A living room circuit has a 5 A fuse fitted in the live wire. The circuit supplies the following appliances connected in parallel at 220 V:
• One LED television: 120 W
• Two tube-lights: 40 W each
• One table-fan: 80 W
• One portable room heater: 1000 W
Assume all the appliances are switched on at the same time.
(i) Compute the current drawn by each appliance separately.
(ii) Determine the total current drawn by the circuit.
(iii) Comment on whether the existing 5 A fuse is adequate. Support your answer with calculations.
(iv) Select an appropriate fuse or MCB rating from 6 A, 10 A and 15 A to replace the present fuse, and justify your choice.
(v) Explain why it is safer to connect each appliance in parallel rather than in series in a domestic circuit of this type.