Is it necessary to use cold pressed terminals for wire connections in the lighting electrical ready board?

The use of cold pressed terminals is not mandatory for all wiring connections in lighting electrical ready boards. It is necessary to distinguish between single stranded hard wires and multi stranded flexible wires, and comply with IEC specifications. Single stranded copper core hard wire with an area of 10mm ⊃2; or less can be directly bent and connected to component terminals without the need for cold pressing. The bending direction should be consistent with the bolt tightening direction to ensure reliable contact.

There are clear requirements for multi stranded copper core flexible wires: for multi stranded wires of 2.5mm ⊃2; and below, two methods can be used: cold pressing terminals or tightening tin coating; For multi strand wires larger than 2.5mm ⊃2;, in addition to the built-in plug-in terminals of the equipment, the terminals must be connected. Cold pressed terminals are preferred, and loose copper wires cannot be directly pressed under bolts. Directly compressing loose strands can easily lead to loose copper wires and virtual connections. Long term operation can increase contact resistance, heat up, and burn the terminals, causing safety hazards.

When facing the Eskom project in Africa, the factory production process of lighting electrical ready boards generally requires the use of cold pressed terminals for multiple wires, and it is not recommended to use tin coating technology. Cold pressed terminals have stable conductivity and vibration resistance after crimping, suitable for harsh environments such as outdoor, high temperature and humidity, and easy for batch quality inspection and later operation and maintenance. The selection of terminal specifications should match the wire cross-section, and specialized crimping tools should be used. Open terminals are prohibited.

At most two wires can be connected to the same terminal block, and a flat gasket should be added between the two wires. The wiring of PE and N busbars inside the box also follows this rule, standardizes wiring, reduces temperature rise faults, and ensures the long-term stable operation of the lighting electrical ready board.