Unit-1: General Principle

Estimating is an art by which we can get an approximation of material, investment involved and
the time to be taken for the completion of electrification project we are planning to do.
Estimating is necessary because it gives us certainty about amount of money required,
availability of materials, time etc. In absence of estimating and costing, work cannot be
completed smoothly due to instantaneous shortage of money, material and time.

For purchasing the material according to the estimating and costing, the market survey is
necessary. The estimating and costing have following aims
1. To ensure list of material is completed before starting the job so that there is less
chance of shortage of material during work period.
2. To ensure that money is not misused in the projects under construction.
3. To save time. i.e work is completed well in time as planned.
The following problems can come in the way of the work started without estimation
1. It becomes difficult to purchase necessary material which may interrupt the work
2. Money is misused by purchasing smaller or excess quantities of material from market
and shortage of money can cause the stoppage of work in midway.
3. Due to problem 1 and 2, work can take more time for completion and it can affect the
other project which is related to existing project in hand.
Hence, the estimator should make complete planning of electrification including designing of
wiring, Location of points and finally prepare a complete estimation and costing report so that
work is completed within specified time and money.

If you are given to prepare an estimate for internal wiring, you should know following facts
(data)
1. Complete specifications, giving the general scheme of the installation, type of
wiring to be adopted & type and qualities of materials to be used in it.
2. Complete schedules of the points to be wired and for with their switches and
fitting.
3. Plan and section marked with details.
4. Other factor affecting cost of estimate such as state and construction of
building, distance of job from main office, time available to complete the job.

Essential Elements of estimating and costing

1) Specification of materials
2) Latest market cost of materials
3) Price list and net price
4) Calculation of material and labor cost
5) Knowledge of purchase system
6) Labor cost
Catalogue: The quotation and bunch of price list along with specification of material are called
as catalogue. We can get the complete detail of all product of manufacturing company from
catalogue. The estimator can further save time if the information regarding the net price of each
material after deducing commission and adding all local taxes, etc are available in catalogue.
This information in the form of catalogue should available be available with every estimator.

Recording of estimate: It is preferable to write estimate on loose sheets in order to file them
with the contract paper. With the help of estimates prepared on loose sheets and collected in the
book form actual cost of complete job can be more easily compared with the estimated costs.
Moreover much labor cost is saved in preparing new estimates for similar job.

The most useful estimate book is shown below.

s.n Description of material with complete Quantity Rate Amount Remarks
specification required
Quantity unit

1 4-gang switch ,Rathi company 4 pcs 180 520

2 2-gang switch ,Rathi company 2 pcs 120 240
3
4
5
6
Note: cost of material varies with location and time

Determination of required quantity material: while determining the quantity of material for
any building , it is essential to prepare the plan of building , making electrical points, switch
board and main board( energy meter +main switch board) on the through approved electrical
symbols. The control route starting from main board to each switches board and then from
switch board to electrical points is marked on the plan. This plan becomes basis of the estimates.
1) The material on the main board is then calculated such as selection of main switch ,
board for main switch , wire required for wiring the main board etc.
2) Conduit or batten required is calculated on the basis of installation plan.
3) The wire for wiring the building is then calculated sub-circuit wise.
4) Lastly, total length of earth wire required is calculated.
5) The other material such as switch, socket outlets, switchboard, lamp holder etc. can
be found out directly from installation plan.
Determination of labour cost: The labour charges are different at the different place. For
example electrician may charge more amount at city areas then in rural areas. The labour charge
are decided as under
1) As per work duration and work amount
2) As per unit work basis
3) As per percentage of material cost
 1) As per work duration and work amount: if the wiring is to be completed on the basis of
work duration and work amount, then skilled workers are employed on daily wages. The
decision of employ number of persons depends upon number of electrical points to be
wired, assuming wiring of main board equivalent to 4 points and fitting of any switch
board equivalent to 2 electrical points. The number of days one wireman and one
assistant will take to complete the work
𝑛𝑜 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑
= 𝑛𝑜 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑦
2) On unit work basis: This is very simple and prevalent system to determine labor charges
for a work. In this system, total numbers of points in the building are counted including
installation of main board and switch board. The labour rate per unit is multiplied to total
number of points to calculate the cost.
Sr. no Description of unit work No of Rate (Rs.Per ponts) Total payment
conduit/batten system of points
wiring
1 Main board installation 4 200 800
2 15 switch boards @ 2 pts 30 200 6000
for each switch board
3 Installation of bell push 6 200 1200
button and laying
underground wiring up to
main gate @ 6 points per
bell
4 Total points 46 200 9200
light/fan/socket
Total labour charges Rs. 17200

3) As per percentage of material cost: In this, fixed percentage of total material cost is
counted towards labor percentage. This percentage may be 15%, 20% or 25% depending
upon types of types of wiring.

Contingencies: The amount provided under the head of contingencies is to cover unforeseen
expenditure such as extra cost due to delays in delivery, minor accidents and unforeseen
variation from plans of estimating departments. It is usually expressed as percentage of total cost
( material +labour), say 5 %.
The contingencies fully compensate additional material cost, labor cost and other allied
expenses which could not be accounted for. Such expenses may be due to natural calamities such
as flood, earthquake storms , etc.
The purpose of contingencies cost are
1. To account error in estimation
2. To cover modification of plan during execution of projects.
3. To pay for unknown condition such as minor accident etc.
Overhead charge: The overhead charges or standing charges cover all the expenditure
necessary to carry out the projects. This is the ongoing expenses for operating project. These can
be rent, depreciation of equipment, advertisement, travelling, telephone, etc. To cover this cost ,
10-15 % of net cost of estimate is added.

Ch-1 Assignment #1

1. Explain the importance of estimation in an electrical installation.

2. What is estimation?
3. What are the facts that estimator should know for preparing an internal wiring estimate?
4. How the quantity of material required for internal wiring is is determined?
5. Explain contingencies and overhead charge, with example.
6. How estimates are recorded?
7. How cost of material and labor charge is worked out for execution of a given works.
8. What are the drawbacks that may come in the way of the work started without
estimation?
Unit-2: Design of Illumination Scheme for Residential and Commercial Buildings

As we know that almost all human activities depends on light. Sun is a prime natural source of
light but artificial lighting plays almost main role in our daily life. These artificial lights are
produced by mechanical lamps and electrical lamps. But due to poor performance the mechanical
light are totally replaced by electrical lights. The electrical lighting are mainly used for
decorative purpose, advertising, traffic control, medical field and street lighting etc.
Electrical Lighting Electrical lighting has following advantages
1. Cleanliness
2. Easy to control
3. Economical
4. Easy to handle
5. Better reliability
6. Suitable for almost all purposes etc.
Basic terminology

Light: It is a form of electromagnetic wave radiated by a body which is capable of being

perceived by human eye. Light can be different color depending upon wavelength.
Color: wavelength interval
Red: 700-635nm
Orange: 635-590nm
Yellow: 590-560nm
Green: 560-520nm
Cyan: 520-490nm
Blue: 490-450nm
Violet: 450-400nm

Luminous flux: It is defined as total quantity of light emitted per second from luminious body.
The unit of luminous flux is lumen.
Luminous intensity: It is defined as the total luminous flux per unit solid angle in a given
direction, measured in candela. It is a measure of the radiant power emitted by an object in a
given direction, and is dependent on the wavelength of light being emitted.
Luminous intensity= luminous flux/ solid angle
Solid angle: It is the two dimensional angle suspended by any part of spherical surface of unit
radius at its center. It is measured in sterredian.
Solid angle = Area/ r2
= 4π r2/r2
=4π
Plane angle: A plane angle, θ, made up of the lines from two points meeting at a vertex, is
defined by the arc length of a circle subtended by the lines and by the radius of that circle, as
shown below. The dimensionless unit of plane angle is the radian, with 2π radians in a full circle.

Illumination: A surface is said to be illuminated when luminous flux is falling upon it. The
illumination is defined as luminous flux falling on unit area of the surface. The unit of
illumination is lumen/m2 or lux.
E= F/A ,
E= illumination , lux
F=Luminous flux , lumen
A=Area, m2
Color rendering Index: A color rendering index (CRI) is a quantitative measure of the ability
of a light source to reveal the colors of various objects faithfully in comparison with an ideal or
natural light source.
.

Laws of illumination

i) Illumination is directly proportional to the luminous intensity of the source.

ii) Inverse square law – The illumination of a surface receiving its flux from a point source is
inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the surface and the source.

Total luminous flux radiated (F) = I ω

Where I = luminous Intensity
ω = solid angle
Illumination of surface at level A1 =
E1= F/A1= I ω/ω r12= I / r12
Illumination of surface at level A2 =
E2= F/A2= I ω/ω r22= I / r22

Now, on dividing above we get,

E1/E2= ( r2/r1)2
This shows that Illumination varies inversely as the square of the illuminated point from the
source.
iii) Lambert’s cosine law – The illumination of a surface at any point is proportional to the
cosine of the angle between the normal at the point and the direction of the luminous flux.

When the element of area is tilted with respect to the direction of the light flux, the Illuminance
or flux density on the elementary surface is reduced. This can be thought of in two ways..

1. The tilted elementary area cannot intercept all the light flux it previously received and so
the Illuminance falls.
2. If the elementary area increases, the Illuminance falls.

For case (1): when the element A is tilted by an angle θ the amount of flux intercepted δA is
given by

F’ = F cos θ
So the flux received by A is reduced by a factor cos θ .Now the Illuminance at A is

E’= F’/A= Fcos θ/A=E cos θ

For case (2): if all the flux intercepted by larger element δA’ :
A’ = A/ cos θ
So Illuminance becomes
E’= F/A’= F/A cos θ= E cos θ
Both cases of these approach result in

E’ = E cos θ

On combining above three laws,

E= I/r2 cos θ
Various types of Light source
There are countless sources of light but they can all be categorized under either of the two
following categories-

 Natural sources
 Artificial sources

Natural Light Sources:

The universe is filled with objects that emit light. Some of the light from these sources reach the
earth. The following things in nature have the ability to emit light:

 The Sun is the major source of light for the earth. The sun is a massive ball of fire, at the
center of which nuclear fusion produces massive energy. This energy comes out as heat
and light. The light from the sun is one of the major factors behind the sustainability of
life on earth.

 Every other star produces light too, but only a small or no amount of it reaches the earth
because of the huge distance.

 The moon provides light as well but it cannot produce light on its own. The light that we
get from the moon is the light reflected by it from the sun.

 Some living organisms have the ability to produce light too. It is called bioluminescence.
It is the effect of certain chemical reactions within the organism. Fireflies, jellyfish, glow
worm, certain deep sea plants and microorganisms can be cited as examples.

 Certain other natural phenomena such as lightning and volcanic eruptions also emit light.

Artificial Light Sources:

Apart from the natural sources, light can be produced artificially too. The different light
sources produced artificially can be put under three broad categories-

 Incandescent Sources:
When certain objects are heated to a high temperature, they begin to emit light. Both infrared
and visible light is produced in the process.
Example- Candle, incandescent lamp.
  Luminescent Sources:
Light can be produced by accelerating charges in a luminescent material. One common way of
doing it is by passing current through the material.
Example- Fluorescent tube light, electric bulb

 Gas Discharge Sources:

Passing electricity through certain gases at a very low pressure can produce light too.
Example – Neon lamp, Sodium lamp.

Various types of Lighting Scheme

The lighting scheme should be such that it may:
(i) Provide adequate illumination,
(ii) Provide light distribution all over the working plane as uniform as possible,
(iii) Provide light of suitable colour, and
(iv) Avoid glare and hard shadows as far as possible.

Interior Lighting schemes are classified according to the location, requirement and purpose etc.
are as under:
1. Direct lighting
2. Indirect lighting
3. Semi direct lighting
4. Semi indirect lighting
5. General lighting

i. Direct Lighting:
It is most commonly used type of lighting scheme. In this lighting scheme more than 90 percent
of total light flux is made to fall directly on the working plane with the help of deep reflectors.
Though it is most efficient but causes hard shadows and glare. It is mainly used for industrial and
general out-door lighting.

ii. Semi-Direct Lighting:

In this lighting scheme 60 to 90 percent of the total light flux is made to fall downwards directly
with the help of semi-direct reflectors, remaining light is used to illuminate the ceiling and walls.
Such a lighting system is best suited to rooms with high ceilings where a high level of
uniformally distributed illumination is desirable. Glare in such units is avoided by employing
diffusing globed which not only improve the brightness towards the eye but improve the
efficiency of the systems with reference to working place.

iii. Semi-Indirect Lighting:

In this lighting scheme 60 to 90 percent of total light flux is thrown upwards to the ceiling for
diffuse reflection and the rest reaches the working plane directly except for some absorption by
the bowl. This lighting scheme is with soft shadows and glare free. It is mainly used for indoor
light decoration purposes.

iv. Indirect Lighting:

In this light scheme more than 90 percent of total light flux is thrown upwards to the ceiling for
diffuse reflection by using inverted or bowl reflectors. In such a system the ceiling acts as the
light source, and the glare is reduced to minimum. The resulting illumination is softer and more
diffused, the shadows are less prominent and the appearance of the room is much improved over
that which results from direct lighting. It is used for decoration purposes in cinemas theatres and
hotels etc. and in workshops where large machines and other obstructions would cause trouble
some shadows of direct lighting is employed.

v. General Lighting:
In this scheme lamps made of diffusing glass are used which give nearly equal illumination in all
directions.

Outdoor Lighting Scheme:

(i) Street lighting

(ii) Flood lighting

General Ideas about Street Lighting:

The main purpose of street lighting is to make the traffic and obstructions on the road clearly
visible for safety point of view and convenience. The principle employed for street lighting is
different from that of interior lighting. As the area is open i.e. there is no wall, the illumination
level required is low. The question of color rendering is also of minor importance.

Generally an average number of 8 to 15 lumens per square meter is considered sufficient

illumination on the street. Mercury vapor lamps and sodium discharge lamps has been found
most economical due to lower power consumption for a given amount of light. Colour
consideration does not matter much in street lighting.

Flood Lighting:
The meaning of flood lighting is flooding of large surfaces with light from powerful projectors.
A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate
outdoor fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions. More
focused kinds are often used as a stage lighting instrument in live performances such
as concerts and plays.

The most common type of floodlight is the metal-halide lamp, which emits a bright white light
(typically 75–100 lumens/Watt). Sodium-vapor lamps are also commonly used for sporting
events, as they have a very high lumen to watt ratio (typically 80–140 lumens/Watt), making
them a cost-effective choice when certain lux levels must be provided.[1]
LED floodlights are bright enough to be used for illumination purposes on large sport fields. The
main advantages of LEDs in this application are their lower power consumption, longer life, and
instant start-up (the lack of a "warm-up" period reduces game delays after power outages).

Illumination for different occupation

This is the most vital factor because a sufficient illumination is the basic means whereby we are
able to see our surroundings, unless they are themselves light sources, since only when
illuminated do the objects take on the necessary brightness. It is the task of illumination to give
objects a distributed brightness. Body colours have property of reflecting light in different
degrees. It is this differential brightness which gives essential perception of details. For each type
of work there is a range of brightness most favourable to output, i.e., which causes minimum
fatigue and gives maximum output in terms of quality and quantity.

Degree of illumination, to give necessary brightness to the objects depends upon:

(i) The size of the object to be seen and its distance from the observer-greater the distance of the
object from observer and smaller the size of the object, greater will be the illumination required
for its proper perception and
(ii) Contrast between the object and back ground—greater the contrast between the colour of the
object and its back ground, greater will be the illumination required to distinguish the object
properly. Objects which are seen for longer duration of time require more illumination than those
for casual work. Similarly moving objects require more illumination than those for stationary
object.

Illumination level required, as per ISI, in various parts of a building is given below:

Illumination level required, as per ISI, for various types of traffic routes is given below:
Luminaires
Luminaire also known as fixture or light fixture. A device that projects, defuse and alter the light
direction of a given light source. Luminaire is an electrical device that contains an electric lamp
that provides illumination. All light fixtures have a fixture body and one or more lamps. The
lamps may be in sockets for easy replacement—or, in the case of some LED fixtures, hard-wired
in place.
Selection of luminaire is depends upon