What is a domestic ring main circuit?
A domestic ring main circuit is the arrangement of wiring, sockets and fuses which provide electrical power to appliances such as hoovers, fans, TVs, computers, etc. in UK homes. Larger appliances like cookers, showers and central heating boilers have their own separate connections to the mains. Lighting has its own (different) arrangement of smaller cables. It’s called a Ring Main because it takes mains electricity through a consumer unit (modern version of a fuse box), and runs it around the house in one or more rings of cables, and back to the Unit. Each power socket in the house is connected to a ring main. The power provided to homes is AC (alternating current) which means the current keeps switching direction.
