A circuit breaker is a device that is used to protect electrical equipment from damage. It provides an automatic switching mechanism to isolate a fault.
It is a safety feature that automatically shuts down the power supply to protect the equipment from overloading or overheating.
In this post, I’ll break down everything you need to know about circuit breaker, how it works, its types and why we use it.
Let’s get started!
What Circuit Breakers Do?
A circuit breaker is a safety device that stops electricity from flowing in case of a short circuit. If a circuit breaker trips, you should immediately turn off the power to the appliance.
The purpose of a circuit breaker is to protect your home from electrical hazards like fire. There are three types of circuit breakers:
- Arc Fault Circuit Breakers
- Ground Fault Circuit Breakers
- Overload Circuit Breakers
Each type of circuit breaker works differently. Here are some of the breakers:
Arc Fault Circuit Breakers
These circuit breakers are designed to prevent fires from happening due to faulty wiring. An arc fault is an electrical current that flows between two parts of a wire, causing a spark that causes the wire to catch fire. These circuit breakers will detect an arc fault and stop the flow of electricity.
Ground Fault Circuit Breakers
These circuit breakers are designed to prevent fires from happening when a person comes into contact with a live wire. If you touch a live wire, a ground fault occurs, and this will trip the circuit breaker. Ground fault circuit breakers will stop the flow of electricity if the breaker detects a ground fault.
Overload Circuit Breakers
These circuit breakers are designed to stop the flow of electricity when too much current is flowing through the wires. When the current reaches a certain level, the circuit breaker will trip to stop the flow of electricity.
Types Of Circuit Breakers
A circuit breaker is a safety device used to prevent damage caused by a short circuit. The main purpose of a circuit breaker is to interrupt electrical current flow if something goes wrong. It is a crucial piece of equipment for any home and business.
There are three basic types of circuit breakers, depending on the amount of current they can handle.
GFCI – Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter.
This is a simple circuit breaker that can be installed in any home. It will protect you from electric shock if you touch an electrical wire that has been exposed to an earth ground.
PGC – Protective Ground Circuit.
This type of circuit breaker is suitable for medium to large homes. It protects your home from electrical shock if you accidentally touch an exposed electrical wire.
GFCI-PGC – Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter/Protective Ground Circuit.
This is a combination of the GFCI and PGC types. This circuit breaker is designed to protect your home from both electrical shock and grounding.
How Circuit Breakers Work?
The circuit breaker is the most effective device that works in the power supply system. It is designed to protect the electrical system from damage caused by a sudden increase in the demand of electricity.
Circuit breakers are used to reduce the risk of damage to the electrical system caused by overload, short circuits, and surges in electricity.
The circuit breaker is designed to detect these problems and automatically interrupt the current flowing in the power circuit. Once the problem is detected, the circuit breaker will trip and will open the circuit.
Circuit breakers are generally made up of two parts:
1. Power components
2. Control components
Power components are the parts that are responsible for detecting the problem and triggering the circuit breaker. The control component is the part that triggers the circuit breaker to open and close.
The circuit breaker will be tripped if the power component detects a problem. If the control component doesn’t detect the problem, the circuit breaker won’t be triggered.
The control component of a siemens circuit breaker is connected to the power component through a sensing device called a contactor. This contactor senses the problem and opens the circuit.