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Short-Circuit Current Ratings of Equipment

Daniel R Neeser (S.M. IEEE)
Cooper Bussmann
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Dan.Neeser@CooperIndustries.com

Abstract—The interrupting rating and short-circuit current IR is defined in the 2011 NEC Article 100 as “the highest
rating of equipment is an key consideration for the installation of current at rated voltage that a device is identified to interrupt
equipment in electrical distribution systems. To emphasize this under standard test conditions.” Therefore, IR simply is the
consideration, the 2005 National Electrical Code (NEC®) added highest current that an overcurrent protective device is rated to
short-circuit current rating marking requirements for various
safely clear. According to NEC 110.9, the IR of the
types of equipment, that previously was not required to be
marked with the equipment short-circuit current rating. The overcurrent protective device must be no less than the current
marked short-circuit current rating of equipment is determined available at the equipment’s line terminals.
by the product standards as part of the listing and labeling The NEC requires the marking of the interrupting rating of
process of the equipment or an approved method, such as UL fuses per NEC 240.60(C) and circuit breakers per 240.83(C)
508A for industrial control panels. UL 508A Supplement SB is [see figure 1].
an analytical (non-tested) method of determining the short-circuit
current rating of industrial control panels. This method basically
determines the “weak-link” of all power circuit components in
the industrial control panel and the lowest rated component then
determines the assembly rating. Additional changes to the 2011
NEC have occurred to ensure equipment has short-circuit
current ratings sufficient for the fault current where the
equipment is installed.

Index Terms—Equipment, Overcurrent Protective Device,

Interrupting Rating, Short-Circuit Current Rating, Fuse, Circuit
Breaker, UL 508A

I. INTRODUCTION
Overcurrent protective device interrupting rating (IR) and
equipment short-circuit current rating (SCCR) are key
considerations for the safety of commercial and industrial
electrical systems. If inadequate overcurrent protective device
IR or equipment SCCR is present, a serious potential safety
hazard exists. As a result, the NEC and Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) have added requirements
that draw attention to this issue that are resulting in changes to
equipment design and specification.
This paper focuses on the equipment SCCR marking
requirements, how equipment SCCR is determined, and the
proper equipment installation requirements according to the
NEC. The NEC identifies the overcurrent protective device IR
and equipment SCCR marking requirements. More
importantly, it also addresses the installation requirements for
the proper application of overcurrent protective device IR and
equipment SCCR.
II. INTERRUPTING RATING
It’s important to understand the difference between the IR
of overcurrent protective devices (such as fuses and circuit
breakers) versus equipment SCCR (such as devices,
appliances, apparatus and machinery).
Figure 1. The NEC requires marking of the interrupting
rating on a current-limiting fuse per NEC 240.60(C).
III. SHORT-CIRCUIT CURRENT RATING
The 2011 NEC Article 100 defines SCCR as “the
prospective symmetrical fault current at a nominal voltage to
which an apparatus or system is able to be connected without
sustaining damage exceeding defined acceptance criteria.”
Therefore, SCCR simply is the highest current that equipment
is rated to safely withstand.
NEC 110.10 requires that the equipment SCCR “be
selected and coordinated to permit the circuit protective devices
to clear a fault, and to do so without extensive damage to the
electrical equipment of the circuit.” Notice that NEC 110.10
indicates that a specific circuit protective device (fuse or circuit
breaker) might be required to provide proper protection.
NEC 110.10 also says the protective device must protect
the equipment from extensive damage. Therefore, damage can
occur to equipment after a fault, but it can’t result in a shock or
fire hazard outside of the enclosure.
The acceptable damage criteria for SCCR testing and
evaluation in product standards is another topic for an in-depth
discussion not covered in this article. Typically, acceptable

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 2013-CSC-020
damage might render the assembly or a component in the
assembly as useless. The main objective of the product
standard SCCR acceptable damage level, however, is to
prevent a shock hazard or a fire outside the enclosure.
If a violation of NEC 110.9 or 110.10 occurs, and the fault
current exceeds the IR of the overcurrent protective device or
the SCCR of equipment, a catastrophic and violent failure of
the overcurrent protective device or equipment can occur.
OSHA 1910.303(b)(4) and 1910.303(b)(5) contain similar
language to NEC 110.9 and NEC 110.10, so both new and
existing overcurrent protective devices and equipment must
have adequate IR and SCCR.
IV. SCCR MARKING REQUIREMENTS
In the past, equipment such as HVAC, industrial control
panels and industrial machinery was considered “utilization
equipment” and was overlooked regarding proper SCCR and
the ability to withstand fault currents. To correct this issue, the
2005 NEC added new requirements for marking equipment
SCCR to correlate with the product standards.
The 2005 NEC added SCCR marking requirements for
motor controllers in NEC 430.8; HVAC equipment in
440.4(B); industrial control panels in 409.110; and industrial
machinery in 670.3(A).
In addition, 409.110(3) and 670.3(A) also contained fine
print notes (changed to information notes in the 2011 NEC)
that UL 508A, Supplement SB was an approved method for
determining equipment SCCR for industrial control panels and
industrial machinery (see figure 2).
Figure 2. This is an example of marked SCCR on an
industrial control panel nameplate.
In the 2008 NEC, Section 409.110 was changed to add an
exception that SCCR wasn’t required to be marked on
industrial control panels that contain only control components
to correlate with the requirements of UL 508A. Therefore, if
the industrial control panel contains only control circuit
components (components that don’t supply loads such as
motors, lighting, heating, appliance or receptacles), then an
SCCR marking is not required.
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V. HOW TO DETERMINE IR & SCCR
Product standards are used to determine the IR of
overcurrent protection devices and SCCR for components and
assemblies.
The interrupting rating for overcurrent devices is
determined in accordance with UL 489 for circuit breakers and
UL 248 for fuses.
The SCCR for industrial control equipment is determined in
accordance with UL 508; for power conversion equipment, the
standard is UL 508C; for terminal blocks, the standard is UL
1059; for power distribution blocks, the standard is UL 1953;
and for switches, the standards are UL 508 (motor controllers)
or UL 98 (branch circuit disconnects). The SCCR of a
component often is dependent on a specific type of
overcurrent device.
For assemblies, the SCCR can be determined by the testing
and listing process in accordance with the product standard.
For instance, panelboards are tested and listed in accordance
with UL 67; switchboards in accordance with UL 891; and
motor control centers in accordance with UL 845.
For industrial control panels, two alternatives are available
to determine an assembly SCCR: testing or analysis method.
UL 508A, Supplement SB identifies an approved process that
can be used to determine the SCCR for industrial control
panels by analyzing the components in the industrial control
panel. If desired as an alternative, testing of industrial control
panels can be performed to determine the SCCR of industrial
control panels. However, this often is cost prohibitive unless
large usage of the same industrial control panel is expected.
For heating and cooling systems (HVAC equipment), UL
1995, the UL Standard for Safety for Heating and Cooling
Equipment, recently was updated to require HVAC equipment
to be marked with an SCCR, effective July 30, 2012. This can
be determined by testing or by analysis in accordance with the
requirements added to UL 1995 which are similar to that of
UL 508A, Supplement SB.
VI. UL 508A SUPPLEMENT SB
Three main considerations are used to determine the
SCCR of an industrial control panel according to UL
508A, Supplement SB (analysis method):
1. Power circuit components
2. Current-limiting devices in the feeder circuit
3. Overcurrent protective devices.
The overall process is to:
1. Find the lowest rated SCCR of any power circuit
component.
2. Increase the rating of branch circuit components if
possible by using a current-limiting device in the
feeder circuit if present.
3. Compare this value to the lowest interrupting rating of
overcurrent protective devices in the industrial control
panel.
The lowest component SCCR (after steps 1 and 2) or the
lowest interrupting rating of overcurrent protective devices
(step 3) results in the overall assembly SCCR.
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For power circuit components, the SCCR is determined by (taken from UL 248) is less than the branch circuit component
either the product markings or the instruction sheets (see SCCR, then the branch circuit component SCCR can be raised
figure 3). If there are no product markings, a default value can to that value (50 kA, 100 kA or 200 kA) (see figure 5).
be used as indicated in UL 508A, Supplement SB. For motor
controllers, high SCCR can be used when tested in accordance
with UL 508 and procedure described.

Figure 3. An example of product markings for SCCR of a

power distribution block.

It’s possible to raise the ratings of branch power circuit

components — those on the load side of the branch circuit
overcurrent device (the overcurrent device closest to the load).
Any component or overcurrent device on the line side of the
branch-circuit overcurrent device is in the feeder circuit.
When a current-limiting device (fuse or circuit breaker
marked “current-limiting” or a transformer 10 kVA or less) is
located in the feeder circuit, it can be investigated to determine
if it can raise branch circuit component ratings (see figure 4).
However, branch-circuit overcurrent device interrupting rating
can’t be raised by a current-limiting feeder overcurrent
protective device.

Figure 5. This illustrates a current-limiting fuse in the

feeder circuit that can be used to increase a branch circuit
component SCCR, if the peak let-through of the current
limiting fuse from Table SB 4.2 in the feeder circuit at a given
fault current level is less than the branch circuit component
SCCR. However, the interrupting rating of the branch-circuit
overcurrent protective device can’t be raised.

The process is similar for circuit breakers that are marked

Figure 4. When a current limiting device is located in the
feeder circuit, it can be investigated to determine if it can raise
branch circuit component ratings.
For fuses, if the peak let-through value for a current-
limiting fuse in the feeder circuit (at a given fault current of 50
kA, 100 kA or 200 kA) as indicated in UL 508A, Table SB 4.2
“current-limiting”, with the exception that manufacturer-
specific peak let-through is used.
If the transformer is 10 kVA or less for transformers in the
feeder circuit, as long as the load-side components and
overcurrent protective devices are rated 5 kA or greater, the
interrupting rating of the overcurrent protective device on the
line side of the transformer can be applied to the load-side
components and overcurrent protective devices.
If the transformer is rated 5 kVA or less with a 120 V
maximum secondary, as long as the load-side components and
overcurrent protective device ratings are rated 2 kA or greater,
the interrupting rating of the overcurrent protective device on
the line side of the transformer can be applied to the load-side
components and overcurrent protective devices (see figure 6).

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Figure 6. Transformers in the feeder circuit can be used to
raise the transformer secondary components and overcurrent
protective device ratings.
The final check is verifying the lowest interrupting rating of
the overcurrent devices in the industrial control panel. If this is
lower than any power circuit component after the steps above,
the assembly SCCR is lowered to this value.
VII. INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS
Changes to the NEC SCCR equipment-marking
requirements were designed to help draw attention to the
withstand capabilities of equipment and, combined with the
existing requirements of NEC 110.10, prevent installation of
underrated equipment.
In the 2011 NEC, additional requirements were added for
industrial control panels and industrial machinery that
complement and reinforce the requirements of NEC 110.10.
Specifically, a new section 409.22, was added to require that
an industrial control panel not be installed where the available
fault current exceeds its SCCR as marked in accordance with
409.110. Similar wording was added for industrial machinery
per a new section in NEC 670.5.
The added text in 409.22 and 670.5 draws attention to the
fact that industrial control panels and industrial machinery
must be designed and manufactured with an SCCR that is
adequate for the installation.
Therefore, if equipment such as an industrial control panel
is being installed in an industrial facility, the system designer
must communicate the maximum fault current to the
equipment supplier so the supplier can design the equipment
with SCCR no less than the fault current where installed in
accordance with NEC 409.22 and 110.10.
The process would be similar for HVAC equipment in
commercial and industrial building facilities, although not
specifically stated other than the requirements of NEC
440.4(B) and 110.10.
Another requirement highlighting proper equipment ratings
was added in the 2011 NEC. A new section, 110.24, requires
commercial and industrial service equipment to be marked
with the maximum available fault current, and to be remarked
if modifications of the electrical installation resulted in an
increase of the maximum available fault current. The intent of
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this change was to assure compliance with NEC 110.9 and
110.10 for service equipment (see figure 7).
Figure 7. This demonstrates the available fault current and
proper application of equipment SCCR.
VIII. CONCLUSION
The NEC changes discussed in this article have helped
increase awareness of available fault current and proper
equipment SCCR by system designers, installers and AHJs. In
mny jurisdictions, AHJs have responded to these changes by
requiring the available fault current to be documented at
equipment and by red-tagging equipment if found with an
inadequate SCCR. Because of this, system designers and
installers are identifying the fault current at equipment and
communicating these requirements to equipment
manufacturers.
System designers and installers also are realizing that once
the equipment is installed with inadequate SCCR, there are no
easy fixes. The only options are equipment modification and
recertification or reduction of fault current (through use of
additional conductors, isolation transformers or reactors).
Additionally, equipment might be relocated within a facility
or to another facility that has increased fault currents, causing
additional concerns for flexibility of application for
equipment. This can result in costly delays and increased
equipment cost.
As a result, equipment suppliers now are being requested to
provide equipment with high SCCR. This, in turn, brings
equipment design changes to meet the requirements for high
fault-current installations.
IX. REFERENCES
[1] NFPA 70, National Electrical Code, 2011 Edition