Breakers

By:
Cris de Chavez
 Panel Board
Is defined by the national Electrical Code as “ A single panel
or group limits designed for assembly in the form of a
single panel.”

• This includes buses and automatic over-current protective

devices with or without switches for the control of light,
heat or power circuits.
• Panel board is designed for mounting in a cabinet or cut-
out box installed in or against a wall or partition accessible
only to the front. Used to control light, heat, or power
circuits.
• Panel boards basically fall into two categories:
1. Lighting and appliance
2. Power and distribution
Panel board is popularly known as panel or
electrical panel. Panel board is simply the box
wherein the protective devices are grouped from
which they are fed. If the devices are of fuse, it is
called fuse panel, If the devices are circuit
breakers it is called breaker panel.
• Fuse is an over all current protective device with a
circuit opening fusible element which opens (break)
when there is an over current in the circuit. It is a
onetime protective device to be replaced after it
clear the faults.

• Fuse is considered as the simplest most common

type of circuit protective device used in most house
wiring installation.
• Generally, fuse consist of a fusible link or wire that
easily melt at low temperature classified into two
types:
1. Cartridge type – which is enclosed in an insulating
fiber tube
2. Plug type – enclosed in a porcelain cap

Plug Type Cartridge Type

 How a Fuse Works
• Current flows through the element of the
fuse, generating heat. During normal
operation, the filler material absorbs this heat.
• When an over current occurs, the element
temperature rises. Again, if the over current is
a harmless transient overload, the filler
material will absorb the small amount of
excess heat.
• However, if a sustained overload occurs, the heat
generated quickly melts a portion of the element.
This forms a gap in the circuit, stopping the flow of
current.

• All fuses have an inverse time-current characteristic.

Simply stated, the higher the over current, the
shorter the time required for the fuse element to
melt, opening the circuit. This amount of time is
called Clearing time..
 Advantages of the Fuse over the Circuit
Breaker
• One major advantage of the fuse over the circuit
breaker is its reliability and stability. The fuse can stay
on its position for years and act when called on to act
as designed.

• The cost of the fuse is very much lower.

• Circuit breaker have several moving parts which

requires maintenance and periodic testing to be in
good condition.
 Circuit Breakers

• The National Electrical Code® defines a circuit

breaker as a device designed to open and close a
circuit by nonautomatic means, and to open the
circuit automatically on a predetermined over-
current without damage to itself when properly
applied within its rating.
• Circuit breakers provide a manual means of
energizing and deenergizing a circuit. In addition,
circuit breakers provide automatic over-current
protection of a circuit. A circuit breaker allows a
circuit to be reactivated after a short circuit or
overload is cleared. Unlike fuses which must be
replaced when they open, a simple push of the
handle to the “Off” then “On” position restores the
circuit. If a circuit reopens upon reset to the “On”
position, a qualified electrician should be consulted
to determine the problem.
Ampere Rating
Every circuit breaker has a specific ampere, voltage,
and fault current interruption rating. The ampere
rating defines the maximum current a circuit breaker
can carry without tripping. Siemens residential circuit
breakers are available with ratings from 15-125 amps.
Voltage Rating

• Each circuit breaker is also rated for the maximum

voltage it can handle. In residential applications,
single-pole breakers protect 120 volt branch circuits;
two-pole breakers protect 240 volt branch circuits.
Siemens residential circuit breakers have a voltage
rating of 120/240 volts. The rating of a circuit breaker
can be higher than the circuit voltage, but never
lower.
 Poles
• Pole describes the number of isolated circuits that
can pass through the circuit breaker at one time. A 1-
pole circuit breaker can carry the current through
one circuit. A 2-pole circuit breaker can carry the
current through two circuits simultaneously. The two
circuits are mechanically connected so that they
open or close at the same time.
 Main Circuit Breaker
• It is important to note the difference between a main
breaker and branch circuit breakers. The main
breaker of a load center shuts off power to the entire
load center and all circuits supplied by that load
center. The main circuit breaker has the same rating
as the load center.
 Branch Circuit Breakers
Branch circuit breakers provide protection for each
branch circuit conductor in the distribution system.
Typical branch circuits:
a. 15 and 20 ampere, 240 volt supply power for
lighting circuits and electrical outlets
b. 20 ampere, 240 volt supply power for some kitchen
and bath electrical outlets
c. Appliances requiring larger amounts of power, such
as clothes dryers, ranges, furnaces and air
conditioners use separate branch circuit breakers
rated for the appropriate voltage and current.
 Advantages of circuit breakers over then
fuse

• The circuit breaker act as switch aside from its being

an over current protective device.
• Unlike the fuse that has to be discarded after it was
busted due to an over current flow, the circuit
breaker trips off automatically and after correcting
the fault, it is again readily available from switch on.
• Circuit breaker can be multiple pole installed with 1,2 or 3
poles which will automatically protect and switch one to
three lines. the fuse on the other hand, is a single pole,
installed on a single wire that could only protect a single
electric line.
• The circuit breaker position is easier to detect. It could be
closed, tripped , or open right at the handle. On the
contrary, busted fuse could not be detected easily because
the melted fusible element is inside the fuse casing.
• The circuit breaker can be manually tripped so that in many
cases, it also acts as the circuit switch.
 Other Types of Breakers
GFCI
• Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (Ground Fault
Current Interceptor). The National Electrical Code
requires GFCI protection of receptacles located
outdoors and in bathrooms, garages and spa areas.
• When a ground fault occurs some of the current will
return to the source through ground. In the following
illustration, for example, a ground fault has occurred in a
common household appliance. Anyone coming in contact
with the appliance will become part of the circuit. The
sensing and test circuit will detect that the amount of
current returning on the neutral is less than the current
on the hot wire. The sensing and test circuit will cause
the trip coil to automatically open the circuit breaker,
removing power from the appliance. GFCI devices trip
between 4 to 6 milliamps. The amount of time it takes
for a GFCI device to trip depends on the current. The
higher the current the faster the device will trip.
 The GFCI is designed to protect people from
severe or fatal electric shocks but because a GFCI
detects ground faults, it can also prevent some
electrical fires and reduce the severity of other fires
by interrupting the flow of electric current.
Areas Requiring GFCI
Circuits providing power to certain areas of the home
require ground fault circuit interrupters
• Bathroom receptacles
• Residential garage receptacles
• Outdoor receptacles
• Receptacles in unfinished basements
• Receptacles in crawl spaces
• Receptacles within six feet of a kitchen or bar sink
• Pools
AFCI Circuit Breaker
Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter protection was first
introduced in the 1999 NationalElectrical Code®. NEC®
Article 210.12 and has an effective date of 2002. This
requirement applies to all branch circuits that supply
125-volt, single-phase, 15- and 20-amp receptacle
outlets installed in dwelling unit bedrooms.
An AFCI device is intended to provide protection
from the effects of arc faults by recognizing the
characteristics unique to arcing and de-energizing the
circuit when an arc fault is detected. The arc generated
will cause the AFCI to trip. Arcs normally generated
from electric equipment such as a light switch or
power drill will not cause the AFCI to trip.
Arc Fault Protection
GFCI devices are designed to protect a person from getting
a shock when touching an ungrounded appliance. Arc
Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCI), in comparison, protect
against a fire being started from an unintended arc. An arc
fault occurs when a current-carrying conductor has an
arching condition to ground or another conductor.
Damaged insulation, for example, can lead to an arc fault,
which may not generate enough fault current to trip a
circuit breaker. In the following example a staple has been
driven through the insulation of a wire during installation.
RCCB or RCB
Residual Current Circuit Breaker or Residual Current Device RCDs

Is an electrical wiring device that disconnects a circuit whenever

it detects that the flow of current is not balanced between the
phase ("hot") conductor and the neutral conductor. The
presumption is that such an imbalance may represent current
leakage through the body of a person who is grounded and
accidentally touching the energized part of the circuit. A shock,
possibly lethal, is likely to result from these conditions; RCDs are
designed to disconnect quickly enough to prevent such shocks.
RCDs are designed to prevent electrocution by detecting
the leakage current, which can be far smaller (typically
5–30 mA mill amperes) than the trigger currents needed
to operate conventional circuit breakers, which are
typically measured in amperes. RCDs are intended to
operate within 25–40 milliseconds, before electric shock
can drive the heart into ventricular fibrillation, the most
common cause of death through electric shock.
The End