How to connect an induction cooker - useful tips

When purchasing a new induction cooker, you should not rush to connect it to one of the free sockets. In this case, first of all, it is necessary to determine the possibility of connecting this household electrical appliance to a particular section of the wiring and choose the most optimal way to connect it. Consider the question of how to connect an induction cooker.

It should be noted that before purchasing an induction cooker, it is necessary to clarify what load limit is determined for an apartment (house) and evaluate the possibility of operating one or another induction cooker, taking into account its maximum power consumption.

A desktop induction electric stove, as a rule, structurally has a cord and a plug for connecting to a regular household outlet. That is, in this case, there is no need to purchase an additional cord and plug to connect an electrical appliance. But in this case, it is very important to choose the right outlet to turn on the electric stove.

Very often they make a mistake - they turn on the electric stove in one of the free sockets, without taking into account its load capacity, that is, the amount of load that can be plugged into this socket.

In the best case, one of the circuit breakers in the electrical switchboard will turn off - as a result of an overload in one of the electrical wiring sections. But if there is no proper protection of the wiring, for example, if several lines of wiring are connected to one circuit breaker, overload will damage the wiring.

Therefore, before you start using an electric stove, you need to find out its maximum power consumption and make sure that this appliance can be plugged into one of the available outlets. The power consumption is indicated in watts (W) or in kilowatts (kW) in the passport on the body of the electric stove, as well as in the technical specifications in the instruction manual for this household appliance.

It should be remembered that a conventional household socket is designed to turn on household electrical appliances with a rated power of not more than 3.5 kW, which corresponds to a load current of 16 A. That is, if the power consumption of the electric stove does not exceed this value, then it can be plugged into this socket.

First, you need to clarify which cable is connected to the outlet, and how it connects to the rest of the home electrical wiring. The cable that feeds the outlet must have a cross section of at least 2.5 square meters. mm.

If the cable is connected directly to the home switchboard, then such a wiring line can withstand the current of a household outlet, a circuit breaker of the required rating can be installed to protect such a wiring line. This option is the most preferable in terms of reliability.

The second common option is that the cable that feeds the outlet is connected in a junction box. In this case, you need to take into account the loads of other sockets connected to this junction box.

The cable that runs from the main distribution box to the junction box must be able to withstand the total load of the outlets powered from it. Therefore, if the load of the induction cooker is an overload for a given section of the wiring, then to turn it on, you should choose another outlet of the appropriate load capacity.

Secondly, it is necessary to assess the technical condition of the wiring. If the wiring is in an unsatisfactory technical condition, then, accordingly, when a new load is turned on, it may be damaged (See -). In this case, it is necessary to pay attention to the condition of the cable, in particular its insulation.

A cable with copper conductors is preferred, but if old aluminum wiring is installed in the house, then there is a high probability that such a cable cannot withstand the permissible load.

It is also necessary to pay attention to the condition of the electrical wiring contact connections at the cable connection point in the home switchboard, socket, as well as intermediate contact connections in the junction box.

For connecting to the network of an induction cooker. For safe operation of the induction cooker, it must be grounded, that is, plugged into a socket with a working ground.

You also need to pay attention to the condition of the outlet. If the plug of the electrical appliance does not make good contact with the outlet connectors, then such an outlet must be replaced.

The induction hob has a lot of power, it is not connected to an ordinary household outlet, but to a power outlet rated for a current of more than 16 A.

The power socket for connecting the induction cooker is selected according to its load. The total load of the induction cooker can be on average 25-32 A, depending on the number and power of the burners.

In this case, an individual electrical wiring line must be laid to power the induction cooker. The cross section of the cable depends on the load of the induction cooker: for a current of 25 A, a copper cable with a cross section of 4 square meters should be laid. mm, for a load of 32 A - 6 sq. mm.

For safe operation of the induction cooker, the electrical wiring must have a working protective earth. That is, for a single-phase network, a three-core cable must be connected to connect the induction cooker. Accordingly, the purchased power outlet kit with plug must also have a third grounding prong.

If it is not possible to purchase a power outlet of the required power, then as an alternative, you can connect an induction hobinstalled in a mounting box. The terminal block must be capable of withstanding the rated current of the induction hob connected to it.

As for the cable through which the induction cooker is connected, in this case it all depends on the configuration. If the power cable is included, then it is enough to connect it to the terminal block directly on the induction cooker, and then to the purchased power plug or in the terminal block - depending on the chosen method of connecting the induction cooker.

If the cable is not included, it must be purchased separately. When purchasing a cable, you must pay attention to its cross section - it must correspond to the connected load. It is necessary to purchase a flexible three-core cable with a cross section of 4 or 6 square meters. mm for rated currents 25 and 32 A, respectively.

To avoid errors, it is recommended to connect the cable to the plate itself, as well as to the plug: brown or black - phase conductor, blue - neutral conductor, yellow-green - protective earth conductor.

If the cable is already connected to the terminal block of the electric stove, then it is necessary to check the correct connection. The following terminal markings are usually indicated on the terminals of the induction cooker:

L - phase output or L1, L2 (L3) - phase outputs with two-phase (three-phase) switching on;

N - zero output;

PE - connection point for the protective earth conductor.

Two-phase and three-phase connection of the induction cooker

Certain types of induction hobs may have two or three-phase electrical connections. If the house is made, then such an electric stove is connected, as the manufacturer recommends, to two or three phases of the electrical wiring with a four or five-wire cable.

The electric stove is connected to a single-phase household electrical network with a three-core cable, and special jumpers between the phases, which are usually included in the kit, are installed in the terminal block on the induction stove. If there are no jumpers, then the connection to two or three phase terminals is carried out with a wire of the section corresponding to the load of the electric stove.

It should be borne in mind that if a cable for a two- or three-phase connection is included in the kit, then it is not designed for single-phase switching, since with a single-phase connection of the induction cooker, the load on the phase conductor increases to the total load of all phases.

Therefore, when using a four (five) core cable to connect to a single-phase network, two (three) phases on the plate are connected to the cable cores, and at the other end of the cable, when connected to a plug or in the terminal block, the phase conductors are shorted together and connected to one phase of the mains . Or a new three-core cable is purchased, which has sufficient load capacity for single-phase connection of an electric stove.

The process of connecting an induction cooker with an oven is no different from connecting one induction hob. The only difference is the large power consumption, since in addition to the induction hob, the power of the oven is added. Accordingly, it is necessary to correctly select the cable cross-section, as well as a set of power sockets and plugs for connecting the electric furnace to the network.

There are types of induction cookers with an oven, which provide for limiting the maximum power consumption by turning off one of the burners when the oven is in operation. That is, you can operate all the burners of the induction cooker at the same time, but when you turn on the oven, the possibility of turning on one burner is blocked. This option is most suitable for houses with a limited power limit, which does not allow the operation of sufficiently powerful electric stoves.

Protective devices

When connecting an induction hob, it is very important to correctly select the necessary protective devices. To protect the induction cooker, as well as the supply wiring, a circuit breaker is installed. The rated current of the circuit breaker is selected based on the power of the induction cooker. In this case, the nearest higher current value is selected, but the characteristics of the electrical wiring are also taken into account - it must protect all elements of the electrical wiring.

To ensure the safety of the operation of the induction cooker, it is installed in the switchboard, which protects against electric shock, as well as fire in the event of a current leakage through damaged insulation. The RCD must be designed for the rated current, taking into account the possible load on the wiring lines.

For example, if a 32 A circuit breaker is installed on the line, then the RCD should be designed to operate at a higher rated current - by 40 A, since the thermal release of the circuit breaker does not turn off immediately when the current exceeds 32 A, but with some time delay. To protect a person from the negative effect of electric current, the differential current of the residual current device must be no more than 10 mA.

As an alternative, it is possible to use a combined device - that performs the functions of the two above-mentioned protective devices.

Andrey Povny