What is a ring final circuit used for socket outlets?

• A. A radial arrangement where each outlet is fed by a separate cable from the distribution board.
• B. A ring final circuit is a loop that starts and ends at the distribution board, providing two parallel paths to each outlet, increasing resilience.
• C. A chain arrangement of outlets fed sequentially from a single feed.
• D. A star arrangement with a central feed to all outlets.

Answer: (B)

A ring final circuit is a closed loop that starts and ends at the distribution board and feeds socket outlets from two directions, giving two parallel paths to each outlet. This arrangement lets current split and flow in from either side of the loop, so you can carry more current with a given cable size and keep voltage drop low across many outlets. That dual-path setup is what makes it especially suitable for socket outlets in homes. Other layouts—radial (single feed to each outlet), sequential chain feeding, or a central-star feed—don’t provide two-way feeding to every outlet, which is why they aren’t used in the same way for ring final circuits.