Technical-Regulations,
NECA Services - Codes & Standards
BASIC PROTECTIO
N
Electrical installations
require protection
to ensure that the
installation cabling
system is sound, that
products connected into
the system are working
correctly and that the end
user is protected from
electrical shock or worse!
Without consideration of all these aspects
there can be a hole in the system and in
this case it can be a big black hole that
could cause injury or death.
The basic premise though is that there
is an Earthing system that is considered
robust for the application. You are all
aware of the need in our MEN installation
that an earth stake and an MEN link
correctly installed as a key to the integrity
of the whole installation. Ensuring the
integrity will enable the installation
protection to do its job correctly:
• Through automatic disconnection of
supply in the advent of a short-circuit
or excessive earth leakage
• Through equipotential bonding
arrangements that provide mitigation
of voltage differences between
exposed metal of equipment and
extraneous conductive parts
• Through an effective low impedance
fault path that can carry earth faults
without failure of equipment or wiring
systems
86 September/October 2016 Issue 4
• Through measures for the connection
of exposed metal and extraneous
conductive parts
Circuit protection or specifically, cable
protection is another vitally important part
to be considered. Essentially the rating of
the circuit breaker has to match or be a
lower rating than the size of cable being
used. The idea is that there will never
be an overload in the cables whether a
short-circuit or continuous overload which
would lead to overheating of the cable.
If there is such an eventuality the circuit
breaker will trip the circuit.
One issue that is of some concern it
seems, is the short-circuit rating of
the circuit breaker or miniature circuit
breakers (MCB). The Service Rules for
each state will direct the installer to the
required prospective short-circuit current
rating appropriate to that region. This is
simply because there can be considered
some differences in impedance in the
various soils in and around the states.
These ratings range from 6kA up to 10kA
usually.
The higher the short-circuit rating in
an MCB the better, right? Well not
necessarily! Many suppliers in the
domestic market with higher rated short
circuit rated MCBs and are espousing
the virtues of their product as the only
solution.
Did you know that a lower rated short
circuit current in an MCB is quite
acceptable where there is protection
of the service supply by an upstream
fuse? It’s true! As you can imagine all
of our services are protected by that
upstream fuse for overload and short
circuit protection to the customer’s
premises, meaning that kA rating is
already incorporated at whatever rating is
deemed necessary for that region.
Following on from that you can see that
a lower rated short-circuit MCB is quite
acceptable to use at the switchboard.
Hence the MCBs can be of a lower
short-circuit rating as they are protecting
downstream of the already protected
consumer mains. Simple as that, just
because the regional short-circuit rating is
at 10kA for example doesn’t necessarily
mean you need 10kA MCBs, as the
installation is already protected by an
upstream fuse. Hence a 4.5kA MCB can
be used to protect the cabling in that
installation.
Additional protection is also provided
at the switchboard through a Residual
Current Device (RCD). This type of
protection is there to augment other
measures of basic protection. These
provide protection in the event of an
active to earth or neutral to earth fault
as they operate before the threshold
of 30mA (usually around the 15-25mA
range). That 30mA threshold is where
fibrillation of the heart will occur. 10mA
RCDs are used in medical installations
because they operate before muscular
contraction, the inability to let go, occurs.
This is especially of concern where there
are electrical devices used in surgery,
hence the use of the 10mA RCD.
This protection in relation to muscular
contraction and fibrillation of the heart is
exactly why these RCDs are mandatory
to be installed for all circuits. They are
an excellent example of safety at its best
because we have all seen instances
where the RCD has tripped out due to
inadvertent touch of a live part, the knife
in the toaster is a great example. Usually
the person who has perpetuated the
crime does not feel a thing as the RCD
trips off the circuit to that device.
Be aware that an active to neutral fault is
not protected by an RCD.
Many installers now install a combined
RCD and MCB, an RCBO (residual
current circuit breaker with over current
protection), for each circuit, providing
circuit and people protection at a
single circuit level and also easier fault
finding when things go wrong, as they
sometimes do!
There are also RCD’s that provide
property protection and these are rated
at 100mA and greater. Because they are
above the safe threshold of 30mA they
are considered to provide protection
for installations. They are primarily used
where there is no access or restricted
access by persons and are there to stop
inadvertent active to earth and neutral to
earth faults within installations.
There are other protection devices such
as Surge Protection Devices to protect
the installation and the devices installed
within from over-voltage situations. The
most common that we all know is a
lightning strike but it could also be caused
by a fault in the service lines. Another
type of over-voltage device currently
being used in Europe is called Power
Overvoltage Protection, or a POP, this is
used to monitor the circuit and trip that
circuit when irregular high over-voltages
are seen in the wiring system.
A new one to the market is an Arc Fault
Detection Device, an AFDD, which is
there to protect against fires that may
be caused by small arcs within cables,
especially cord extension sets but also at
termination points. You have seen flexible
cords that have been squashed in a door
as it closes or even damage to the plug
and cord behind the bedhead. A sharp
bend can damage the copper conductors
within and cause either an arc in an active
or neutral conductor or across an active
NEGOTIATED RATES FOR NECA MEMBERS
and neutral conductor. If left unattended
this could eventually lead to a fire and
resultant damage to the premises. These
are very new to Australia but are used
extensively in Europe and the USA as
they are mandated to be used to protect
circuits to bedrooms specifically.
In many instances there is also a need
to provide basic mechanical protection
for cabling within the installation. This
is predominantly achieved by use of
electrical conduits whether plastic or steel
" Did you know that
a lower rated short
circuit in an MCB is
quite acceptable where
there is protection of
the service supply by
an upstream fuse?
It's true! "
to ensure the risk of contact to persons
is limited or to provide segregation from
other services. Of course there are other
means to achieve the required protection
or segregation through distance or
effective barriers, to stop a person ingress
or to shield the cable from inadvertent
damage.
Product protection is also important but
that is not usually the domain of the installer.
There are specific standards for most
electrical accessories in the market and the
September/October 2016 Issue 4
manufacturer or supplier should be able to
provide documentation to prove that the
product is designed and manufactured
to its specific standard. There are around
56 Prescribed articles that need to have
an Approval Certificate and Number
before they can be marketed in Australia.
“Prescribed” means that each state has
gazetted those products as a state law.
The most common examples are Socket-
outlets, Switches, RCDs and MCBs.
For all other accessories or appliances
there may be specific standards
applicable and if there are none then the
Basic Safety standard AS/NZS 3820 has
to apply. Just to protect yourself as an
installer or an end user you should ask
your supplier for documentation on your
purchase to verify that it is to Australian
Standards. After all, as the electrical
contractor, you have a responsibility to
select and install electrical equipment
that complies with the essential safety
requirements of the Australian standards.
Check out the Wiring Rules, clause 1.7.1,
it’s all there in black and white! Choosing
and installing safe and approved
equipment is another form of protection
directly for you from a liability perspective.
As you can see there are many forms
of protection that should be considered
when planning, installing or maintaining
an installation. Protect the installation,
protect the products installed, protect
the end user or home owner and protect
yourself.
Protection, as I have said if its not on,
then its not on!
Gary Busbridge
Clipsal by Schneider Electrical
Ref: 1604-Technical-86/87
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