Guided Circuit Templates
Open ready-made circuits inside the app for lamps, two-way switching, RCD fault checks, contactor motor starters, and timer-controlled bells.
A practical guide to the current ElectraSim app: start with guided templates, wire circuits with smart or custom routing, test faults, organise large diagrams, and practise eight real wiring walkthroughs.
These are the features to use before you start the older circuit walkthroughs: templates for fast starts, better wiring control, fault testing, and tools for larger diagrams.
Open ready-made circuits inside the app for lamps, two-way switching, RCD fault checks, contactor motor starters, and timer-controlled bells.
Inject wire breaks, reverse polarity, and missing-earth faults directly on the canvas, then compare the warning and error feedback.
Use default smart right-angle routing around components, or enable custom wiring to place manual checkpoint corners for real cable-run teaching.
Export circuits as JSON, SVG, PNG, PDF/print sheets, or shareable URLs. Import is schema-validated so broken files do not corrupt your work.
Use drag-select, copy/paste, alignment, distribution, mini-map navigation, zoom-to-fit, gridless mode, and colour presets for larger diagrams.
Choose light, dark, or system theme, high-contrast and colour-blind canvas palettes, and reduced visual effects for lower-powered devices.
Start with a template when you want a working example, then inspect, modify, fault-test, and export it as a teaching or planning artefact.
Open Templates in the app and choose a guided circuit that matches the concept you want to learn.
Run the simulation and follow live, neutral, and earth through the highlighted wire paths.
Toggle switches, move components, reroute wires, or inject faults to see how the circuit responds.
Export JSON, SVG, PNG, PDF/print, or a shareable URL when the diagram is ready.
The app currently includes six guided templates with loaded components, wires, steps, and expected simulation outcomes.
Trace live through an MCB to a bulb and follow neutral back to source.
Learn why a switch belongs on the live conductor, not the neutral return.
Compare COM, L1, and L2 traveller paths as either switch changes state.
Inspect an RCD-protected socket branch with an intentional earth-fault warning.
Switch a motor load through a contactor after MCB protection.
Use a timer switch as a controlled live path feeding a bell or buzzer.
Use these as manual exercises when you want to place each component yourself and learn the wiring path one connection at a time.
Live → MCB → Switch → Bulb → Neutral
The MCB is always wired in series — it protects the entire circuit. The switch interrupts only the Live wire, keeping Neutral permanently connected back to supply.
Live → MCB → Switch → Junction Box → Bulb A
→ Bulb B → NeutralIn a parallel circuit, every branch receives the full supply voltage. Adding more branches increases total current drawn — the MCB protects against overload if too many loads are connected.
Live → MCB → SW1 COM SW1 L1 ——→ SW2 L1 (strapping) SW1 L2 ——→ SW2 L2 (strapping) SW2 COM → Bulb → Neutral
Two-way switching works because the two strapping wires always form exactly one complete path — toggling either switch swaps which wire is connected, turning the circuit on or off.
Live → MCB → RCD (L-in→L-out) → Socket (L) Neutral → RCD (N-in→N-out) → Socket (N) Earth → Socket (E)
The RCD monitors the difference between Live and Neutral current. Any leakage (e.g. through a person to earth) causes an imbalance and trips the RCD in under 40ms — far faster than an MCB and before lethal harm can occur.
Live → MCB → Timer Switch → Bulb → Neutral
A Timer Switch is just a switch with an internal clock mechanism. In ElectraSim you toggle it manually to represent time events. In a real installation, the timer's ON/OFF schedule is programmed with physical pegs or a digital interface.
Live → MCB → Dimmer Switch → Bulb → Neutral
In real installations, a dimmer switch must be matched to the bulb type — trailing-edge for LED, leading-edge for incandescent/halogen. Never connect a Dimmer Switch to a motor or fan (use a Fan Dimmer instead).
Live → MCB → Push Button → Bell → Neutral
Push Buttons are momentary — they close the circuit only while physically held. A standard switch latches open or closed. This distinction is critical: a latching switch would leave the bell ringing continuously.
Live → DB (L-in) → L1 → MCB1 → Switch → Bulb
→ L2 → MCB2 → 3-Pin Socket
→ L3 → MCB3 → Motor
Neutral → DB (N-in) → N1/N2 → (all returns)The key principle of a consumer unit is circuit isolation: a fault on one circuit trips only that MCB, leaving all other circuits unaffected. This is why each circuit has its own dedicated breaker.
Use guided templates, fault mode, smart routing, custom wiring, and export tools for free in your browser. No sign-up, no installation.