The ELCB notices fault currents of human or animal to the earth wire in the connection it guards. If ample voltage seems across the ELCB’s sense coil, it will turn off the power, and remain off until manually rearrange. A voltage sensing ELCB doesn’t detect fault currents from human or animal to the earth.
ELCB Function
The main function of an Earth-leakage circuit breaker or ELCB is to prevent shock while electrical installations through high Earth impedance because it is a safety device. This circuit breaker identifies tiny stray voltages on top of the electrical equipment with a metal enclosure & disrupts the circuit if a hazardous voltage is identified. The main purpose of ELCBs is to avoid harm to human beings as well as animals because of electric shock.
ELCB Operation
An electrical circuit breaker is a particular kind of latching relay and it has a mains supply of buildings that are connected throughout its switching contacts so that this circuit breaker will disconnect the power once earth leakage is identified. By using this, the fault current can be detected from life to the ground wire in the fitting it guards. If ample voltage comes out across the sense coil of the circuit breaker, then it will shut down the power & remain off until physically reset. An ELCB which is used for voltage-sensing does not detect fault currents.
How to Connect Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker
The earth circuit is adapted when an ELCB is used; the connection to the earth rod is accepted through the earth leakage circuit breaker by linking to its two earth terminals. One goes to the fitting earth circuit protective conductor (CPC), and the other to the earth rod or another kind of earth connection. Thus the earth circuit permits through the ELCB’s sense coil.
Types of Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB)
There are two types of Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB)
- Voltage Operated ELCB
- Current Operated ELCB
Voltage Operated ELCB
A voltage-operated ELCB device is used to detect a voltage to choose the Earth leakage. A single-phase voltage ELCB includes 6-terminals namely line in, line out, neutral in, neutral out, Earth, and fault. The metal body of the load is associated with the fault terminal of the Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) & the Earth terminal is associated with the ground. For usual working, the voltage across the trip coil is ‘0’, as the Load’s body is isolated from the supply line.
When an Earth fault happens on the load due to the interaction of line wire to the metal body, a current will run through the fault to the ground. The flow of current will set up a voltage across the trip coil, which is associated between E & F. The energized trip coil will tour the circuit to guard the load device & the user.
A voltage-operated ELCB detects a growth in potential between the threatened consistent metalwork and a distant isolated Earth reference electrode. They work as a sensed potential of around 50V to open the main breaker & separate the supply from the threatened premises.A voltage-operated ELCB includes a second terminal for linking to the remote reference Earth connection.
The Earth circuit is improved when an ELCB is utilized; the link to the Earth rod is delivered through the ELCB by linking to its two Earth terminals. One terminal energy to the installation Earth circuit protective conductor, aka Earth wire (CPC), and the other to the Earth rod or some type of earth connection.
Advantages of Voltage Operated ELCB
- ELCBs are less sensitive to fault conditions and have few nuisance trips.
- While current and voltage on the ground line generally fault current from a live wire, this is not continuously the case, therefore there are conditions in which an ELCB can annoyance trip.
- When an installation of the electrical instrument has two contacts to earth, a near high current lightning attack will root a voltage gradient in the earth, offering the ELCB sense coil with sufficient voltage to source it to a trip.
- If either of the soil wires becomes detached from the ELCB, it will no longer install will frequently no longer be correctly earthed.
- These ELCBs are the necessity for a second connection and the opportunity that any extra connection to ground on the threatened system can inactivate the detector