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An earth-leakage circuit breaker (ELCB) is a safety device used in electrical installations to prevent shock. It consists of either a current sensing mechanism, or a voltage sensing mechanism. Such a protection mechanism may be found in the form of distribution board modules, standalone devices, and special sockets (aka receptacles ).
A safer and more reliable alternative identified in the US and Canadian electrical codes is to replace the outlet with a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) breaker outlet. [3] Cheater plugs are also used to break ground loops in audio systems. [5] This practice has been condemned as disregarding electrical safety.
A residual-current device (RCD), residual-current circuit breaker (RCCB) or ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) [a] is an electrical safety device, more specifically a form of Earth-leakage circuit breaker, that interrupts an electrical circuit when the current passing through line and neutral conductors of a circuit is not equal (the term residual relating to the imbalance), therefore ...
In an electric power system, a fault or fault current is any abnormal electric current. For example, a short circuit is a fault in which a live wire touches a neutral or ground wire. An open-circuit fault occurs if a circuit is interrupted by a failure of a current-carrying wire (phase or neutral) or a blown fuse or circuit breaker.
Ambient temperature affects the time delay but does not affect the current rating of a magnetic breaker. [12] A large power circuit breaker, such as one applied in circuits of more than 1000 volts, may incorporate hydraulic elements in the contact operating mechanism. Hydraulic energy may be supplied by a pump or stored in accumulators.
A receptacle tester being used to check for some types of improper wiring of an outlet. For this particular tester, proper wiring is indicated by the two yellow lights. The outlet tester checks that each contact in the outlet appears to be connected to the correct wire in the building's electrical wiring. It can identify several common wiring ...
An arc-fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) or arc-fault detection device (AFDD) [1] is a circuit breaker that breaks the circuit when it detects the electric arcs that are a signature of loose connections in home wiring. Loose connections, which can develop over time, can sometimes become hot enough to ignite house fires.
Electric power distribution systems include circuit breakers to disconnect power in case of a fault, but to maximize reliability, they wish to disconnect the smallest possible portion of the network. This means that even the smallest circuit breakers, as well as all wiring to them, must be able to disconnect large fault currents. [citation needed]