NBC Nepal
NBC Nepal
NBC Nepal
Government of Nepal
Ministry of Physical Planning and Works
Department of Urban Development and Building Construction
Babar Mahal, Kathmandu, NEPAL
Reprinted : 2064
Government of Nepal
Ministry of Physical Planning and Works
Department of Urban Development and Building Construction
Babar Mahal, Kathmandu, NEPAL
Reprinted : 2064
Preface
This code has been prepared having considered the provisions of Electricity Act 2049
and Electricity Rule 2050 up to date. This includes general guidances for Electrical
wiring installation. Prevention of short-circuiting has been emphasized. Utmost
importance should be given in the installation of electrical wiring while preplanning
and exchanging information among all concerned agencies from the earlier stages of
the building works. Due to the limited technical manpower the country's construction
industry, the code has been simplified for the ease of use and implementation. It is
hoped that with the development of the manpower and modernization of construction
processes, it will be possible to release more sophisticated set of electrical wiring
installation guidelines in future.
1 1. General Requirement 1
6 6. Wiring 6
7 7. Earthing 9
1. General Requirements
1.1 The installation shall generally be carried out in conformity with the
Electricity Act 2049 as amended up to date and the Electricity rules 2050
framed thereunder and also the relevant regulations of Electricity supply
authority concerned as amended from time to time.
1.2 For practices of electrical wiring, definitions, design & construction and
inspection & testing of installation, IS 732, 732 (part 1) 1982, 732 (part 2) and
1982, 732 (part 3) 1982 shall be referred to respectively.
2.2 Execution of work: Unless otherwise exempted under the appropriate rule of
electricity rules the work of and electrical installation shall be carried out by
an electrical contractor licensed and under the direct supervision of a person
holding a certificate of competency and by persons holding valid permit
issued and recognized by the government.
2.3 For graphical symbols, power factor improvement, safety procedures and
practices IS 8270 (Part 1) 1976 & IS 2032; IS 7752 (Part 1) 1975 & IS 5216-
1969 shall be referred to respectively.
Load Requirement
Per Plinth Area
(Watts/m2)
After calculating the electrical load on the above basis, a load factor of
70 percent is to be applied to arrive at the minimum capacity of
substation. The area required for substation and transformer room for
different capacities is given in standard Table.
d) High & Low Voltage Switch Room: Incase of substation having one
transformer and one source of supply, the owner is required to provide
one high voltage switch. In case of single point supply with two or
more transformers the number of switch required will be one for
incoming supply and one for each transformer. In case of duplicate
supply two switches shall be provided with mechanical/electrical
interlocking arrangement where necessary in cables with switches. In
case the number of incoming and outgoing switches exceed five, bus
coupler of suitable capacity should invariably be provided. The floor
area required in case of a single switch is roughly 4mX4m and for
every additional switch the length would be increased by 1m. The floor
area required in respect of low voltage switchgear room may be
determined keeping in view the number and type of incoming/outgoing
bus coupler switches including likely expansion in future.
e) Room For Stand By Generator: The capacity of standby generating set
shall be chosen on the basis of essential light load, essential air-
conditioning load, essential equipment load and essential services load,
such as one lift out of the bank of lifts, one or all water pumps, etc.
Having chosen the capacity and number of generating sets, a space
may be provided for their installation from the Standard Table. The
generating set should invariably be housed in the substation building to
enable transfer of electrical load quickly as well as to avoid transfer of
vibration and noise to the main building. The generator house should
have proper ventilation, firefighting equipment, etc.
4.1 In case of connected load of 100KVA and above, the relative advantage of
high voltage three-phase supply should be considered.
4.2 Switchgear and fuse gear shall have adequate breaking capacity in relation to
the capacity of the transformers ultimately to be connected. Isolation and
protection of outgoing circuits forming main distribution system may be
effected by means of circuit-breakers, or fuses or switch and fuse units
mounted on the main switchboard.
the meter reading; it should preferably not be installed below one meter from
the ground. The energy meters should either be provided with a protective
covering, enclosing it completely except the glass window through which the
readings are noted or should be mounted inside a completely enclosed panel
provided with hinged or sliding doors with arrangement for locking. Energy
Meter along with Switch disconnector such as MCCB, MCB & Fuse is
mandatory.
4.5 Marking of Apparatus: Where a board is connected to voltage higher than 250
V in a three Phase system, all the apparatus mounted on it shall be marked on
the following colours to indicate the different poles or phases to which the
apparatus or its different terminals may have been connected:
Where four-wire three-phase wiring is done, the neutral cable shall be in black
colour and the other three wires in red, yellow and blue.
Where a board has more than one switch, each such switch shall be marked to
indicate which section of the installation it controls. The main switch shall be
marked as such and where there is more than one main switch, each such
switch shall be marked to indicate which section of the installation it controls.
All markings shall be clear and permanent.
4.6 Protection against the short circuits :
breakers, or where HRC fuses are used for protection of main circuits, and
circuit-breakers for the protection of sub-circuits derived thereform,in the
event of short-circuits protection exceeding the short-circuits capacity of
the circuit-breakers, the HRC fuses shall operate earlier than the circuit-
breakers; but for smaller overloads within the short-circuit capacity of the
circuit-breakers, the circuit-breakers shall operate earlier than the HRC
fuse blows.
5.2 The current ratings of switches for domestic and similar purposes are 5 A and
15A.
5.3 The current ratings of isolators and normal duty switches and composite units
of switches and fuses shall be selected from one of the following values: 6, 10,
16, 25, 32, 63, 100, 160, 200, 320, 400, 500, 630, 800, 1000 and 1250 A. IS
13947-3 shall be referd.
5.4 The ratings of rewirable and HRC fuses shall be in accordance with good
practice. IS 2086-1963 and IS 13703 shall be referred to.
5.5 The current ratings of miniature circuit breakers shall be chosen from the
values given below: 6, 10, 16, 25, 32, 40, 63, 80 , 100, 125 A. IS 8828-1996
5.6 Lighting and levels of illumination: Lighting installation shall take into
consideration the many factors on which the quality and quantity of artificial
lighting depends. The modern concept is to provide illumination with the help
of a large number of light sources not of higher illumination level. Also much
higher levels of illumination are called for than in the past, often necessitating
the use of fluorescent lighting suitably supplemented with incandescent
fittings, where required.
5.7 For specific requirements for lighting of special occupancies, reference shall
be made to good practice. IS 2672-1966; 4347-1967; 8030-1967 shall be
referred to. Electric wiring installations in hospitals shall be done in
accordance with good practice. IS 7733-1975 shall be referred to. For
guidelines for electrical installation in residential buildings, reference may be
made to good practice. IS 4648-1968 shall be referred to.
5.8 Cables: The smallest size of the cable that shall be used, will depend upon the
method of laying cable, permissible maximum temperature it shall withstand,
the prospective short-circuit current to which the cable may be subjected, the
characteristics of the overload protection gear installed, load cycle and thermal
resistivity of the soil. IS 1255-1965 shall be referred to. Short-circuit rating
curves will serve as an approximate guide for selection of the size of cables.
5.9 Residual current breaker should be used as to avoid electrocution and fire of
from electricity hazards in case of Hospital building.
5.10 Minimum standard size of wiring cable for light and power shall be specified
as follows:
o Light circuit --- 2.5 sq.mm PVC insulated copper stranded cable
o Power circuit - 4.0 sq.mm PVC insulated copper stranded cable.
6. Wiring
6.1 General:
6.2.5 Conduit Joints: All joints shall be sealed cemented with approved
cement. Damaged conduit pipes fittings shall not be used on the work.
Cut ends of conduit pipes shall have no sharp edges nor any burrs left
to avoid damage to the insulation of conductors while pulling them
through such pipes.
6.2.8 Outlets: The switch box shall be made of either rigid PVC moulding or
mild steel or cast iron on all sides except at the front. PVC boxes shall
conform to accepted standards IS 3419-1976; 9537, 9537(part 1)
1980 & 5133(part 2) 1969. These boxes shall be free from burrs, fins
and internal roughness. The thickness of the walls and base of PVC
boxes shall be not less than 2 mm. The clear depth of PVC boxes shall
not be less than 50 mm. For METALLIC boxes: The switch or
regulator box shall be made of metal on all sides, except on the front.
In the case of cast boxes, wall thickness shall be at least 3 mm and in
case of welded mild steel sheet boxes, the wall thickness shall not be
less than 1.18 mm for boxes up to a size of 20 cm X 30 cm and above
this 1.6 mm MS boxes shall be used. Clear depth of the box shall not
be less than 60 mm and this shall be increased suitably to
accommodate mounting of fan regulators in flush pattern. All fittings
shall be filled in flush pattern.
7. Earthing
7.2 Earthing associated with current-carrying conductor is normally essential for the
security of the system and is generally known as system earthing, while earthing
of non-current carrying metal work and conductor is essential for the safety of
human life, of animals and of property and it is generally known as equipment
earthing.
7.3 Earth Electrodes: Earth electrode either in the form of pipe electrode or plate
electrode should be provided at all premises for providing an earth system. Details
of typical pipe and plate earth electrodes are given in relevent standard figures.
7.4 As far as possible, all earth connections shall be visible for inspection and shall be
carefully made; if they are poorly made or inadequate for the purpose for which
they are intended, loss of life and property or serious personal injury may result.
7.5 The earthing of electrical installations for non-industrial buildings shall be done in
accordance with good practice IS 3043-1966.
8.2 Completion Drawings-On completion of the electric work, initial wiring diagram
shall be verified at actual basis of works and submitted to the engineer-in-charge
or the owner's representative. All wiring diagrams shall indicate clearly, the main
switchboard, the runs of various mains and sub mains and the position of all
points and their controls. All circuits shall be clearly indicated and numbered in
the wiring diagram and all points shall be given the same number as the circuit in
which they are electrically connected. Also the location and number of earth
points and the run of each load should be clearly shown in the completion
drawings.
8.4 Testing of Installation After inspection, the following tests shall be carried out,
before an installation or an addition to the existing instillation is put into service.
Any testing of the electrical installation in an already existing installation shall
commence after obtaining permit to work from the enginner-incharge and after
ensuring the safety provisions.
8.4.1 Switchboards
All earth connections shall be checked for continuity. The operation of the
breakers, switches and fueses shall be tested from all control stations.
Indication signaling lamps shall be checked for proper working. Contact
resistance of main and isolator contacts, cable's contact etc. shall be
measured. All high and low voltage switchboards shall be tested for
dielectric test as per IS 8623 (part 1) 1977.
8.4.2 Cables
It shall be ensured that the cables conform to the relevant. Standards. Tests
shall also be done in accordance with good practice IS 1255-1967. The
insulation resistance before and after the tests shall be checked. The
insulation resistance between each conductor and against earth shall be
measured. The insulation resistance varies with the type of insulation used
and with the length of cable.
I/ We certify that the installation detailed below has been installed by me/us and tested and
that to the best of my/our knowledge and belief, it complies with Electricity Rules 2050.
Electrical Installationt at
Particulars of Works:
i) Light point.
ii) Fan point.
iii) Plug point.
3-pin 5 A.
3-pin 15 A.
1) Motors:
i)
ii)
iii)
2) Other plants:
c) If the work invloves installations of over head line and/or underground cable.
End joint:
Tee joint:
Straight through joint:
Earthing.
Test Results:
a) Insulation Resistance
iii) Insulation resistance between the phase conductors in case of polyphase supply.
b) Polarity test:
Polarity of non-linked single pole branch switches
i)Ohms.
ii)Ohms.
iii)Ohms.
iv)Ohms.