Industrial Circuit Breakers…Supplying The Global Need

A Brief Overview of the Low Voltage Industrial circuit breaker

The increasing global use of large amounts of electricity to fulfill residential, commercial, industrial and infrastructural needs has meant the furtherance of devices which ensure the continual distribution of electrical energy, as well as the safety of personnel around electrical systems. One of these devices in particular, which has shown great technological advancement since the 1980′s is the circuit breaker.

An industrial circuit breaker, according to the United States National Electrical Code is basically “A device manufactured to open and close a circuit by nonautomatic methods and to automatically open a circuit at a predefined overcurrent without damaging itself”. In general, industrial circuit breakers are consequently composed of five important components:

  • A Frame or mould case
  • An Operating mechanism
  • Arc extinguishers and contacts
  • A Terminal connector
  • A Trip bar and element

circuit breakers are used in both residential and non-residential situations however, each of these different utilizations generally calls for a different category of circuit breaker. The category used depends mainly upon the voltage of the power system, which in industrial settings, are usually divided into two voltage classes: low and medium.

In low voltage industrial systems such as switchboards or low voltage switchgear (which is more commonly used by industry), a voltage of less than approximately 600 volts is allowed. This means that the Circuit Breakers which can be utilized within these systems are usually limited to molded case, insulated case and power circuit breakers.

Industrial Circuit Breaker Available for Switchboard and Switchgear Systems

Molded case breakers are the most commonly used circuit breaker in switchboard systems. The trip bar and element within this particular type of breaker are sealed inside a molded case, which means that when the industrial circuit breaker has a failure or problem the whole unit must be replaced. Due to the design of these breakers, the facility where they are housed must also be powered down during any maintenance, owing to the risk of maintenance personal electrocution.

Insulated case breakers in comparison to molded case designs can be utilized for slightly higher voltages and unlike molded case breakers they provide access to some internal components, which makes maintenance easier. The general difficulties with molded case and insulated case breakers regarding maintenance however, as well as the low voltage allowances of these breaker makes switchboards generally an unpopular choice in industry.

For this reason switchboard systems are consequently implemented in industry when finances are an issue, as they are much cheaper than other options. The may also be utilized when the period over which they are needed is short (for example a short industrial building project).

Power circuit breakers in comparison to molded and insulated case breakers and generally utilized in switchgear systems. These systems are the system of choice for modern industry due to the fact that they can handle higher voltages and are easier to maintain. Power circuit breakers are designed to allow for maintenance and even the replacement of breakers, whilst the system is still live. This is preferable in an industry situation, as there is no break in production during breaker maintenance.

It can be noted that the role of an industrial circuit breaker in electrical systems is quite significant and that the technology involving these devices is quite advanced. It is believed that with further research however, that this technology could be made safer and increasingly more efficient.