding utility neutral bus and with ground
bus in the breaker box using a jumper wire.

However, I took note of a comment you made regarding such bonding and the use of a
genset, where you wondered if there might be a risk in the event of a ground fault, of
returning dangerous load from genset neutral back to grid, possibly harming workers
carrying out fault correction.

When I asked my electrician to show me how he performed the bonding (because I had
explicitly told him to do so as per your recommendation), he said he had discussed this
matter with a senior engineer at the local utility who advised against such practice for
the same reason as you mentioned (potential genset neutral return load onto utility
neutral).

At the time I did not grasp what he explained as I thought the transfer switch would
completely cut off connection to grid.

I am not an expert, but it seems like we are stuck between the devil and the sea here, or
by analogy, a kind of damn if you do, damn if you dont type of situation:

1. No bonding means the breakers may not trip when there is a ground fault due to
insufficient upload/return load/surge from utility transformer, ground goes to earth.

2. If you do bond, your breakers will trip as they are supposed to do providing
protection, but what if there is a safety issue for grid workers connected with the use of
gensets in such a situation?

I noticed that your remark on this issue did not generate any comments. I wonder if you
have managed to find a way around this problem.

Kind regards
Bryan
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 27.06.17 @ 7:36 pm

Bryan, no, I have not seen comments on this issue. Thanks for raising it. I hope
others will jump into the discussion. My utility drop goes directly to a DPDT knife
switch. Perhaps I am simple but when the knife switch is in generator mode, the
two utility lines (load and neutral/ground) are completely disconnected. I don’t
see any way that anything from the generator could feedback into the utility
lines. Bob
Reply


 Keith
 24.01.18 @ 9:46 pm

Hi Folks, your articles have been most interesting and helpful. They are
well written and informative, so, many, many thanks!
You mentioned in the electrical-wiring article that you intended to install
GFI devices. Did you ever do so and are they effective?
Thanks,
Reply


 Bob and Carol
 03.02.18 @ 6:04 pm

Keith, no, we have not installed GFIs yet, so unfortunately can’t
report on them.
Reply


  Keith
 24.01.18 @ 10:00 pm

I agree with you Bob. As long as the Knife switch is disconnecting the 2
power-cables from the pole, how could a generator’s power ever sneak
back onto the grid? I’ve wired my generator in exactly the same way, i.e, it
isolates the conductors from the utility before it reaches the distribution
board where you have grounded the Neutral, and,
presumably, only on the house side of the Knife-switch
Reply

o
 Mark
 26.09.17 @ 5:37 pm

Regarding the bonding of nuetral and ground wires, as long as you have a
grounding rod which your ground wire is connected to, I think there is no safety

issue on the feedback current going back to the grid. 

Reply

19.
o Jon Crowe
o 05.03.17 @ 7:17 am
o
Electric Power in the USA

Electric power is standardized in all states across the USA. It is set at 110 Volts and 60
cycles. 220 Volt power is used in homes only for large appliances like stoves, water
heaters and clothes dryers. It is not normally available for personal appliances.

Standard electric plugs, as illustrated at the top of this page, have two flat blades. The
plugs on some newer appliances have a third round grounding pin. Almost all homes
and commercial buildings are equipped with electrical receptacles that can
accommodate either type of plug.

All the electricians with all the years of experience and not a one has caught on to the
fact that you have it all backwards. The Philippines runs on 50 hertz/cycles 120-240
volts. That is why you need the step down transformer to run US electrical products in
the Philippines.
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 19.03.17 @ 8:52 pm

The Philippines is 60 cycle, not 50.
Reply

20.
o Wendell
o 03.03.17 @ 3:33 pm
o
Hi!
Nice post very informative ,i got a question i am planning to bring a 120/220v welding
machine 120 V will be okay using bigger transformer but it wont be efficiently working it
need to work better on 240 V but i been thinking about the difference between 220 V
two wire there hot and neutral and the 220V split phase here in US. I called tech support
and they said its okay but i’m still hesitating about it ,the plug is NEMA 6-50P and
regular outlet there is NEMA 2-30 or 5-50.Do you think it will be okay? I dont have any
access to 120V split phase like you mention in some area.
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
  19.04.17 @ 2:11 am

This is an uneducated suggestion. I think it will work fine on 220v. Plug it in and
let us know. Mind the pinning of the plug. Have a good earth to the chassis.
Reply


 John francis
 19.04.17 @ 9:39 am

Hi Wendell, just a query – why bring equipment over when youre unsure
of electrical compatibility? There is wide selection here to choose from that
shouldnt give any problems. Also, dont assume that the electric supply
here is as reliable as what you are used to – in my experience the supply
is only NOMINALLY 220 and can run as low as 200 and sometimes not at
all !!
As an additional suggestion to Bobs “mind the pinning of the plug” I would
add also check the polarity of the outlet with a multi-tester – sometimes
the wiring here can be horrific!
Reply


 Emilio P. Reyes, REE
 24.10.17 @ 8:04 pm

It’s 230V, nominal.
Reply

21.
o rod
o 28.02.17 @ 9:38 pm
o
hi bob what is the standard high in switches and C.O ? in meter
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 18.04.17 @ 2:16 am

Avoid the cheap junk. Buy Panasonic or possibly the Korean Anam. There are
good European brands but I don’t think they are better than Panasonic.

1.
o Ferdie
o 22.02.17 @ 12:29 am
o
Your topic is very informative. However , I do have a comments on some of the photos
with description “Replacing Thin 6AWG with 4AWG” and ” HP Sodium Yard
Light”.
People on the model photos don’t have PPE (Personal Protective Equipment ) for it
may endanger their lives, working on Electricity must consider “SAFETY FIRST”.
Reply

o
 JC Torallo
 15.05.17 @ 9:56 am

Sad to say, for some reason, sizes of the safety equipment and tools here are
American sizes. Ofcourse doesn’t fit properly to our locals.

Also PPEs here of standard quality seems to be expensive. 

It then became more of a nuisance than a safety.
Most of the time wires at the breaker will be the last to connect.
 Fortunately, “Safety First” is implemented by major contractors here.
Reply

2.
o Marvz
o 19.01.17 @ 1:54 pm
o
Why stranded wire??? It shoud be solid wire since the wiring is stationary or fix…
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 20.01.17 @ 8:57 pm

Both work just fine. Stranded pulls through conduit a little easier but many
switches and receptacles are set up for stranded. If I was doing it over again, I’d
use solid.
Reply

3.
o Frank Striegl
o 13.01.17 @ 7:47 am
o
Hi Bob,

I recently found a treasure trove of your postings, and have been reading them over the
past few days. I am retired in Tokyo, and my wife and I are looking at retirement living
options.

We are not sure what we’ll do yet, but your really helpful articles will steer us in a good
direction should we consider moving south, maybe to the hills way north of Manila!

On another note, I am from the Hudson Valley of NY and went to college in Plattsburgh
– have many great memories of the area and still have a few friends living in the North
Country.

With best regards,

/FS
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 20.01.17 @ 9:05 pm

Frank, thanks for your kind comments. The Hudson Valley can be a lovely place,
Plattsburgh, not so much!
Reply

4.
o John T.
o 30.12.16 @ 6:52 pm
o
Very informative article, which I forwarded to my son, who is dealing with wiring issues
in his new Manila home. But I cautioned him about the comment on cutting down
stranded 12AWG wiring to fit 14AWG solid terminals. (“We discovered that our
electricians would sometimes cut off strands from the 12 AWG wires so they would fit
more easily into switch terminals.”) While it will be fine for a 15 AMP circuit, provided
they don’t cut too much, the danger would be if the next electrician, perhaps under a
new homeowner, sees that a 15 AMP circuit was wired with 12 AWG, and could
therefore expand the circuit for a heavier load, and an existing outlet for a heavier load
appliance, not knowing that the “weak link” in the system is that 14 AWG “hot spot” that
could wreak havoc if the a new 20 AMP circuit breaker is no longer protecting it like a 15
AMP circuit breaker would have. It would be good to place a prominent warning for
future electricians to beware.
 Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 02.01.17 @ 6:03 pm

You raise a good point. We could replace our switches with ones which accept
the 12 AWG stranded. The only thing our switches control are lighting circuits
and ceiling fans. Our lights are almost all LED so the loads per breaker are
ridiculously low. Replacing those switches is not a priority, but if any of our
excellent Anam switches ever fails, they will be replaced with Panasonics which
accept 12 AWG stranded. All of our outlets accept the 12 AWG. Most of our
breakers are 15 amp, even for our split aircon which is wired with 10 AWG. It’s
quite an adjustment moving from 110 VAC to 245 VAC (which is what we have
due to proximity to a substation).
Reply


 JC Torallo
 15.05.17 @ 4:35 pm

The rules of thumb said to us by our professor during my college day is
#14awg (2.0mm2) for lightings and #12awg (3.5mm2) for COs.
We mostly use the THWN/THHN stranded type of wire. Yes stranded
because it’s seems easier to splice those, and of course, we (Filipinos)

tend to choose the easier way w/ to each of his own safety mentality. 
As per PEC (and probably NEC, w/c PEC is heavily based):
#14awg THHN/THWN should only carry 15A, while
#12awg THHN/THWN should only carry 20A.
.
The 15AT breaker is also becoming less availble. So we tend to use 20AT
for lighting and 30AT for COs as a rule of thumb.
Reply

5.
o Gene
o 04.12.16 @ 10:28 pm
o
Hello Gene here
Live in southern Leyte (Hinunangan) built a house here about three years ago. I don’t
think my Boulder an his electrician knew anything about electricity. I have two
transformers on pole an two meters,one for 220 an one for 110. Was told by the electric
company that one transformer could be calibrated for 110/220. I also had a mother
transformer built in Manila to change the electric from 220 to 110. Had a electrical
engineer come to house an said I only needed one transformer for both an I would have
the type of electric we want. Probably be spending more money just to get my house
wired correctly. But since this is home ,what’s a little money. By the way your article was
fantastic,like a great book book once you start reading you can’t put it down. Lots of
good ideas especially about the switches an the electrical box. Thanks
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 13.12.16 @ 12:22 pm

Thanks for your very kind and informative comment.
Reply

o
 JC Torallo
 15.05.17 @ 10:38 am

 It’s really better to seek a licensed eletrical practitioner, either an electrical

engineer or a master electrician. 

I don’t really see any practical reason for using 120 or 110v rated load or
appliances here in the Philippines. It’s because most of the typical household
appliances are available here already.
Of course if you do have some important things that are very hard to let go then
yes you really need a stepdown transformer for it to work here.
Reply

6.
o Eric
o 16.11.16 @ 6:05 am
o
Very wonderful article, Bob! I have been thinking about my air compressor from the US
which is 240V and uses a 6-20 plug. Being that this might be using 110v for each flat
terminal and the round terminal as the ground, I assume there is no neutral. Is this even
possible to bring it to the Philippines? The house in the Philippines uses one wire for
220V and the other might be the ground (neutral?). Is there a way to make it work for
their system?
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 19.11.16 @ 2:59 pm

Eric, I am just not sure how your 220v compressor could be run here on the
mains with one 230v load and a neutral. Maybe someone with more expertise
can answer.
Reply


 Joe R
 04.12.16 @ 7:27 pm

Your USA compressor (220V double phase) should run properly on 230V
single phase. (Live phase with neutral) I would make sure the ground is
used for safety, nut the compressor should run without it. Which of the
prongs is live and which is neutral does not matter.

I’m an electrician, just back from California, now in a 240V 50Hz live-
neutral country.
Reply


 Eric
 15.12.16 @ 6:47 am

Joe R, being that the receptacles there do not have the third prong
for ground, how do you suggest I use the 3-prong plug from a
NEMA 6-20? I assume you do not want me to cut off third prong.
Your input is greatly appreciated.
Reply

o
 D j Adams
 19.11.16 @ 4:45 pm

Eric,
A lot of the home generators in the Philippines are “split phase” and are
freaqently run as 240 volt generators ( two wires with ‘optional ‘ ground wire).
Your device would work on one of these if you connected your ground to the split
phase ground terminal.
DJA.
 Reply

7.
o erwin ignacio
o 27.10.16 @ 10:00 pm
o
Hi, Your blog is awesome and very detailed. i am still trying to ingest what I Can. My
dilemma is I have a 1300watts espresso machine that came from u.s. so it runs on
110v. Normal practice is to buy a transformer here in manila. but at that point a
1500watts or 2000watts transformer is going to be really big and expensive. Do you
suggest to find an electrician and install a dedicated 110volt line? or just suck it up and
get the huge transformer?

i read the part where you suggest to just sell the 110v appliance and get 220v
appliannce here, but I just have too many powertools running off 110v that i have
accumulated over the years. most of the time I use them in the garage or kitchen. I have
dedicated transformers for most of them and As much as possible I didnt want to add
another one. but this is the first time I had a machine running more than 1kWatts so I
thought maybe it’s time for a dedicated 110v outlet.

looking forwad to your suggestion. thanks!

Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 05.11.16 @ 1:03 pm

Since you are in Manila, it might be relatively easy to install a 110v outlet using
only one of the two load wires entering your panel box plus a neutral. Possibly
cheaper and better than a transformer.
Reply


 Mike
 10.11.16 @ 5:00 pm

Not a good idea Bob and Carol. Your not suppose to use one of those
wires for 110V supply. That’s improper practice. Your appliance would
explode once you’ve plugged it in. A transformer would still be better.
Reply


 Bob and Carol
 12.11.16 @ 11:17 am

Thanks for the warning. Further input appreciated.
Reply


 DJA
 21.11.16 @ 2:50 pm

Mike,
It may be “improper practice” mainly because, depending on how
they have originally installed the electricity meter, you may be
getting it free! But I can see no possible reason why anything should
explode. I can assure you that it is a common ( illegal but usually
ignored) practice in many places by traidsmen with 110v tools. No
explosions, some electric shocks due to the way they wire them up.
Not usually any deaths at 110v.
DJA
Reply

o
  JC Torallo
 15.05.17 @ 5:16 pm

Kindly check if your espresso machine has this 110-220v 50/60Hz written on its
plate, or something similar to that.
Most appliances i’ve seen lately have dual voltage features in it.
.
I wont recommend you just getting one of the hot wire from a 220V(L-L) source
because that will make your voltage unstable.
You’re also intentionally making the 3phase sytem of the Utility unbalanced.
Also take note that a single pole breaker is not common in residentials here.
Reply

8.
o DANIEL MOYGANNON syd, aus
o 19.10.16 @ 3:45 pm
o
Hi there, your blog is awesome and wish i saw it earlier. Supply in Davao City is two
hot-wired system with no neautral. Never seen this before. Um from Australia where
single phase with neutral is standard. Having a flat battery on the multimeter, i wired a
light to ground to work out which was hot and which one was neutral, but both lit. I
assumed electrician supplied two phase by mistake and didnt give me a neutral. I boiled
a 240v kettle for coffee using a ground and one active coming in- that never boiled but
just simmered. I then was told in broken english that i should use both wires to get 230v.
I EXPECTED it to blow the kettle up expecting it to be 415v like Australia, but it worked.
The dbl pole circuit breakers were difficult to understand, i only wanted single pole. BUT
only when i realised the system with two hot wires, i only THEN understood why i
couldnt buy single pole circuit breakers there. Ive seen lots of wiring in phils, never seen
use of conduit anywhere, or any ground. I put in ground wiring, but most appliances
dont connect to it. I am in the process of changing the refrigerator lead to 3 core to add
a ground. Thanks for the blog and all of the comments, it is so good I WASNT THE
ONLY ONE to have to think VERY hard about all the little things that made no sense at
the beginning.
Reply

o
 JC Torallo
 15.05.17 @ 11:32 am

Because supply here in the Philippines is 220-240V line to line, and/or 220-
240vV line to neutral, depending on your electrical utility provider.
Reply

9.
o Brian
o 17.10.16 @ 9:05 am
o
Im in Dingle, iloilo. Im havining power issues. First noticed it when our fan speed would
drop and then speed up. Then we installed an aircon, which the compressor will cut out
the turn back on.Could this be from having a lower amp line?
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 20.10.16 @ 4:31 pm

Well, if you had power issues with just a fan, it does not seem likely that it’s
caused by having too small of a service drop. Perhaps there is a bad connection
somewhere. It could be anywhere, at the pole, at the meter, in your service drop
(the wires from the utility pole to your house) or somewhere in you house wiring.
Could you ask your utility to check?
Reply

o
  Mal
 22.01.17 @ 6:53 am

You need to increase the amp to a minimum 100amp service , most likely your
utility transformer on the hydro pole is only giving you 40amp . The electrical
company needs to upgrade transformer. You can ask for them to install a split
110v/230v or a 220v transformer , they do have them . Push hard with a $10,000
peso bribe to get wired 110v/220v with 200amp service, that’s what I did in San
Fernandino La Union near the Mitsubishi car dealership.
Reply

o
 JC Torallo
 15.05.17 @ 11:53 am

That’s a common problem with Utility companies outside of national capital
region (ncr). It’s either low budget for them to upgrade their system, or just plain
mismanagment.
Reply

10.
o Ping
o 07.09.16 @ 12:35 am
o
Really appreciate your blog. I am trying to fix an old house in the Philippines province
with 2 same color insulated wires going to the panel, no grounding in the panel. The
panel has DP breakers connecting to both wires and ground terminals but not
connected or grounded to rebar. How can I tell which wire is Load and which is Neutral?
and can you point me to something that shows how did you bond the Neutral-to-Ground
Connection in your panel? Thanks
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 18.09.16 @ 2:03 pm

To tell load from neutral use a multimeter. One probe should be grounded. The
wire which gives you 220v will be the load. You could also use one of those light
bulb sockets with attached wires. One wire to ground. The wire that lights the
bulb is load. I think the bond is just an interconnection of neutral to ground in the
panel box and only in the panel box. Often times there is no ground. The
electrician depends on the utility neutral to be grounded. A separate ground is
generally recommended.
Reply

11.
o Leon
o 08.06.16 @ 6:42 pm
o
Hi Bob, here in our area is also “line to ground” just like in your place. And Can’t find a
single pole breaker. If I will use a double pole breaker and just connect together the two
terminal of breaker to hot wire so that it it will produce an output of 220v each to two hot
bar on panel for branches 2pole breaker, while the neutral will be bond to ground wire
will this be ok? Will the breaker will work as single breaker ? Thank you!!!
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 08.06.16 @ 8:50 pm

Leon,

I can only share my experience with GE plug-in breakers. A double pole breaker
will definately NOT serve as two single pole breakers. My theory was that a
double pole breaker was just two single pole breakers attached together. I was
very wrong and ended up with totally unprotected circuits. I had to rewire my
panel box using the DP breakers — one side neutral, one side load. Since the
poles are physically linked, a fault will disconnect load and neutral
simultaneously. If I had it to do over again, I’d use a bolt in panel box, not plug
in. Plug in SP breakers are available. Good luck. Bob and Carol
Reply


 Leon
 09.06.16 @ 8:17 pm

So how about the Grounding and bonding? How you bond the neutral and
ground in main panel when one side is load and the other is neutral in
breaker? Thanks
Reply


 Bob and Carol
 10.06.16 @ 9:51 pm

Leon, maybe others can comment, but in my panel box the load
goes to one leg of the DP breakers and the utility neutral goes to the
the other leg. I have a separate ground bus. All of my outlets accept
three prong plug, load, neutral and ground. The ground is two brass
clamps on the house rebar. Consider this
from http://www.esgroundingsolutions.com/why-do-you-have-to-bond-
the-neutral-and-the-ground-wire-in-the-main-panel/
“To visualize the reason why the neutral-to-ground bond is required,
you must consider the entire electrical circuit from a 120-volt outlet
all the way back to the utility transformer hanging out on the pole:

In a properly designed circuit, if a fault were to occur on the 120-volt

outlet between the hot-wire and the ground, the current will flow
through ground wire back to the main panel, where it will move to
the neutral wire via the neutral-to-ground bond, up to the utility
transformer, back down the hot wire to the circuit breaker, tripping
the breaker.
In an faulty designed circuit, if a fault were to occur on the 120-volt
outlet between the hot-wire and the ground, the current will flow
through ground wire back to the main panel, where because it does
not have a neutral-to-ground bond, the current will be forced through
the ground rod, into and across the earth, and up the utility ground
rod and in to the utility transformer, back down the hot wire to the
circuit breaker. The resistance of the earth is almost always to great
to allow sufficient current flow to trip the breaker, and you end up
with a steady-state ground fault, that never trips the breaker, and
this is a hazardous situation indeed. You cannot use the earth as a
conductor.”
Reply


 DJA
 21.11.16 @ 3:22 pm

If you have a properly connected mains supply
( live,neutral,ground), then the neutral and ground are automatically
bonded at the transformer. If they have only given you two wires
(live and neutral), then I , along with most Pinoys I know, don’t see
any point in having your own ground, because , as others have said,
if you do not bond it to neutral some types of breakers won’ t work
properly and if you do bond it to neutral you are simply back to
square one. Try buying a 240 v appliance from a provincial supplier
and ask him what you should do with the green wire and most likely
you will be told ” it doesn’t matter, you can cut it off “.
DJA
 Reply


 Bob and Carol
 21.11.16 @ 4:00 pm

DJA,

Perhaps you are right, but I have been told that utility grounds are
unreliable and that it’s best to have your own ground. Perhaps
others can pipe in. I do know that I would get shocks from certain
appliances, especially computers, when the case was not grounded
(that is using just the utility load and neutral) but when the case are
grounded to my own ground, the problem disappears. Others,
please pipe in. Bob
Reply


 DJA
 22.11.16 @ 7:29 am

Bob,
I am sure it is correct to say utility grounds are not always reliable,
they frequently arn’t everywhere ( I have watched the antics of
electricity company subcontractors in the UK if they have difficulty
getting a ‘good’ reading on their test meter when working in the
field). As another poster has pointed out a home made ground is
very unlikely to be at the same potential as the utility ground.
As for your problem of getting a shock from an appliance like a
computer it means that there is a slight leak of current due to faulty
insulation in the computer (and you are paying for that extra current
on your meter) if you fit your own ground it does not cure the
problem; if anything it will make the leak flow a bit greater (and
increase your electricity bill). The best and safest thing to do would
probably be to fit a proper reliable “safety cut out ” to your circuit and
then it would cut off whenever you switched on any appliance with a
slight ground leak .
DJA
Reply


 Bob and Carol
 28.11.16 @ 8:43 pm

DJA, thanks for your comment, but I have to respectfully disagree. A
good local ground, together with three pin grounded receptacles
solved all our problems, except for poorly made local appliances.
Ground the metal cases of these appliances. Usually I just replace
the two prong plug with a three prong plug, incorporating the ground
wire to the case or frame to the ground prong of the three prong
plug. Problem solved. But, others may have better ideas and they
are always welcome.
Reply

12.
o RJ Evangelio
o 06.06.16 @ 4:32 pm
o
Hi,

Aside from Green and Green with Yellow stripes, Any other color permitted by PEC for
Grounding?
Reply

o
  JC Torallo
 15.05.17 @ 3:29 pm

I think it’s only green, yellow, & green-yellow stripes. Btw, PEC is heavily based
on NEC.
Besically, green is the color of ground wire here. In other countries its yellow I
guess.
So for manufactures to sell their products basically anywhere they made the
green-yellow stripes color for ground wire.
Reply

13.
o Bob and Carol
o 15.04.16 @ 4:32 pm
o
Thanks for your kind words and good luck with your project. Consumer reports has a
wattage chart
at https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/resources/images/video/wattage_calculator/
wattage_calclulator.html
Remember that appliances with motors (air con, ceiling fans, refrigerators can use many
times the poer when starting up as they do when they are running. Here are a few of the
wattages I measured in our home:
Router 5W
TV 100W
Laptop 75W
Refrigerator (large) 140W
Iron 235W
Microwave 1540w
Coffee maker 925
Toaster 840
Split aircon 850
Reply

14.
o HRM Apuan
o 07.04.16 @ 4:07 am
o
Hello Bob and Carol,

I am very amazed how you’d find time in putting all of these issues together. Very
helpful though. I was born, raised and finished my schooling and a licensed/registered
Electrical Engineer (from MIT) there in the Philippines. Now I am residing in the US for
almost half of my life. To be honest I was very much entertained because I thought
everything about residential and commercial wiring there are done without due regard in
complying with the code. Problem is they mixed both European and US standards and
make it their own code. I have studied most electrical systems in various countries and I
definitely convinced that the US standards is the best and efficient electrical system
wiring. GROUNDING System is the one they’ve neglected and mostly disregarded – a
system where it’s designed to protect the safety of people and property. No proper
implementation because of corrupt practices and most of the houses there are not
insured anyway that is why the city officials are not being pushed to implement all
requirements necessary for building safety.
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 09.04.16 @ 9:00 pm

The Philippines is in some ways the most libertarian of places. You can do more
or less what you want and live with the consequences. Yes, they make you get
building permits, have plans etc. but that is mainly to collect fees. I don’t anyone
cares what you build.
Reply

15.
o Emilio P. Reyes
 o 30.03.16 @ 7:05 pm
o
Hi Bob, outlet is oriented horizontally, it’s because of human safety. As you noticed,
MOST power outlets are of different hole size. Larger hole shall be placed above the
smaller hole and its terminal shall be connected to ground line and place the live or hot
line on the smaller hole below… The essence is that there is a tendency of a suspended
cord to expose the upper part of the plug along the way due to the influence of a
downward GRAVITITIONAL pulling. Assuming that the orientation and placement of the
outlet is correct, in time the upper part of the plug connecting the outlet is exposed, you
cannot be electrocuted the ground terminal of the outlet is connected to system utility
ground line which is zero potential. For other concern, please see face book page
“electrical safety, protection & energy savings”.
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 05.04.16 @ 7:34 pm

Emilio, thank you for your contribution. What you say makes sense. However, I
rarely see grounded outlets in the Philippines. Bob and Carol
Reply

16.
o Mike Cason
o 28.03.16 @ 6:26 am
o
Hmm, Nice post. I wonder if there is an inspector to watch any of these jobs? I’ve lived
in Iloilo City 2 years and just renewed my Texas Electrical Masters license for 2016-
2017. I’ve been amazed what I see here in the Phils…
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 28.03.16 @ 5:43 pm

We have all seen almost unbelievable things here. There are live utility wires
near our high school that are no more than five feet above the ground. We did a
lot of our own wiring but also had professional electricians do some of the work.
They did do a good job so I’d go along with the idea of hiring competent
electricians to do house wiring. We had an electrical plan for them to follow and
purchased the materials to be sure all were good quality. I recommend
Panasonic and Anam over the cheaper brands for outlet and switches. We used
GE breakers.
Reply
17. Pingback: House Build - Page 22

18.
o Brian
o 14.06.14 @ 7:48 pm
o
Great site and wished i had come across it earlier , as it would have saved me a lot of
research into the 3 wire system , and also a few jolts in the house in Manila . I have
worked on the 240v two system in Negros and rewired a house down there for a relation
. The components for the 2 wire system i purchased from the UK and brought
everything up to the 17th edition UK standard which is very safe and gives peace of
mind .
Thanks again for the site .
Reply

19.
o Mackie Salisid
o 17.05.14 @ 2:55 pm
o
Bob,
 I just want to know if what would be an ideal duration for an ordinary household
electrical installation be rewired/re-installed?

Thanks…
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 17.05.14 @ 4:19 pm

I am not sure if there is a good single answer to this question. I the U.S. we still
see old knob and tube wiring. Many older systems were not intended for today’s
higher wattage appliances such as air conditioning and electric hot water
systems. I suppose the best thing to do is to examine the physical condition of
the wiring and see if it’s okay and then consider if the capacity is still suitable for
the anticipated loads.

Bob
Reply

20.
o Bob and Carol
o 23.04.14 @ 5:33 pm
o
Boris,

Many thanks for sharing your experiences and for the link to Livolo. I had never heard of
them. I can see that you did a lot more advance planning (and shopping) than I did. I
especially like the idea that the switches default to off during a power failure. It’s pretty
annoying to go to bed during a power outage and having to go around and figure out
what switches are on and which are off to be sure that when the power comes back on
that various lights and fans do not come on too.

Regarding separate conductors versus the combined “Romex” type non-metallic

sheathed cable we are used to in the U.S. I would just note that in U.S. residential
construction Romex is used with no conduit, just stapled to wooden studs. In
commercial applications in the U.S. the multiple single strand wiring in conduit is usually
used. In the U.S. I opened walls to find mouse-chewed Romex wiring, so I feel conduit
is better. Plastic conduit should be okay in concrete walls and floors, but I feel steel
conduit is better than plastic in attics or other places where the conduit is exposed to
weather or critters.

Bob
Reply

21.
o Mike C.
o 04.04.14 @ 11:41 am
o
Thank you for such an informative website and sharing your experiences with us. I am a
retired electrical contractor/master electrician from Texas. I’ve built and remodeled
many homes so it is very interesting to learn the Philippine way of construction from
someone who has “done the time”.

I will say that bringing my 120v power tools and voltage inverter was a good decision.
The tools here are very expensive. I brought about 10 power tools and will use them on
our house improvements so I don’t mind lugging around the inverter.

Keep up the good work,

Mike
Reply

22.
o Haro
o 01.04.14 @ 1:31 pm
o
 hello guys..

ahmm anybody knows how much it cost for an electrician to install per outlet, lighting’s,
appliances and etc, here in cebu.. or is there a book published about costing per
installations? thank you..
Reply

23.
o Bob and Carol
o 27.11.13 @ 3:26 pm
o
John,

It’s interesting that one reader suggested that we should have used solid, not flexible
conduit in the attic and that you suggest using no conduit! Regarding conduit, we just
did the conventional Philippine thing; rigid conduit in the floor and walls and flexible in
the attic. One thing to be aware of is that the wiring commonly used here consists of
separate insulated strands, not the Romex type cable used in the U.S. That’s the kind
with multiple strands in a single cable. Not sure what is used in the UK. Anyway, the
single strand THHN wire used here is intended to be used in conduit. We have had a
minor problem with mice chewing wires, not the main electrical wires, but the smaller
leads on ceiling fixtures. That suggests that in the long run, rigid conduit might be best.

Certainly, GFI/RCD are best. I have read that in some ways, old-fashioned fuses are
good, that they are less subject to corrosion but I am not sure if fuse boxes are even
available.

Bob
Reply

24.
o Jack
o 20.11.13 @ 5:11 pm
o
Hi Bob,

I live in Angeles City and I’ve recently purchased a ELEMAX with a rated 5.6kva and
6.5kva max power. I didn’t really want to purchase this much power but it was the only
Japanese made/honda powered genset we could find around here. After seeing your
WEIMA and the price, I think I might have spent way too much. I can only hope it at
least is reliable. I was originally going to use extension cords but since I bought all this
extra power I now want to get a knife switch like you and wire it in. Unfortunately, it
comes with two 16A receptacles which doesn’t give me the full power out of either. So it
looks like I will need to either wire directly or replace it with a L6-30R. The schematics
seems to show that it’s just a 230V live and neutral so it shouldn’t be a problem to
replace the existing.

My real question is what do we do with the ground from the generator? Since it’s only
two wires going to the DPDT. Do we leave the ground connected to the generator as is?
I think I’ve read else where and maybe even here that you should not do that. Also does
the polarity matter when connecting to the DPDT, how do you know which is correct?

I plan to have a “electrician” do this work but as you probably know, a lot of the people
around here don’t even know what they are talking about. So I want to have my facts
straight before trying that.

Please help asap! Thanks.

Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 21.11.13 @ 4:29 pm

Jack,

I do suggest you consult with a local electrical engineer familiar with generator
hookups. It’s my understanding that the generator neutral should be bonded to
 ground in the panel box, so your hot and neutral wires from your generator
would go through the knife switch and the ground will be a separate wire from
the generator to the panel box ground. But, please confirm this with someone
who knows what they are doing!

Bob
Reply


 Jack
 21.11.13 @ 4:37 pm

Thanks, I’m looking in my panel box and I don’t really see any kind of
grounding at all! I’d hope that’s not the case but it wouldn’t surprise me.
They don’t do anything right here and this is a major builder in the area.
So now I’d really have no idea where to connect it.
Reply


 Bob and Carol
 21.11.13 @ 7:36 pm

Hi Jack,

I am not sure what kind of distribution system they have in Angeles

City – 2 wire (230+neutral) or 3 wire (110+110+neutral)? I’m
assuming you don’t have grounded outlets (receptacles). That’s
pretty common. So you don’t have a ground (earth) at your
residence such a grounding rod? If not, they are relying on the utility
system ground, say a ground road at the nearest utility pole. I am no
expert, but you should have your own ground. You can add a
ground bus bar to your panel box and connect it with a heavy wire to
a ground rod driven into the earth. Again, I suggest, for the
generator hook-up that you consult and electrical engineer.

Bob
Reply

25.
o darren
o 13.10.13 @ 6:35 am
o
hi like to know can australia 3 pin be used for cebu city philippines since this is different
to there as they use 2 pins as we building a house there soon thx
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 21.10.13 @ 9:15 pm

Darren,

I looked up the Australian plug. Are you planning on bringing Oz appliances to

the Philippines? Philippines is 240v/60 cycle whereas Australia is 240v/50 cycle.
Better just buy what appliances you need here in the Philippines.

We suggest you wire your new house using U.S. style grounded outlets. See
attached image. These are widely used in the
Philippines.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Domestic_AC_Type_B_USA.jpg
Bob
Reply

26.
o John Francis
o 01.10.13 @ 8:07 pm
 o
Hi Bob
It’s been a while but I have just reviewed your very informative house building blog, with
special reference to the electrical wiring, as I am now fast approaching wiring my own
home on Negros Occidental.
A few things have come to note. You have removed that very informative wiring diagram
which links up the generator, 100A switch and circuit breaker box. Any chance of
reinstating it?
You also show the clamp which holds the earthing wire to a rebar at the top of one of
your posts. Does the fact that the rebar is actually painted make any difference?
One last point – you used #12 AWG wire, which you say is rated at 20 amps, but
several sites on the internet rate it at 9.2 amps, which is quite a difference.
But overall, thanks again for the effort of posting this very helpful site.
Thanks
John
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 02.10.13 @ 11:30 am

John,

Regarding the wiring diagram, we have taken it down for revision. The diagram
showed the our generator as providing two 115v hot wires whereas in actuality
the generator output is one 230v hot and one neutral. These are still connected
to the knife switch in the same way except that we are advised that the
generator neutral must be bonded to ground in the panel box, in the same way
that the utility neutral is bonded to ground in the panel box. There are also some
other changes due to the fact that we have changed from single pole breakers to
double pole breakers. I can’t guarantee that my drawing skills will be as good as
the original!

Please read over the many revisions to our essay on wiring.

Here is a link to an allowable ampacity table for wire: http://www.usawire-

cable.com/pdfs/NEC%20AMPACITIES.pdf
The capacity of wire depends on the size of the conductors and the type of
insulation used. We used THHN insulated 3.5mm stranded copper wire. This
insulation is rated as suitable for hot and wet conditions. The chart gives an
allowable ampacity of 30 amps. Codes (Philippine and U.S.) require using up to
80% of the ampacity, so 12 AWG/3.5mm THHN can be used for circuits up to 24
amps. These ampacities can be further reduced if they are used in areas of high
ambient temperature, such a Philippine attic. Even assuming high ambient
temperatures, this wire is good for more than 20 amps. We are now using all GE
15 amp breakers with all our circuits so we feel we have a very safe
arrangement. Not sure where the 9.2 amps capacity came from but using 20
amp breakers for #12 wire has been the case for decades.

Others have pointed out the possible problem with the painted rebar used as a
grounding point. When I installed the clamp, I did scrape away the paint under
the clamp but go to the attic with my angle grinder and then take a photo which
shows a better contact with the rebar.

Bob and Carol

Reply

27.
o Larry
o 26.09.13 @ 3:19 pm
o
Well, i take your advice at heart,,, however,, i have a friend who is American, married to
Philippino, the built a new home, and they put both 110 and 220, also they are planning
to bring appliances, such a refrigerator, freezer, washer and dryer, along when they
transfer to the philippines… This is why i am asking the question of bringing my own
appliances, small and large,,, another reason and the biggest,,, is that philippine
appliances small or large do not withstand what US products do…. I have learned my
 lesson, for i have been married to my wife for 13 years, and have communicated and
been there, first time 1992, second 1994, third 1999, fourth 2007.. anyway i am grateful
for your input.. and Thanks for the advice…. however,, i feel that with good electrical
outlets, switches, wiring, breaker box and breakers…. My wife and I have purchased
some land already, now we need to build a house,, and i am looking for any advice i can
find…. Thank you so very much, and Please advice me more.. for i am planning to go to
the Philippines this coming November and start to look for all things needed to build a
house… and therefore i greatly appreciate all advice i can get….. Larry
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 26.09.13 @ 3:53 pm

Larry,

Top quality large and small appliances as well as electrical gear are available in
the Philippines. Our Electrolux refrigerator is the best quality I have ever owned
as is our Bompani kitchen range. The same is true of electrical gear including
outlet and switches. Admittedly, the best stuff is found in the cities and it is going
to cost more than it would in the U.S. However, keep in mind that it will not
require step-down transformers and parts and service will be available in the
Philippines.

There is no definite rule about these things. There is nothing wrong with bringing
all your stuff from the U.S. We brought a KitchenAid food processor, a Braun
blender, a Sunbeam mixer, a Singer sewing machine and various table lamps.
Perhaps you should bring the things you already own that are of good quality
and in good condition but don’t go out and buy U.S. stuff just because you think
good quality is not available in the Philippines.

Whatever your decision, I’m sure you’ll enjoy your Philippine life.

Bob and Carol

Reply


 Larry
 03.10.13 @ 8:02 am

Bob and Carol,

Thanks for your advise,, one thing more if i may ask,,, can it be done
without much problem, that is wiring of 110 and 220 separately from the
same breaker box, as can be done here in the USA??
Reply


 Bob and Carol
 03.10.13 @ 9:43 am

No, except for a few places, there is no easy way to have 110 v. In
the U.S. the utilities provide two 110 volt hot wires which, combined,
can give you 220. Here (and most of the rest of the world) you get
one 230 volt hot wire. If you bring some 110 volt small appliances,
you can use a step-down transformer to run them.

Bob
Reply

28.
o Larry
o 24.09.13 @ 8:31 am
o
 Would it behove me to bring my own electrical outlets, and switches, also my own
electrical box and breakers?? Also could i bring along my own appliances? and perhaps
my own wire?
Reply

o
 Bob and Carol
 25.09.13 @ 1:09 pm

Larry,

Thanks for your comment. I would buy all the electrical gear in the Philippines,
but especially breakers. If you bring the inexpensive switches and outlets from
the U.S. they will be rated with use on 115v systems. Our own Philippine utility
delivers more like 250v. I did bring some 12-3 Romex cable and I did use in on
conduit to an outdoor circuit. Most wiring here uses individual wires in conduit,
not the Romex type cable which are stapled to studs in the U.S. Are you going to
use a Philippine electrician and ask him to install 115v rated gear? He might
refuse. The electrical inspector might not give you a COA, especially if he saw
non-standard switches and outlet around the house. The electrical gear here is
good, if you avoid the cheap junk. We used Panasonic, which is great stuff,
Anam, Korean and good quality and even Bticino, an Italian brand.

Based on your question about appliances, I revised the electrical post to try to
answer that question, saying, “Many Americans considering a move to the
Philippines want to know is they can get 115 v power in the Philippines and
whether or not they should bring their 115 v appliances with them. If your
residence has the two-wire 230v system, 115 v is not going to be available
except by means of a step-down transformer. Step down transformers generate
heat and waste power, but are quite popular in the Philippines and available in
almost all hardware stores. There is no right answer to the question about
bringing appliances from the U.S. to the Philippines. Items used only
infrequently, say a food processor or sewing machine, it might make sense to
bring. Items which are in constant use, such as a refrigerator, we would not
bring. We have seen Filipinos using 115 v power tools, dragging around a step-
down transformer. Bob sold his power tools before leaving the U.S. and bought
new ones in the Philippines. His main regret is not bringing his Delta table saw. It
happened to have a 115/230 v motor. Just remember that electrical plugs in the
U.S. and the Philippines look the same, but the first time you plug your 115v
gadget into a 230 circuit, will likely be the end of that item.

Some expats have bought and installed their own power pole transformers and
have been able to get 115 v that way. This is an expensive option, probably
more expensive than buying new 230 appliances.”

Best wishes,

Bob and Carol

Reply

29.
o Harry Morgan
o 23.09.13 @ 1:15 pm
o
Here’s an informative essay on Philippine electrical systems reprinted by permission of
its author Harry Morgan. As you read what we have written above, you will see that we
have diverged from Mr. Morgan on the matter of breakers on the neutral line. We would
also be careful in using 110v breakers from the U.S. Some are rated 110/220v, marginal
on our 246v supply, some are for 110v only.

Harry wrote:

Dear Members,

Personally I enjoy the arguments about the electric service in the Philippines. I’ve been
an electrician for 30+ years in the USA and I totally rewired my father-in-law’s house in
Sibonga, Cebu. I will try to address some of the issues about the electric service you will
find in most of the Philippines, although I understand there are small areas of American
style systems around the old US military bases.

“IDEALLY”, here is what you “should” have in the majority of the Philippines: A
transformer on a pole somewhere near your house, it will be serving several houses in
the neighborhood. It will have 2 lugs on the secondary with 220 volts between them.
There will be 1 wire from each lug going to each house. One and only one of the lugs
“should” also have a second bare copper wire connected to it with the other wire and
this bare wire will run down the pole to a ground rod at the base of the pole. The 2 large
wires running to each house (service drop) will have the hot wire insulated and the other
(neutral) may be bare or insulated. After passing through the electric meter these wires
go to your fuse or breaker box. The hot wire will connect to the supply buss where the
fuses or breakers are. The neutral wire will connect to the neutral bus which is directly
mounted to the metal box. There SHOULD also be a bare wire going from the neutral
bus to a copper ground rod at each house. From the fuse or breaker box there will be
one black 220 volt hot wire from the fuse or breaker and one white neutral wire from the
neutral bus for each circuit. This is what you should have in the majority of the simple
Philippine 2 wire systems, please take note of the above IDEALLY’s and SHOULD’s.

The Philippine system is a GROUNDED system because the neutral wire is/SHOULD
be connected to a ground rod at the pole where the transformer is and a ground rod
and/or cold water pipe at each house. This keeps the transformer secondary from
floating: the neutral wire at zero volts and the hot wire about 220 volts, depending on
the service company’s supply voltage. The neutral wire will be at zero volts because it is
connected to ground. If you have anything other than zero volts, you have a loose, dirty,
or missing connection to the ground rod; or you are using your volt meter incorrectly
(which is not unusual). The neutral wire is also called the “GROUNDED” wire and it
should have white insulation throughout the house.

AS for the 3rd green or bare wire, which is missing most of the time in the Philippines, It
is called the “GROUNDING” wire. It is connected to the neutral wire in the fuse/breaker
box either in the same neutral bus mounted to the metal box or a seperate
GROUNDING bus, but they should be connected together and only in the fuse/breaker
box, this is the one and only time they should ever be connected together. Throughout
the house this GROUNDING wire should connect to the 3rd round prong of each
recepticle, all metal electric switch/ recepticle boxes, green hex head GROUNDING
screws, and eventually all metal fromes of all electric appliances. This keeps the metal
parts of the electric system and appliances at zero volts. The same Zero volts your
human body is, so no shocks.

Throughout the house the white GROUNDED wire is at zero volts and is a current
carrying part of each circuit. The green or bare GROUNDING wire is also at zero volts,
is not part of the circuit, and does not carry current (except in a fault). It’s purpose is to
keep all metal parts of the system and metal parts of the appliances at zero volts, and to
trip the breaker or blow the fuse and shut the circuit down in the case of a fault.

As for fuses or breakers, there should be one, and only one, in each circuit and it
should be in the hot wire. There should NEVER be a fuse or breaker in the neutral
white GROUNDED wire, usually you will find this mistake in the old 2 fuse boxes. I
have seen a fuse in the neutral a lot in the Philippines and some old installations in
the US. If you find a fuse in the neutral GROUNDED wire, please remove it and
connect the neutral GROUNDED wire direct. If you disagree with me and that fuse in
the neutral ever blows, you may then understand why.
There is no magic electrical trick you can do to get 110 volts from the usual Philippine
style 220 volt electric system. The ONLY way is to buy a 220 to 110 volt transformer.

Yes you can ship an American style breaker box to the Philippines and it will work fine,
if you know what to do. The 2 hot busses will have to be connected together and tied to
the one hot 220 volt wire in the Philippines. Yes, standard American single pole 110 volt
breakers will work just fine on Philippine 220 volt systems, they are good to 300 volts.
You will only need single pole breakers, NO/NONE/NEVER any 2 pole breakers. Also
the same breaker on 220 volts will carry twice the power it carries on 110 volts. A 15
amp breaker carries only 1650 watts on 110 volts, but a whopping 3300 watts on 220
volts. So you will likely want/need the smallest breakers you can find.

I have no idea if an American style 110 volt ground fault or arc fault breakers will work
on the Philippine system, I imagine you would blow the test button when you try to test
them. I contacted the American manufacturer with this question, but they wouldn’t
 answer. I imagine because of legal issues. You will have no use for the American style
2 pole GFCI’s for you hot tub heater, I imagine no use for a hot tub either.

Now for the American style 110/220 volt system you might find around the old US
military bases: The transformer on the pole will have 3 lugs for the secondary. The
middle lug is the “center tap” and will be connected to the ground rod that should be at
the bottom of the pole and at the ground rod that should be at each house. The second
wire connected to this lug and running to each house may be called GROUNDED,
neutral, or common. The other 2 lugs are the hot wires. Each hot wire will be 110 volts
to the neutral/common/GROUNDED wire. And there will be also be 220 volts between
the 2 hot wires if you leave the 3rd neutral/common/GROUNDED wire out of the circuit.
The American style system is a single phase system even though there are 2 hot wires.
One hot wire will be at +110 volts at exactly the same time the other hot wire is at -110
volts, thus they are in the same phase.

If there are any budding electrical engineers out there, please no arguments about
American style 208 volt systems, I already know they use 2 phases from a three phase
system. If you do have a 3 phase system for the secondary in your area of the
Philippines, I think you will find it to be a 380 volt 3 phase “Y” tied secondary. Thus any
phase to ground will be 220 volts. Besides, I thought engineers were supposed to drive
trains?

If I can be of help or if anyone wants to argue (I enjoy both), you may contact me on or
of the list.

Best always, Harry Morgan [email protected]

Reply

30.
o GOIloilo
o 20.01.13 @ 12:01 pm
o
You can buy books on electrical wiring at National Bookstore or better get a copy of the
Philippine Electrical Code. This is from a comment posted on the blog.

Bob,

Below is the IIEE web address and contact numbers. You may call them up about the
purchase then they will tell how much including shipping and ask you to deposit it with
their bank account (BDO). You have to scan the receipt and email it to them for
confirmation of the purchase. The item/s will be shipped on the same day thru LBC if
scanned receipt is received before 2PM. You will receive the item/s the next day or the
day after depending on your location.

http://www.iiee.org.ph/home/index.php/home/contact-us
I hope this one may help you get a copy of the code.

Happy New Year!

Jahn
Reply

31.
o Tom Henry
o 08.01.13 @ 3:56 am
o
I have written over 50 books on electrical and after readers various comments I would
like to say: Grounding to concrete encased rebar is the BEST ground and the worst is a
ground rod!
As far as connecting wires, the Code states in 110.3(B) all electrical equipment shall be
installed as LISTED! The proper electrical connection requires an inch-pound torque.
The label in the load center will state the correct inch-pounds for the wire size. All circuit
breakers in the U.S. have the required inch-pound of torque molded into the circuit
breaker case. How many of your so called electricians even have a torque screwdriver?
In you reply ask them.
I work as an electrical expert in personal injury and death cases, and when the lawyer
asks you if you torqued the connections you had better hope you did! Please
understand the Philippine Code and the NFPA 70 contain the same rules and Code
 rules are the MINIMUM requirement and a jury doesn’t want to hear you didn’t even
follow the MINIMUM! Read 110.3(B) before you connect another electrical conductor.
And by way the way in section 110 the Code considers concrete to be a GROUNDED
material, you can inform your reader.
Tom Henry
56 years in the electrical industry and many visits to the Philippines
National Bookstore sold my books
Reply

o
 GOIloilo
 08.01.13 @ 11:13 am

Tom,

Thanks for your comments and for your backup on using rebar for grounding.
There are lots of folks out there who feel that the only acceptable ground in a
grounding rod or pipe.

I have never seen an electrician with a torque screwdriver but the idea makes
sense to me. Under-tighten and have bad connection, over-tighten and break
something.

Bob
Reply

32.
o GOIloilo
o 06.01.13 @ 6:21 pm
o
Emman,

It’s difficult to advise you because there are so many variables; size of house, type of
electrical supply (varies by region), loads (for example, how much air conditioning) etc.
Just wait until you get here and hire a qualified electrical engineer to help to design your
system. You can buy everything locally.

Bob
Reply

33.
o Jim Leith
o 03.09.12 @ 1:37 am
o
Just a comment regarding the use of 2-pole circuit breakers. It is perfectly OK to use
these on a 220V AC single phase system. If a RCD is used these should be 2 pole. Also
though not applicable for residential houses, it is mandatory to break both the phase
and neutral of power suppies into harardous areas. In all cases the phase and neutral of
the 2 pole circuit breaker must be mechanically linked. Under no circumstances should
a fuse be placed in the neutral or an independent circuit breaker.
Reply

34.
o Emi
o 23.08.12 @ 5:36 pm
o
Pvc conduit pipes are better than metal or gi pipes. As you mentioned, pipes are subject
to corrosion. Even our water pipes are made of Pvc nowadays. I had big problems with
metal pipes in our old houses. It’s very difficult to replace corroded pipes
Reply

35.
o Peter & Mila
o 15.06.12 @ 12:35 pm
 o
Hi Bob,
Doing my electrics now and you are right about Panasonic sockets, they are much
better than the Royu. Would have preferred the international sockets for flat and round
connectors but the ones I saw had no protective spring covers inside which left gaping
holes where the bare terminals could be seen. Have decided to use the ordinary slot
type by Panasonic. The latter are also the only brand I found to have screw type
terminals. The other brands are the spring type which are pushed back by a narrow
blade and then they come back and trap the wire inside. This is fine for lamp sockets
but Power sockets at 10 amps …..doubt that, would prefer a screw that can tighten into
stranded cable to make more electrical surface contact.
Some very nice distributor/fuse boxes available now instead of the dull grey jobs that
you hide under the stairs. These are attractive plastic fronts with rows of trips under a
clear cover; they don’t look untowards on the wall by the kitchen door. I was
disappointed to find the lowest trip to be 16 amps. In the UK a lighting socket will have a
6amp line and we have trips to suit. My architect has put 8 lights on a 16 amp trip …
imagine a load of maybe 800 watts at the most, drawing less than 4 amps protected by
16 amp fuse yuk yuk. At first the plans specified 3.5 mm all round and I wanted a
smaller cable for the lights but the 2mm suggested by my electrician will only carry
about 9 amps, even covered by insulation and in a pipe at 30 odd degrees! I can see
the benefit of using 3.5 mm on the light circuits since if there is a problem we can get
the surge of shorting current to the 16 amp trip asap. The 3.5 mm wire fits perfectly into
the Panasonic sockets. Panasonic also do a double socket linked together needing only
2 connections and it also has the 3 pin type for the ground connection. (285 pesos, 2
times the Royu ones)
My plans also have too many trips to cover what I think is a very low load and I have put
all the lights under one 16 amp trip and also the power sockets under another 16 amp
trip. Electricity is expensive in the Philippines and no one user’s high wattage
appliances save a iron at less than a kilo watt.
My electrician arrived this morning to “layout” the Meltex piping into to rebar grid of the
first floor slab before the pour, apparently in the PI it’s the norm. I sent him home
because I prefer to put a 17 inch ½ pipe into each beam to string the cable through and
lay the wire onto the ceiling. My foremen will put a ¾ piece of marine ply in the centre of
the room suspended by 10mm rebar from the first floor to hold the room lights, so we
can also use it to support the junction boxes…….or Johnson boxes as my man says
hohoho.
Ground or Earth rod will go down the side of our septic tank to the damp parts that will
never dry out even in the summer season. I can feed it alongside the plastic sewer pipe
to the building distributor boxes..
Some difference in the quality of “back” boxes and “junction” boxes, ended up with
“omni” at 20 pesos from Ace hardware, 5 pesos more than el cheapo but worth it.
Said to my foreman…water goes up and electric comes down. These local chaps love
to hide services under concrete whilst we are used to having them exposed and more
accessible.
take care..Peter
ps we are having our light switches horizontal with “down” for “on”
Reply

o
 GOIloilo
 17.06.12 @ 10:27 am

Thanks for your excellent report. When I do my list of things I’d do differently,
using all Panasonic outlets and switches will be on it. Great stuff. Also I’d use all
15a GE breakers.

One engineer commented that the spring type terminals are better. Over time
the wire flows or flattens. With screws the connection can then loosen, but the
spring connectors maintain firm contact. But, I agree that the screw terminals
FEEL more secure.

Bob and Carol

Reply

36.
o marvin
 o 08.06.12 @ 11:38 am
o
the size of your circuit breaker and the size of your wires must be depend upon the
computation of the load…for all branch circuits wires, consider and 80 percent current
carrying capacity…say for example a 20 amp branch circuit can only carry 16 amp as
required by the National Electrical Code.the no. 12 AWG has an ampacity of 20 amp, so
based on the load computation the current connected for this circuit must not exceed 16
amp considering an 80 percent safety factor.in addition for safety wiring, do not use a
circuit breaker that has a rating larger than the rating of the branch circuit..it must be
equal…
Reply

37.
o John
o 23.01.12 @ 5:33 pm
o
Hi, I have a second home in Pampanga, I shipped in a GE 20 Circuit Panel Box with all
GE Style breakers installed and converted my second home there to US NEMA
standards I also shipped in all wires and conduit pipe because I did not trust any of their
low standard and poor quality electrical items. I also seen the snickering by the so-
called electricians there but when I was done they simply dropped their collective jaws
in awe and I had a line of electrician wannabes lining my driveway. I wanted a 120/240v
Delta power because of my imported US appliances from the skinny toothpick pole so I
found a used pole transformer here on Guam for cheap and had the local power
company in the PI install it and at first they had reservations and said so but I simply
said I am donating it to their company and they couldn’t climb the pole fast enough. I
have seen through my years here on Guam a certain amount of Filipinos shipping all
sorts of electrical items via Forex shipping for a very reasonable price and I looked into
it and I saved a lot of $$$ sending all my electrical appliances and TV’s from the local K-
Mart and Home Depot as compared to the prices in the malls in the PI.
Reply

38.
o Jahn
o 28.12.11 @ 10:19 pm
o
Bob,

The PEC requires the use of 3.5 sq. mm as minimum wire size for power circuits
provided the connected load does not exceed 3680VA. You may use 2.0 sq. mm as
minimum wire size only for lighting provided the load does not exceed 2760VA.
Overcurrent protection shall not exceed 15AT and 20AT for 2.0 and 3.5 sq. mm,
respectively.

Power outlets shall be calculated at no less than 180VA per box while lighting outlets
shall be calculated at a minimum 100VA per outlet. So, a 3.5 sq. mm wire can have 20
maximum power outlets and 27 lighting outlets for the 2.0 sq. mm wire.

Jahn, REE
Reply

39.
o andrei
o 20.08.11 @ 9:44 pm
o
Hi Bob,
I have some concern on the service entrance of the house. Is the metal conduit that
housed the service entrance cable and runs inside the attic connected to the ground? Is
there a service switch or service disconnect installed outside after the meter? If there is
none, the service entrance cable from the meter running inside the attic is not protected
by a breaker or safety switch. It will looks like a utility company erected its additional
pole in the open space inside the house. The service entrance should not be ran
horizontally in the attic but should instead run vertically concealed inside the concrete
wall unless it is buried in a concrete slab. The metal conduit which housed the main
supply cable should be used up to the service panel where it will be bonded galvanically
to the frame.
 Regards,

Andrei
Orl,FL
Reply

o
 GOIloilo
 21.08.11 @ 10:52 am

Hi Andrei,

You are the second person to question the installation of the service cable in the
galvanized pipe. The pipe is not grounded except perhaps by passing through
the steel cornice components. It should be easy to run a ground wire from the
pipe to rebar coming up from the footers. Thanks for pointing this out.

Bob
Reply
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42.
o GOIloilo
o 25.02.11 @ 6:27 pm
o
Andrew,

One other thing. We discussed the neutral to ground jumper in the panel box. I got to
thinking that the jumper means that when the generator is running the generator neutral
will be connected to the utility neutral through the buss. Is there any possible danger to
utility workers in this?

Bob
Reply

43.
o pogidaga
o 23.02.11 @ 4:23 pm
o
Hi Bob,

You mentioned beefing up the bonding connection for lightning safety and it piqued my
interest. One of these days i hope to be living under a metal roof in the Philippines
myself. I’ve been reading up on metal roofs and lightning protection. I thought you and
other readers of the blog might like to know what i found so far.

Grounding the metal roof is not required by code except in the unlikely event that your
roof is likely to be “energized” ( gets touched by a hot wire). But most people think that
grounding the roof can’t hurt and might be beneficial. But grounding the roof might
require running a bonding conductor to each panel if they have an insulating coating.

In your house, the roof panels might not be electrically connected to ground, but the
giant metal roof trusses are likely grounded due to the welded connection to the rebar
from the top of the wall (provided the wall rebar is tied to the foundation rebar).

No matter how big the grounding wire is in your main panel, it isn’t going to help you
much in a direct lightning strike on your house. But it will help if lightning strikes in the
neighborhood and induces a surge on the service entrance conductors. What will help
even more is a whole-house surge suppresor (Transient Voltage Surge Suppressor-
TVSS). I installed one in my main panel that looks like a double-pole breaker. If there is
no room for another breaker a unit like this can be
used: http://74.53.140.226/~sycomsur/products/SYC_120_240_T2-4-3.html
If you want to protect the house from a direct lightning strike, it can be done with a
separate system of lightning rods, ground rods, and heavy conductors to connect the
two. The code for lightning protection is published by the same people who publish the
NEC, and i found a downloadable copy
here: http://www.atmo.arizona.edu/students/courselinks/spring07/atmo589/articles/
NFPA_780_2004.pdf
And here is a helpful guide for designing a lightning protection
system: http://www.designandbuildwithmetal.com/TechArticles/Articles/
lightning_protection_basics.aspx
For a typical Philippine house with metal roof trusses, it should be possible to use the
roof trusses as conductors in the lightning protection system. That would reduce the
amount of heavy conductor required to just between the ground rods and the roof truss.

Although the lightning protection code allows using rebar in a concrete foundation as a
grounding terminal in new construction, i think it would be much better in a typical
Philippine home to use dedicated ground rods instead. If lightning hits my house, i’d
much rather have the millions of amps going through a thick braided copper conductor
on the outside of the wall instead of through the rebar inside of the wall. FYI: some
experts recommend staying away from walls containing rebar during a thunderstorm
(and also stay away from computers, wired phones, metal plumbing, and metal framing
around windows and doors).

Cheers!
-Andrew
Reply

o
 GOIloilo
 26.02.11 @ 10:02 am

from Andrew:

Bob,

I too have seen light fixtures come with tinned, stranded wires. But i don’t like the
idea of home-made tinning. I can’t think of any reason why it would fail, i’m just
trained to have a horror of home-made solutions used when store-bought ones
are available.

If you can find a source for wire nuts, i think the best solution is add solid pigtails.
Take a 6 or 7 inch length of solid wire and connect it to the stranded wire with a
twist-on pressure connector, AKA wire nut. The other end goes to the device.

If you go this route, strip a little more insulation off the stranded wire than the
solid wire. For example if you take 3/4 inch off the solid wire, take 7/8 inch off the
stranded wire. Then tighten the strands by twisting with your thumb and
forefinger. Pinch the two wires together parallel in one hand with the ends of the
wires lined up. With the other hand push on the wire nut and twist hard. You
want the bare parts to wrap around each other, but there is no point in having
the insulated parts wrap around each other. When done, grab one wire in each
hand and gently but firmly try to pull the wires apart. If the wires come apart, it
wasn’t a good connection. Try again until it passes the pull test.

-Andrew
Reply


 GOIloilo
 26.02.11 @ 10:03 am

Andrew,

I did bring some wire nuts with me plus they are available here — but
expensive. The problem is that most of my switches are three gang in one
utility size box. This is typical. For a bedroom two switches are for
recessed lighting and one for the ceiling fan.

I have experimented with solid pigtails but there is no way the wires,
pigtails and wire nuts and the three switches will fit in the utility box. Using
#12 AWG wire it’s difficult to get just the switches and wire, much less
anything more.
 It could have been done differently (one switch per box?) but too late for
that.

I’ll experiment with tinning and see how it works. I read this online:

“Tinning electrical wires can turn stranded wires into solid wires. Soldering
wire strands, often called tinning, is the way the professionals ensure that
wires strands don’t fray and seperate when the terminal is tightened down
on the wire. By using a soldering iron to add rosin-core solder to the wire
strands, the solder fills in the viods between the wire stands and causes
the loose, fine wires to become one solid wire that can be easily bent and
placed underneath the terminal screws. This ensures a tight connection
and virtually eliminates the possibility of loose strands touching the
junction box or comming out from beneath the terminal screw.”

I’m not sure I agree that tinning turns stranded wire into solid, but the part
about making it easier to make secure physical connections is true.

Thanks again for your input!

Bob
Reply

44.
o pogidaga
o 12.02.11 @ 10:56 am
o
Hi Bob and Carol,

I managed to find a free download of the Philippine Electrical Code in PDF format. The
name of the file includes “2008” and “Draft”. Even if this document is not the one
currently in effect, it’s probably not much different from the one that is in effect. Here is
the link:

http://rapidshare.com/#!download|755l33|263242134|
Philippine_Electrical_Code__Draft__2008.pdf|6248
I just found it and have not had much time to read it, but it does not appear to have a
table of ampacities just for service entrance cables as the NEC does. If so, then the #2
wires you used might be the legal minimum for a 100-amp service. Those who
snickered at your “oversized” wires just aren’t used to seeing people follow the

code. 

Also, using rebar for a grounding system electrode is allowed in the PEC. The text is
almost identical to the NEC:

“2.5.3.3(a)(3) Concrete-Encased Electrode. An electrode encased by at least 50 mm of

concrete, located within and near the bottom of a concrete foundation or footing that is
in direct contact with the earth, consisting of at least 6 000 mm of one or more bare or
zinc galvanized or other electrically conductive coated steel reinforcing bars or rods of
not less than 13 mm in diameter, or consisting of at least 6 000 mm of bare copper
conductor not smaller than 22 mm2. Reinforcing bars shall be permitted to be bonded
together by the usual steel tie wires or other effective means.”

Bare rebar like you used is specifically allowed.

You didn’t say how big your grounding wire was, but i found a table that says it only
needs to be 3.2 mm sq for your 30 mm sq service entrance conductors. I think that is
around #12 AWG which seems mighty small to me. In the US the wire would have to be
at least #8 AWG. In the code this wire is called a GEC or “grounding electrode
conductor”. You said you used a #10 AWG wire to bond the ground bus to the neutral
bus inside the main panel. Since that is bigger than the minimum size needed for the
GEC, it should be fine. If i were wiring the panel i would run the GEC in one continuous,
unspliced piece from the rebar clamp through the neutral bus or ground bus and then
terminate it on the other zero-potential bus inside the main panel.

—–

Hi Bob,
Congratulations on your new house! I haven’t finished reading the blog yet, but it
sounds like you’ve carefully considered all the options and made a lot of smart design
decisions. I’m hoping to build a house near Manila in five or ten years and am eager to
learn from the experience of others. It’s definitely a challenging situation for people
familiar with different methods, materials, and standards of home construction.

The rebar we use here LOOKS the same as the rebar used in the Philippines. I suspect
it is the same, but i’ll have to research that. I’m pretty confident that you have a good
ground electrode system. You could have it tested if you were curious. It’s not a simple
test, though. You couldn’t do it yourself with a voltmeter. You might be able to get the
utility to do it for a fee. Here is more info about ground testing:
http://ecmweb.com/grounding/electric_ground_testing_techniques/
In the US the neutral bus and the ground bus are bonded together in the main panel. In
all downstream subpanels the neutral bus is isolated from the ground bus. You used a
#10 wire to bond these together in your main panel. That is probably adequate. I’ll have
to check but i think the NEC would require a bigger wire here in the US.

When there is a wider prong on a plug, it is supposed to be connected to the neutral

and the other prong goes to hot. When both prongs are the same it shouldn’t matter
because the device is supposedly “double-insulated”. I can only guess why your stereo
cares which way it is plugged in. I’ll bet if you opened it up you’d find the neutral wire
goes to the internal chassis ground (if there is one).

#2 for service entrance cable might have been overkill, but #6 would definitely be
underkill. Like you i prefer to err on the side of caution and safety. I would not worry
about your service entrance conductor overheating, although the conduit is small, the
conductors are over-sized and should not get very warm.

Crimps make good connections. If you taped them very well, it should be good for
decades. But twisted and taped connections will fail over time. They are explicitly
forbidden in the NEC. I have seen with my own eyes wires twisted together years earlier
that no longer have electrical contact due to surface corrosion. Before the connection
fails it becomes a high-resistance connection which can easily lead to fires. Yikes!

Wire nuts are great for solid wire. I don’t have much experience with them on #12
stranded wire. I’ll have to research that.

You might want to wait a year and then examine the stranded wiring connection to one
of your heavily-used receptacles. If the periodic heating and cooling has not caused the
connection to loosen up and start to burn, then it will probably be good for decades.

The last time i was in the Philippines was three years ago. I was able to get a copy of
the National Building Code of the Philippines in a bookstore in Manila (i think it was a
branch of the National chain). But the Philippine Electrical Code eluded me and i looked
all over.

I’m looking forward to reading the rest of your blog and finding out what you like about
the new house and would you would have done differently (if anything). Cheers!
Reply

o
 Jahn
 31.12.11 @ 5:24 pm

Bob,

Below is the IIEE web address and contact numbers. You may call them up
about the purchase then they will tell how much including shipping and ask you
to deposit it with their bank account (BDO). You have to scan the receipt and
email it to them for confirmation of the purchase. The item/s will be shipped on
the same day thru LBC if scanned receipt is received before 2PM. You will
receive the item/s the next day or the day after depending on your location.

http://www.iiee.org.ph/home/index.php/home/contact-us
I hope this one may help you get a copy of the code.

Happy New Year!

Jahn
 Reply

45.
o pogidaga
o 11.02.11 @ 8:14 am
o
You wrote: “We discovered that our electricians would sometimes cut off strands from
the 12 AWG wires so they would fit more easily into switch terminals.”

Bad electricians, no donut for you! Did you really use stranded wire for all the 15-amp
and 20-amp circuits? I wonder if that is common in the Philippines? It’s a little bit easier
to pull stranded wire through conduit compared to solid wire, but using solid wire makes
it much easier to make connections from wire to wire and wire to screw terminal.

In the US the most common receptacles and switches are designed for solid wires only
(which doesn’t stop some people from using stranded wire). I wonder if the wiring
devices you have in the Philippines are more stranded-friendly than wiring devices here
in the US.
Reply

o
 Emi
 23.08.12 @ 5:33 pm

We are advised that using the stranded is better than solid copper wires. I had
solid copper wires installed in one of our houses in metro Manila and after 12
years, the copper got brittle and we had problems pulling them out.
Reply

46.
o pogidaga
o 11.02.11 @ 7:40 am
o
“To run the main feed into the attic we used 3/4? galvanized pipe.”

I hope you used electrical conduit and not galvanized water pipe. Galvanized water pipe
should not be substituted for electrical conduit because the galvanization causes the
inside to be rough enough to damage the insulation of conductors pulled through it.

Also, 3/4 inch is too small to meet NEC requirements. According to table 1 in annex C,
the conduit should be at least 1 inch for two or three #2 conductors. In the US the
smallest service entrance conduit commonly used is 1-1/4 inch.
Reply

47.
o pogidaga
o 11.02.11 @ 7:24 am
o
“It’s interesting that our entrance cable (weather head to panel box) is #2 AWG copper
(as specified by our electrical engineer) while the cable from the pole to the house is
much lower capacity #6 AWG aluminum.”

According to the NEC table 310.15(B)(6), #2 AWG copper can be used for a 125 amp
service. For a 100 amp service you could have gone with the smaller #4 AWG copper
wire. Your engineer may have mistakenly relied on table 310.16 for general-purpose
use that requires bigger wires for a given amp rating.

Utilities everywhere use small wires when connecting overhead services. They can do it
because the wires are in open air and not near anything combustible, so it doesn’t
matter if the current warms them up a little from time to time.
Reply

48.
o pogidaga
o 11.02.11 @ 5:54 am
o
Mabuhay! I’ve read half your blog and so far i love it. I’m planning to build a house in the
Philippines someday, and i’m sure the info here will be very useful.

If i understood your description correctly, you may have a perfectly adequate grounding
system for your electrical service. You wrote:

“Rather than using a grounding rod pounded into the soil, we attached a copper clamp
to the rebar in one of the house’s main columns. This rebar leads about 1.5 meters
underground to a mass of rebar in the base of the footer. A heavy copper cable runs
from the clamp to the panel box. ”

Where i live in California, using the rebar in a concrete foundation as a ground instead
of a driven ground rod is allowed by the National Electric Code (NEC) and is also quite
common. My house built in 1984 uses rebar instead of a ground rod. A new house i’m
helping build right now is the same way. Both were approved by the local building
inspector.

The NEC requires what it calls a “grounding electrode system” installed where the
electric service enters the building. That system is composed of one or more
“electrodes” and a wire that connects the electrode or electrodes to the main panel. A
driven ground rod is one permissible type of electrode. Rebar can also be permissible if
installed correctly. Here is what the 2008 NEC says about it:

“NEC 250.52(3) An electrode encased by at least 2 inches of concrete, located

horizontally near the bottom or vertically, and within that portion of a concrete
foundation or footing that is in direct contact with the earth, consisting of at least 20 feet
of one or more bar or zinc galvanized or other electrically conductive coated steel
reinforcing bars or rods of not less than 1/2 inch diameter.”

I don’t have a copy of the Philippine Electrical Code, but i believe it is similar to and
maybe even derived from the NEC used in the US.

The customary practice here is to arrange for 6 to 8 inches of rebar stick out of the
concrete at a convenient location near the main panel. Then use a purpose-made
ground clamp to connect a wire to the rebar and run the wire to the main panel.
Reply

o
 GOIloilo
 11.02.11 @ 4:36 pm

Hi “pogidaga”

Thanks so much for your comments and compliments about our blog and
electrical system. You really seem like you know what you’re talking about.
Hopefully you comments will benefit other readers.

Thanks especially for the information about using rebar as a system ground. I
note that the code you quote calls for galvanized or coated rebar. Such rebar is
not used in residential construction here, as far as I know.

As you know, our utility distribution grid uses the “single wire system”. My panel
box has a neutral bus which is connected to the utility company ground wire. Our
house is next to the utility company’s employee subdivision and not far from a
main substation. The utility poles and lines are new and really well done. Each
concrete utility pole is well grounded so our utility-provided ground is probably as
good as it gets for this type of system in the Philippines. Then I have a ground
bus in the panel box which is connected to the footer rebar with a copper clamp.
We used grounded outlets throughout so the neutral side of the plug (if the plugs
have polarity — many don’t) goes to the utility company ground and the ground
side goes to my own rebar ground. I mulled over whether the neutral bus and the
ground bus should be connected in the panel box. I did end up joining them with
a 5.5mm (10AWG) jumper. My stereo receiver which has a no polarity plug
complained until I reversed the plug. Any comments?

Regarding the entrance cable, I have not been able to get a hold of a copy of the
Philippine Electrical Code, despite trying to do so. But I do have a copy of a
guidebook for electricians published by Columbia Wire and Cable, one of the big
 Philippine manufacturers. It gives two charts for allowable ampacities, one for
free air and one for raceway or burial. I used 30mm (2.0) THHN/THWN rated for
90C. According to the guidebook, this wire in conduit will handle 120 amps so
you are 100% correct. But, evidently the code calls for calculating wire size using
80% of rated capacity. That’s how I came up with 100. Anyway,much of this was
new to me and I wanted to err on the side of bigger/better. The electricians and
electrical inspectors were amused by the use of the 2.0AWG which they thought
was wildly over done. They said I should have used 6 AWG. 6 AWG is rated for
70 amps! Maybe they are right. We just don’t have much load. Our two air con
units are 7.82 amps together, our water pump is 500 watts. All lighting is
compact fluorescent. No dryer, no electric stove, no hot water heater.

You are also right about the conduit size. I did use 3/4″ galvanized water pipe to
support the weather head, but only a short length, maybe three or four feet. The
rest of the way it’s in 30mm plastic conduit. I don’t think chafing will be a problem
and the oversize entrance cable should not overheat?

I’m really guilty on the stranded wire front. All of our wire is stranded. And, you’re
correct that many of the available outlets and switches are made for solid wire
and the device is stamped that they are for solid wire only. Many have no screw
terminals at all, just the push in connectors. There were two brands which
seemed to accommodate stranded wires, Panasonic (expensive but good) and
Royu (cheaper) so that’s what we used. We used 12 AWG wire, we have lightly
loaded circuits and most boxes and conduit are embedded on concrete, so
hopefully the stranded wire will be fine.

It’s interesting to note that wire nuts are not used here. Old fashioned wire to
wire splices wrapped in tape is the custom. I used Buchanan copper crimp
connectors and a crimper. The splice was then wrapped in tape.

Thanks again for your contributions.

Bob and Carol Hammerslag

Reply

49.
o Peter
o 23.11.10 @ 11:49 am
o
Hi Bob,
It is difficult to work out whats best for all circumstances. With a big enough generator
no problems arise, start the thing going and then switch over. Most of us would probably
have a small unit say 3Kw and it would only be used for fridge, tv and lights. Having it
wired for when the mains fails gives some thought. We may not be around to choose
the breakers to switch off and those to leave on. Putting the gen on a heavy load will
burn out the alternator.
Possibly an idea would be to have the “emergency” circuits (lights, fridge,tv) on a
separate breaker and wired via a changeover switch to the gen set.
No problems would arise when the switch was operated by an untrained person.
Peter
ps I cringed when first seeing the local Filipino electrician twisting the cables to make
joins but actually they do hold up well……love the orange toothpaste caps for joining
ends together. Screwed terminations WILL work loose.
Reply

50.
o Theodore
o 13.10.10 @ 10:12 pm
o
As stated in a previous post I’m still learning about residential construction in the
Philippines. Can you please explain (1)why the electrical conduit is buried under the
slab rather than vertically in the hollow-core from wall outlets and wall switches to your
spacious attic; (2) why you weakened the hollow-core by cutting vertical or horizontal
channels instead of installing inside the hollow-core; and (3) why the wall outlet boxes
are installed horizontally instead of vertically as in the US? Are the wall outlet boxes
installed horizontally because of a safety issue – since the outlet boxes are not typically
installed with a ground wire? Thank you.
Reply

o
 GOIloilo
 14.10.10 @ 7:32 pm

Theodore,

To some degree we just followed Philippine building traditions in the way we did
many things.

Here’s a few thoughts. The hollow cores in hollow block are always filled with
rebar and concrete so there really is no cavity. Properly filling the hollow block
with concrete and rebar is essential to the strength of the wall as the block
themselves are very weak. Yes, channels are cut into the block to accommodate
conduit, but then when the wall is finished (plastered with concrete), the conduit
is covered over with a material which is certainly stronger than the hollow block
which was chipped away. The real problem comes when someone forgets to
embed conduit into the posts and beams when they are poured. When this
happens, the post or beam can be partially cut to accommodate the conduit.
Remember though that the entire wall is plastered so any cuts in structural
members are shallow as the conduit is mostly hidden in the cement plaster
finishing.

I’m assuming that outlet wiring is routed through the floors because the path to
the panel box is shorter and more direct than if the wires were routed through
the attic. I actually like the system. The conduit system, unless shortcut are
taken, is such that new wires can be pulled in case of problems. The wires in the
conduit in the center of a concrete slab should be pretty well protected from
being chewed on by any critter.

Honestly, I don’t know why my outlets are horizontal rather than vertical. We just
think they look better that way. All our outlets are grounded.

Hope this helps.

Bob
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