ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades Inside a light switch from Norway

C-H,
It all makes sense now!

Paul,

Yes, that's what I meant: a "serial operated cotactor" with push buttons. Is there no shorter word for this in English? In Dutch we call it a "Impulsschakelaar" - schakelaar meaning switch. We use them very often over here whenever we have 3 or more switches for 1 light e.g. long corridors or stairs. What do you use in England in such circumstances? 3 and 4 way switches? Even when you have 5 switches? Hre it would be seen more like a recepy for spaghetti.
Another application is when the push buttons are next to swimming pools, then we use a 12V or 24V version. We can then use very thin wire fore the switches e.g. 0.6 mm2.

Pauluk,

Here you go:

Voltage = Spenning
Current = Strøm
Power = Effekt

Phase = Fase
Neutral = Null
Earth = Jord
Protective Earth = Beskyttelsesjord

Conductor = Ledning
Circuit = Kurs
Grid = Nett
System/installation = Anlegg

Fuse = Sikring
Fuse box = Sikringsskap
Main fuse = Hovedsikring
Main disconnect = Hovedbryter
RCD = Jordfeilbryter

Junction box = Koblingsboks
Socket = Stikkontakt
Light switch = Lysbryter

Blackout = Strømutkobling
Electrician = Elektriker

Disclaimer: There could be errors in the above list.

C-H,

Very interesting! I could recognise nearly all the terms since they resemble very strongly to German and Dutch. So for RCD you say "earthfaildisconnect"? That's an interesting term. I didn"t understand the literal transalation of "Beskyttelses" and I didn't reconise the word "bryter"? For the rest everything seems like a dialect of German.

Well, my first lesson in Norwegian has been quite educational. (Any normal person would start by learning "Hello," "Goodbye," and "How are you?" )

What's the literal meaning of kobling?
So Strømutkobling = Current-????

It looks a little like the way they string several words together to form a new term in German.

An addition: Old German term for RCD: FI or Fehlerstrominduktionsschutzschalter - literal translation: Fault current induction protection switch. Or a bit shorter Fehlerstrom-Schutzschalter - Fault current protection switch. Today electricians start calling it RCD (at least in Germany) but everybody will know what you mean by "FI". There are also a couple of weird homeowner terms that aren't really connected to the subject any more, like "Trennschutz" which means something like "protective disconnect" but isn't really a word.

Voltage: Spannung
Current: Strom
Power: Leistung
Amperage: Stromstaerke

Phase: Phase (only different pronounciation, the A is like for example the second a in Hannah) and the e at the end is pronounced)
Neutral: Nullleiter (Leiter is conductor)
Ground: Erdung, Schutzleiter, PE

Circuit: Stromkreis, Kreis (if it is clear what kind of circuit is referred to)
Grid: Netz
System/Installation: System, Anlage/Installation

Fuse: Sicherung
Fuse box: Sicherungskasten (old) or Verteiler
Main fuse: Hauptsicherung
Main disconnect: Hauptschalter
Breaker: LS or Leitungsschutzschalter

Junction box: Verteilerdose
Socket: Steckdose
Switch: Schalter
Light switch: Lichtschalter

Blackout: Stromausfall
Electrician: Elektriker

Strip connector: Lusterklemme
Wirenut: Drehverbinder
Plug: Stecker
Trailing socket: Kupplung or informal Steckdose

Neutral bus bar: N-Schiene
Ground bus bar: PE-Schiene, Erdungsschiene
DIN-rail: Hutschiene

Yes, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian are dialects of Plattdeutsch.


Earthfaultdisconnect


Protection/protective. Compare to German "Schutz-" and Swedish "Skydds-"


Breaker. That's pretty similar, isn't it?

Pauluk,
we aren't normal are we?

kobling = connection

thus Strømutkobling = Current-dis-connection

In the Nordic languages 'Strøm' is often used when you would have used 'power' in English.

I'll throw in the Swedish terms too, when I'm at it.

Voltage = Spänning
Current = Ström
Power = Effekt

Phase = Fas
Neutral = Nolla
Earth = Jord
Protective Earth = Skyddsjord

Conductor = Ledare
Circuit = Krets
Grid = Nät
System/installation = Anläggning

Fuse = Generally 'Säkring', specifically for mains power 'Propp'
Fuse box = Proppskåp
Main fuse = Huvudsäkring
Main disconnect = Huvudbrytare
RCD = Jordfelsbrytare

Junction box = Kopplingsbox
Socket = 'Uttag' or collogially 'kontakt'
Light switch = Strömbrytare or collogially 'lampknapp'

Blackout = Strömavbrott
Electrician = Elektriker

An easy way to remember it:

Kobling = Coupling

Some English words are very similar to their corresponding words in Dutch....it's always interesting to read it and I can sometimes fanagle my way with it (reading it and tranlating it to corresponding words in English and German).

I can't speak Dutch or understand it when I hear it on the radio, however.

It's a funny language, Dutch.
As some of you guys, may know, I work with an Electrician from Holland, from time to time and although he has tried to explain to me how the Dutch language works, it seems
so weird(sp?, can't even use English properly).
I assume that Dutch is based on German?.