The Differences between Industrial Circuit Breakers and Residual Circuit Breakers

While all circuit breakers have similar features that are required for operation, the details can vary greatly, depending on the voltage class, current rating and circuit breaker type. Two different types of circuit breakers are industrial circuit breakers and residual circuit breakers.

Industrial Circuit Breakers

Industrial circuit breakers are automatically operated electrical switches that are designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by a power overload or short circuit. Industrial circuit breakers are used to detect a potential fault condition by interrupting a power connection which will immediately stop a power flow. Industrial circuit breakers can vary in size and voltage management.

Low voltage industrial circuit breakers that contain less than 1000 VAC are used most commonly in commercial and industrial applications. Under the umbrella of low voltage industrial circuit breakers, there are two sub-types; the miniature circuit breakers and the molded case circuit breaker. Low voltage circuit breakers are made for direct current applications (DC). They contain electrical motor operations, which can be opened and closed via remote control. Additionally, they can be mounted in multi-tiers in voltage switchboards, if needed.

Miniature circuit breakers have a rated current of no more than 100A. It can be operated by either thermal or thermal-magnetic operation. It is important to note, however, that its trip characteristics are not adjustable.

Molded case circuit breakers have a rated current of no more than 1000A. Similar to the miniature circuit breaker, the molded case circuit breaker can be operated by thermal or thermal-magnetic operation. Unlike a miniature circuit breaker, however, a molded case circuit breaker's trip current may be adjustable in larger ratings.

Residual Circuit Breakers

A residual circuit breaker is an electrical wiring device that has the ability to disconnect a circuit whenever it detects the electric current is not properly balanced between the energized conductor and the return neutral conductor. Residual circuit breakers are designed to disconnect quickly enough to reduce issues due to power shocks. Unlike industrial circuit breakers, however, residual circuit breakers are not intended to provide protection against overload or short-circuit conditions.

Residual circuit breakers are designed to prevent electrocution by detecting current leaks, which can be much smaller than currents needed to properly operate conventional industrial circuit breakers or fuses. Residual circuit breakers are intended to operate within 25-40 milliseconds, before a system's electrical shock can cause death.

Residual Circuit Breakers and Industrial Circuit Breakers

It is obvious that both residual circuit breakers and industrial circuit breakers provide important safety protection for people, equipment and a facility's electrical system as a whole. They are important parts of a facility's electric system that need to be properly maintained and regularly tested to ensure they are able to switch into action if the need presents itself in order to protect the system overall.