Ring final circuit
A socket circuit wired as a loop, so load shares two paths. The cable leaves the , visits each socket in turn and returns to the same protective device. A UK signature design, it serves a large floor area from modest cable — and demands its own three-step continuity test, because a broken ring keeps working silently as two overloaded radials.
Where Ring final circuit fits in the learning path
The Installation section covers these units:
- Wiring Systems & Enclosures
- Cable Selection & Circuit Design
- Earthing, Bonding & Consumer Units
Curriculum mapping: C&G 2365 Units 203/204/305.
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- Ring Final CircuitsTesting & Inspection
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A circuit that runs outward from the distribution board, feeding each point in turn, and simply ends at the last one — no return leg. Radials are the default worldwide and are simpler to design, test and fault-find than rings; UK practice uses them for lighting, dedicated appliances and increasingly for socket circuits too.
Radial circuit
Read the Radial circuit entryCompare related terms
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Radial circuit
A circuit that runs outward from the distribution board, feeding each point in turn, and simply ends at the last one — no return leg. Radials are the default worldwide and are simpler to design, test and fault-find than rings; UK practice uses them for lighting, dedicated appliances and increasingly for socket circuits too.
Read the Radial circuit entryContinuity testing
Low-resistance measurement proving that conductors which must be complete actually are. That means protective conductors back to the earthing terminal, bonding conductors to services, and the legs of ring final circuits. Performed dead with a low-ohm meter, it is the first step of the test sequence because everything after it assumes the earth path exists.
Read the Continuity testing entryR1+R2
The combined resistance of a circuit's line conductor (R1) and its circuit protective conductor (R2), measured end-to-end during dead testing. It proves the protective conductor is continuous, and added to Ze it predicts the circuit's earth fault loop impedance before the supply is ever switched on.
Read the R1+R2 entryParallel circuit
A parallel circuit has branches connected across the same two points, so each branch has the same voltage across it. Current divides between branches according to their loads, then combines again. Two identical resistors in parallel have half the resistance of one. Parallel describes the connections; a ring final circuit is a wiring arrangement, not a synonym for any parallel circuit.
Read the Parallel circuit entryA definition is a start. Using it in a real question is where it sticks.