Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 4

c S  devices are generally suitable for

domestic applications. They may also be used in


light commercial applications where switching
surges are low or non-existent.
c S  devices are the normal choice for
commercial and industrial applications where
fluorescent lighting, motors etc. are in use.
c S  devices have more limited applications,
normally in industrial use where high inrush
currents may be expected. Examples include
large battery charging systems, winding motors,
transformers, X-ray machines and some types of
discharge lighting.

c S  devices are designed to trip at fault


currents of 3-5 times rated current (In). For
example a 10A device will trip at 30-50A.
c S  devices are designed to trip at 5-10
times In (50-100A for a 10A device).
c S  devices are designed to trip at 10-20
times In (100-200A for a 10A device).
fuses are generally cheaper to make and smaller in
size than circuit breakers.

However an ordinary fuse cannot blow as quickly as a


circuit breaker can "trip".

Some equipment may require special "quick-blow"


fuses so that damage can be prevented when an
over-current fault condition occurs. Quick-blow fuses
cost much more to make than ordinary fuses but
must sometimes be used where a circuit breaker
would be too expensive and/or too large in size.

circuit breakers can be designed to trip much faster


than an ordinary fuse but they are generally larger in
size and cost more to make.

However circuit breakers are reusable and can easily


be reset after they have tripped - provided, of course,
that the fault condition in the protected circuit has
been repaired.

Ñ 

An arth eakage ircuit


reaker was the first name
given to what is now called
a round ault ircuit nterrupter (GFCI) . The
original type of ELCB or GFCI was designed only to
detect a current flowing in the safety "ground" or
"earth" wire.

It is a basic fact of electrical engineering design that


all current flowing to an electrical appliance, machine
or other equipment ñ  the power generation station
via its supply circuit's "hot" or "live" wire should only
return  the power station via that same circuit's
"neutral" wire.
So, as a result of that basic fact, if any
current  flowing in the ground wire, it must be
caused by a fault condition and the supply of current
to the circuit needs to be stopped urgently. Many
years ago, before today's electronic RCDs or GFCIs
were designed, much simpler electro-mechanical
relays called arth eakage ircuit
reakers (ELCBs)
were invented so that, if any such ground current
exceeding just a few milliamps was detected, they
would "trip" - meaning "operate" - to break the
current supply to the circuits for which they were
installed to protect.

The original type of ELCB or GFCI did not check for


any difference in current flowing in the live and
neutral wires, which is another indication of a very
serious fault condition - even if no current can be
detected flowing in the ground wire - because the
"missing current" may actually be flowing to ground
via someone's body!
When RCDs were invented, most manufacturers of
GFCIs adopted the same technology because it offers
so much more protection to users than the original
GFCI could ever give.
In the US and Canada such devices are still
commonly known as "GFCIs" or "GFIs" even though
they have the additional "residual current detector"
functionality, whilst in Europe and elsewhere the
more accurate name of "Residual Current Detector"
or RCD has been widely adopted for general use
instead of using the name of the much simpler GFCI
device.

î î  
   

î î  
   
î 
 
       
       

   ! î  î 
î    "  #

î    " 


$$      
$   % $%    
î $    
" 


$%   
 
  $%
 î 
    & $%  
  "    

   î     
  î   $%
'       


$%$   %   
 
 
$%

$$        
"      $%   
 !       
 
  
î    
$
    î (

Вам также может понравиться