Electrical Maintenance Glossary – Terminology & Abbreviations
Understanding an invoice from an electrical contractor can be tricky. The electrical industry is rife with tla’s – three letter acronyms, technical jargon, and industry speak.
At Keece, we attempt to remove the complexity from our communications. Thus keeping our quotes and invoices easy to understand. We use this “trade dialect” of English all day long. Sometimes we fall guilty of expecting our customer to understand it as well. This post is a summary of the electrical terms and abbreviations used within our maintenance team – our electrical maintenance glossary. We hope it can help you.
Electrical Maintenance - Terminology and Abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Abbreviate Full Name | Category | Plain English |
|---|---|---|---|
| A / Amps | Amperage | Measure | The velocity of power drawn |
| Ballast | Electrical Ballast | Lighting | The device or unit used to limit the power (amps) supplied to circuit or light (ie. A flouro starter) |
| Batten | Batten Fix | Lighting | Common light fitting type for affixing to ceiling or wall |
| Cat Wire | Catenary Wire | General | Steel wire for suspending cables lamps and equipment |
| CB | Circuit Breaker | Protection | The fuse / saftey switch used to protect the circuit from overheating |
| DB | Distribution Board | Boards | Downstream switch board to isolate particular areas or zones |
| Gang | The quantity of switches grouped together | Socket | Double GPO = Power point with 2 switches included |
| GPO | General Power Outlet | Socket | Power Point |
| Jbox | Junction Box | General | Box used to enclose cable when connected |
| LED | Light Emitting Diode | Lighting | Newer form of energy efficient diode converting energy into light |
| lm | Lumens | Measure | The value assigned to how bright a lamp is (how bright - output) |
| lx | Lux | Measure | The value assigned to how bright an area is |
| MSB | Main Switch Board | Boards | Main switch board for site |
| PE Cell | Photoelectric cell | Lighting | Lighting sensor used to turn on/off and dim lights etc |
| RCBO | Residual Current circuit breaker with over-current protection | Protection | Safety switch for short circuit protection |
| RCD | Residual Current Device | Protection | Safety switch |
| Relamp | Re-Lamp fitting | Lighting | Globe change (lamp) within existing fitting |
| Relay | Relay Switch | Protection | A low powered switch that controls a switch under much higher power load |
| RJ45 | Registered Jack | General | Data cable connection from device to data supply |
| Saddle | Saddle | General | The brackets that hold cable to walls, truss etc. |
| SO | Socket Outlet | Socket | The new industry standard term for power point |
| Tbar | T-Bar Fitting | Lighting | Lights manufacture to fit to T-Bar frame suspended ceilings |
| TPS | Thermo Plastic Sheath | General | Standard Power Cable |
| W | Wattage / Watts | Measure | Measure used to derive power usage/consumption |
| WP | Weather Proof | General | The fitting or enclosure supplied is sealed and weather protected |
| Ww | Wall Washer | Lighting | Lighting units used for large, area and surfaces. |
If there are some terms you want added please let us know.
