Disconnect Switches

Reporter/s:
Jimmy Poquiz
Lester Sam Padilla
Darwin Alnas
France Joshua Bolivar
Dominic Bullanday
Mark Austria
 • What is Disconnect Switches?

A disconnect switch is a type of safety device used in

electrical circuitry. The purpose of a disconnect switch
is to guarantee that a particular electrical circuit is de-
energized in the case of an emergency stoppage,
service, or maintenance.
The main functions of safety switches such as
these include:

• - Protection against overload

• - Protection for property
• - Protection for personnel
• - Protection against short-circuiting
• - Protection against circuit overloads
• - Protection against heat-generated damage
 Characteristics of D.S
• Disconnect Switches
- are designed to carry load currents continuously and
short circuit currents momentarily for a specified
duration (usually measured in seconds or cycles
according to the magnitude of the short-circuit current)
 Types of Disconnect Switches
There are two basic types of disconnect switches: battery
disconnect switches and electrical disconnect switches.

• 1. Battery disconnect switch

- is a knife switch that prevents unwanted drain from a
vehicle battery when the vehicle isn’t in use or is in
storage. It installs over either the positive or negative
terminals on the battery.
 Examples of Battery Disconnect Switch

12-24 V Master Battery Disconnected Switch, Ampper Top Post Battery Disconnect Switch,
Battery Power Cut Isolator Killer for car Vehicle, Battery Master Switch Isolator For Power
RV and Boat (On/Off) Disconnect Cut Off
2. Electrical disconnect switches

- are often used on electric motors, such as industrial

forklifts, agricultural vehicles, and aircraft tow tractors.
- also used on a variety of electrical appliances, such as
heaters and air conditioners, to ensure that contractors
working on these appliances are protected from the
incoming power.
 Examples of Electrical Disconnect Switch

Power Switch Safety Disconnect Electrical Disconnect Switches

Switches
 Categories
• Disconnect switches may be categorized as fusible
and non-fusible.

• Fusible switches support the installation of fuses and

provide a greater degree of protection.

• Non-fusible switches do not support fuse

installation.
Other Types of DS (Isolator) in Substations

• Vertical break
• Double end break (also sometimes called double side break)
• Double end break “Vee” (also sometimes called double side
break “Vee”)
• Center break
• Center break “Vee”
• Single side break
• Vertical reach (also sometimes called pantograph,
semipantograph, or knee-type switches)
• Grounding
• Hook stick
1. Vertical break
disconnect switch

- are the most widely used

disconnect switch design.
They are the most versatile
disconnect switch design,
and can be installed with
minimum phase spacing.
2. Double end break
disconnect switch
-can be installed on
minimum phase spacing
(the same phase spacing as
for vertical break switches
due to the disconnect
switch blades being
disconnected from both
the source and the load
when in the open position
3. Double end break
“Vee” disconnect
switch
- share all of the same
characteristics as conventional
double end break switches but
with an additional feature.
Additional features of this
switch include consuming the
smallest amount of substation
space of any three-phase
switch.
4. Center break
disconnect switch
- can be installed in a
minimum overhead clearance
location, but it requires a
greater phase spacing than a
vertical break switch, a double
end break switch, or a double
end break “Vee” switch.
5. Center break “Vee”
disconnect switch
As with conventional center
break switches, “Vee”
switches share many of the
same characteristics, but they
require less space in the
substation.
6. Single side break
disconnect switch
- can be installed in locations
with minimal overhead
clearance, but may require
more phase spacing than
vertical break, double end
break, or double end break
“Vee” switches.
7. Vertical reach
disconnect switch
- are used most commonly in
extra high-voltage (EHV)
applications, typically for 345,
500, and 765 kV installations.
8. Grounding switch
- can be integrated into any of
the previously mentioned
disconnect switch types or
can be installed as a stand-
alone device (i.e., not
attached as an integral
component of a disconnect
switch).
9. Hook stick switch
- is a single-phase device that
provides isolation, bypassing
(usually for a regulator,
recloser, or a current
transformer), transferring
(i.e., feeding the load from an
alternate source), or
grounding.
Parts and Construction

All disconnector types consist of the same

basic components:
• Current/live part
• Contact system
• Supporting and rotating
insulators Operating drive and connecting
rods
• Base frame
 Principles of Operation
For some disconnect switches, single-phase or three-
phase operation is possible.
• A three-phase disconnect switch is usually equipped
with operating mechanisms that allow it to be
opened and closed from the ground level by an
operator standing at the level of the switch.
General rule of thumb that disconnect switches rated;

• rated 69kV or below or 1200A continuous current and

below are usually equipped with a swing handle.
• rated above 115kV and 1600A continuous current are
usually equipped with gear crank operating mechanism.
• Depending on the type of disconnect switch used, this
convention can vary.
• Different types of disconnect switches require different
amounts of force to operate.
 Applications for D.S
• Disconnect Switch Applications are often used in
Power Distribution and Industrial Applications.
• In Power Distribution, disconnect switches may be
utilized in emergency situations to shutdown the
power to a particular area or to switch from one
power source to another.
• In Industrial Applications disconnect switches may
be used to interrupt power to machinery and motors
when there is a safety hazard or when repair is
needed.
THANK YOU