Circuit Breaker Types Explained

A circuit breaker is an automatically operated electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by excess current from an overload or short circuit its basic function is to interrupt current flow after a fault is detected.

Circuit breaker types explained.

The plunger strikes the trip lever causing an immediate release of latch mechanism consequently open the circuit breaker contacts. Tripping mechanism in miniature circuit breaker. These automatic electrical switches are put in place in order to protect a circuit from excess current. Standard ground fault circuit interrupters gfcis and arc fault circuit interrupters afcis.

Remove the circuit breaker. Afci and gfci circuit breakers work against arc and ground faults respectively. Discard the old circuit breaker. As explained in the above section an mcb has two types of tripping mechanism.

A circuit breaker knows to spring into action. Circuit breaker control schematic explained a typical wiring diagram with dc control for a westinghouse dhp is shown in the figure below. Unlike a fuse which operates once and then must be replaced a circuit breaker can be reset either manually or automatically to resume. Add the wires in the new breaker and screw them in tightly.

Trips between 10x and 20x the rated current. Types of circuit breakers explained. When you imagine a simple breaker that trips when a circuit overloads you. Dual function cafci gfci circuit breaker types protect against both arc faults and ground faults which can save time and money while providing more safety than the other versions.

And their subdivision is also discussed along with advantages and disadvantages. Circuit breaker identification 101. Broadly speaking there are three major types of circuit breakers. Place a new one in the same spot as the old one.

We will be using this simple diagram to discuss the components involved with the electrical operating sequence of a circuit breaker. This is within the trip range of the d type. Less common this type trips between 10x and 14x the rated current. In this article the different types of circuit breakers i e.

Example a 20a circuit breaker would need between 100a and 500a before it trips. More on circuit breakers. This was a simple explanation of a miniature circuit breaker working principle. Replace the panel s faceplate.

Air circuit breaker sf6 circuit breaker vacuum circuit breaker and oil circuit breaker have been discussed in a short detailed just to understand the basic concept about these circuit breakers. Let s take a closer look at these three. When installing check the latest national electrical code as requirements in most areas call for afci breakers in all rooms of the house under the 2017 code update.