Indicative Location of

Utility Elements:
Air conditioner, Electrical Outlet
& Switches
 Air
Conditioner
Air Conditioner is a system or a machine that treats air in a defined,
usually enclosed area via a refrigeration cycle in which warm air is removed
and replaced with cooler and more humid air.
Where should air conditioner
be placed?

Air conditioner must be placed in a shady spot on the

east or north side of the house, where it will receive less
direct sunlight. Or in the cooler side of your house.
 What is the height required for
air conditioning?
The proper room size is 10’ L X10’ H for 1 Ton Air-con.
In a 10 feet high room, a split type AC should be installed at 7-8
feet for the best cooling performance. For a window type AC, the best
height is 3-4 feet from the floor. If you are fixing the AC very close to
the wall or in an airtight room it will trip due to high head pressure, as
heat dissipation can’t happen. Distance must be more than 900 mm
after fixing the air-con and top of the shaft should not be closed.
How much space do you need around
an air conditioner?

At least 2 feet clearance around the equipment and at

least 5 feet above it. Covering the top of the unit actually
lowers efficiency and heats up the space around it. Air
conditioners need intake and exhaust air to operate
efficiently.
 WHY AIR CONDITIONERS DOES
PLACED AT THE TOP OF A ROOM?

Density of cold air is higher and hence would settle

downwards cooling the space much more evenly. Imagine an
air conditioner placed at lower level it will not be able to cool
the hotter air upwards because it would be against the
natural circulation.
What are the possible mistakes
to avoid in Air conditioning?
BUYING TOO BIG AN AIR CONDITIONER.
Bigger isn’t always better. Many homeowners are inclined to get
bigger air conditioner, assuming it will make the home colder faster.
However, an oversized air conditioner won’t generate uniform
temperatures or reduce humidity. It will also run inefficiently by cycling on
and off quickly. Of course, a unit may also be too small to properly cool to
space.
PUTTING THE AIR CONDITIONER IN A HOT SPOT.
It may seem convenient to put air conditioners in an unused
spot on the southwest side of the house. However, such placement will
make the unit work too hard. Instead, install the air conditioner in a
shady spot on the east or north side of the house where it will receive
less direct sunlight.
HIDING THE AIR CONDITIONER.
The air conditioner may not be pretty, but neither are excessive
summer electric bills. Don’t try to hide air conditioners behind shrubs
or other plants. They will hinder ventilation, clog condenser coils with
leaves and twigs and make the air conditioner run less efficiently.
IGNORING MAINTENANCE.
Many homeowners ignore the basic A/C maintenance that can
improve efficient and comfort, and extend the life of air conditioner.
You must clean or replace the filters at least every two months and if
it used constantly or a filters a lot of dust, you must check it often.
And also, check and clean the evaporator coil once a year.
LEAVING THE AIR CONDITIONER ALL DAY.
Use a programmable thermostat or individual unit timer to
start cooling off the house before you get home from work. This is
cheaper and more efficient than leaving the air conditioner running all
day, despite rumours to the contrary.
BLINDLY CLOSING UNUSED VENTS.
It many cases, this can decrease the efficiency of a central
air conditioning expert before closing off any parts of the house
for the summer. Also be careful about closing off any rooms that
may have a thermostat.
TURNING THE TEMPERATURE WAY DOWN.
If you are comfortable at 78 degrees, don’t come home and
turn the thermostat down at 70 degrees. It will not get you to 78
any faster. It will just skip past 78 and waste ever more energy
getting to excessively low temperatures.
HEATING UP THE THERMOSTAT.
Make sure lamps, televisions, stereos or other heat-generators
are not close enough to the thermostat to accidentally drive up the
temperature reading and overwork the air conditioner.
NOT USING CEILING FANS AND OR RUNNING THEM BACKWARDS.
Many people think their air conditioner is a substitute for ceiling
fans. Instead, they should be used in tandem. According to Energy Star,
make sure the fan is switched to push air downward (typically counter-
clockwise). It may seem more logical to reverse the fan so it is pulling
hot air upward. However, the downward airflow creates a “wind chill
effect”, which make you feel cooler.
USING THE WRONG FANS.
On the other hand, exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom
can push cool, conditioned air out of the house. They should not be
used more than absolutely necessary in the summer.
 Electrical
Outlet
An Electrical Outlet or Receptacle is a socket that connects an
electrical device to an electricity supply.
RECOMMENDED WALL & COUNTERtOP
LOCATIONS FOR ELECTRICAL RECEPTACLES
(OUTLET)
- THE SIX FOOT RULE FOR RECEPTACLES ALONG INTERIOR WALLS.
A basic guideline for locating and spacing electrical receptacles
in a residential building is that at no spot along the length of any
building interior wall should the distance to the nearest receptacle be
more than 6 feet. This means you are placing walls receptacles at 12
foot intervals or less; some wall designs and room layouts will of
course reduce this number.
HOW HIGH SHOULD AN ELECTIRCAL
OUTLET BE OFF THE FLOOR?

NEC 210.52.A.2. A common height for wall outlet is

between 12 to 16 inches to the bottom of the device. In rare
instances, outlets are still installed in baseboards and in
the floor with proper box/covers.
HOW LONG DO ELECTRICAL OUTLETS
LAST?

If your home is equipped with GFCI outlets, there are a

few things you should know. Most GFCI outlets will last for
about 15 to 25 years, but in certain circumstances, they can
fails after 5 years.
HOW MANY OUTLETS DO YOU NEED
IN A ROOM?

By today’s standards, a bed room should have one

outlet for each 12 feet of wall and at least one outlet on each
wall. This may be an older building that predates current
electrical standards. However, numerous extension cords
create a fire hazard.
DOES EVERY WALL NEED AN OUTLET?

Hallways more than 10 feet long must have at least one

receptacle. If the wall is less than 24 inches wide, an outlet
is not required. Placing an outlet on walls less than 24
inches wide is your choice. Either 15A or 20A tamper-
resistant outlet, depending on the amperage carried by the
wire servicing that outlet.
 ELECTRIC OUTLET REQUIREMENTS:
TUB-SHOWER CLEARANCE: Keep electrical outlet at least 3 feet (1
meter) away from a tub or shower.
ELECTRIC BASEBOARD CLEARANCE: Keep electrical outlets offset above
and to the side of vanity sinks, not right over the sink.
ELECTRIC BASEBOARD CLEARANCE: Keep electric outlets off to one side,
not right over electric heating baseboards to avoid overheating and
possibly melting electrical cords draped over the heater (a fire risks).
OUTLETS IN FLOORS, IN COUNTERTOPS: Generally we do not
mount electrical outlets flush in countertops or floors, though
in some codes and jurisdictions the inspector may require that
special (protected) floor-mount electrical outlets be installed
in order to meet the requirement that electrical outlets are
available within 6 feet in any direction along a wall, and where
no “wall” is available to install such outlets (such as along a
sleeping loft).
GARAGE ELECTRICAL OUTLET LOCATION: In the garage
electrical outlets should be 18” or more above floor level.
HOW MANY WIRES CAN YOU CONNECT
TO AN OUTLET?

The switch box shown has a total 8 “wires” – one for

each of the four insulated wires, 2 for the switch, 1 for all
the bare ground wires, and one for the cable clamps. The
jumper wire does not count as a conductor. You’d need a
3x2x3-1/2 – inch device box if you were wiring with 12-
gauage wire.
 Electrical
Switch
An Electrical Switch is any device used to interrupt the flow
of electrons in a circuit. Switches are essentially binary devices:
they are either completely on (‘”closed”) or completely off
(“open”).
 HOW HIGH SHOULD ELECTRICAL
SWITCHES BE FROM THE FLOOR?

The National Electrical Code specifies that each room in a

house should have at least one switch to operate lights in the
room, but it doesn’t say anything about how high the switch
should be. Many builders position switch boxes so the bottom of
the box is 48 inches above the floor.
HOW MANY ELECTRICAL SWITCHES A
ROOM SHOULD HAVE?

The Code does not require more than one wall switch
in each room, additional switches are often installed in
rooms having more than one door (or entry). Although only
one switch is required.
HOW DO SWITCHES WORK IN A
CIRCUIT?

Electrical circuits only work when the electricity is

free to move through in a continuous loop. Once that loop is
broken, the electricity is cut off. This is where the switch
comes in. an on/off toggle circuit breaks the current when
it’s in the “off” position.
Electrical switches defined
as?
Switch types are commonly abbreviated for brevity,
so a single-pole, double-throw switch would be referred to
as an “SPDT” switch. Double-pole, double-throw “DPDT”
switches are commonly employed as internal polarity
reversing circuits. Switches of up to four poles and three
throws are common and some have breaks.
 TYPES OF ELECTRICAL SWITCHES IN
THE HOME
WALL SWITCH BASICS: The wall switch is one of the most common
and important electrical devices in the home. There are several
different types of switches, and although they may look the same when
they are installed with their faceplates intact, the various switches look
and function differently on the inside.
Most of the common types of switches come in different styles,
such as toggle, rocker, slider, or push-button. The style usually does
not affect the switch function and wiring.
 SINGLE-POLE SWITCH is the general-purpose workhorse of switches.
It is used to control a light, receptacle, or other device from a single
location. A characteristic feature of a single-pole toggle switch is that it has
on and off markings on the toggle. This is something you will not find in
three-way or four-way switches. However, some styles of single-pole
switches (notably, rocker style switches) do not have on/off markings.
A single-pole switch has two brass-colored screw terminals that are
connected to the hot, or power-source wires. These wires are usually black.
One brass terminal is designated for the incoming hot wire from the power
source, and the other is for the outgoing hot wire to the fixture. Most single-
pole switches also include a ground terminal for connecting the circuit’s
ground wire.
 THREE-WAY SWITCHES are always used in pairs and allow you to
control a light or receptacle from two different locations. These switches
have no on/off markings because the on and off positions will vary as the
switches are used.
The three-way switches has three terminal screws. The hot wire from
the power source connect to the darkest screw terminal marked “COM” for
common. The other two terminals are called travellers and are
interchangeable. For purposes of safety, it is important to remember that
travellers are always hot wires. The switch also has a ground screw.
Three-way switches are usually found at both ends of a staircase, in
garages or basements that have two entries, in hallways, and other places
where two separate switches control one light.
 DOUBLE – POLE SWITCH is commonly used in industrial
applications but can be found I some home wiring systems. Like the
single-pole switch, a double-pole switch has on/off markings and
controls a device or equipment from one location. The main
difference is that a double-pole switch has four hot brass terminals,
instead of two, plus a ground terminal. This allows the user to
connect it to two pairs of hot wires from a 240-volt circuit.
Double-pole switches are commonly rated for 30 amps,
compared to 15 or 20 amps with standard switches. This allows the
switches to control power feeding higher-demand appliances,
motors, and machinery.
 FOUR-WAY SWITCH is used between two three-way switches to provide
control for an outlet or light fixture from three or more different locations. If you
want to have control from more than three locations – for example, five locations
– you would still use two three –way switches (one on each end) and three four-
way switches between two three-ways.
The four-way switch looks similar to a double-pole switch, except it has
no on/off markings. It has four terminals plus a ground terminal. The four
terminals are usually brass-colored. There is no “COM” or “common” terminal, as
is found on a three-way switch. The four-way switch functions as a switching
device for traveller wires between the three-way switches.
While not commonly used, four-way switches are sometimes found in long
hallways and in very large rooms that have more than two entrances.