What is an Industrial Circuit Breaker?

In order for you to understand what an industrial circuit breaker is you must first learn what they are designed to do. These devices are electrical switches that are automatically operated, so they can provide protection to any electrical circuit from such occurrences as an overload, or a short circuit. Basically they are designed to detect a faulty condition, and discontinue the continuity of electrical flow.

Industrial circuit breaker

Fuses are also designed to work in a manner similar to this device, except that fuses can only protect from the faults they detect, one at a time. When you have a fuse on the system, and you get a short circuit, or you get a power overload, the fuse blows. When the fuse blows, it interrupts the continuity of the electricity; and by doing this, it protects any appliance, hooked up to that specific electrical circuit, from being damaged by the short, or the power surge. Like a burnt light bulb, when a fuse is blown it is no longer viable, and has to be replaced before you can restore electricity to the outlets it controls. With the industrial circuit breaker, when the surge occurs, the breaker is flipped to an off position, and this stops the flow of electricity to all of the devices it controls. You do not have to replace the breaker every time this occurs, as you would have to do with a fuse.

Sizes – Industrial Circuit Breaker

The circuit breakers come in different sizes, depending on where they will be used. Some of them are designed to run simple circuits in a home, and others are designed to be used as an industrial circuit breaker, providing protection for the high voltage circuits that are powering the entire city. For in home use, these devices come in different sizes, depending on the size of the appliances to which they will be providing power. The outlet where you plug your coffee pot or toaster does not need the same amount of current as the outlet where you plug your air conditioner or electric stove.

If the circuit breaker that you have installed is too small for the amount of electricity the appliances need, the appliances plugged into it will flip to off frequently. Like when you are using the toaster and you start the coffee pot, and the breaker flips. Most of us have had this happen to us. When this does happen, the circuit breaker that is controlling the outlets and switches is too small for the amount of electricity that is being demanded from the lines.

If the circuit breaker you install is too large, then it may not flip when there is trouble, such as an overloaded line. This can allow fires to ignite, or it can damage the items hooked in the outlets this breaker controls. You have to know what can be plugged into an outlet that the breaker will control, and you need to know how much electricity it takes to operate those items. With kitchen items, the initial start up of the item is frequently the time when the largest amount of electricity is required.