Types of Circuit Breakers Available in Electrical Industry

Electrical power distribution systems and their components need protection from numerous types of malfunctions, including over current conditions, over voltage conditions, under voltage conditions, reverse current flow, and unbalanced phase voltages. A circuit breaker is used as a protection device to interrupt fault currents automatically, and used to interrupt any short-circuits or overload currents that may occur on the network. Where a large fault current flows through the circuit breaker this may be detected through the use of current transformers. The magnitude of the current transformer outputs may be used to 'trip' the circuit breaker resulting in a disconnection of the load supplied by the circuit break from the feeding point. Circuit breakers may be remotely operated. Circuit breakers are use for protection necessity

Circuit barkers can mainly classified in to:

1.    High voltage circuit breaker
2.    Medium voltage circuit breakers
2.    Low voltage circuit breaker

Circuit breakers are designed to trip (fuses in your fuse box are designed to blow) and turn off power when any of the following dangerous situations occur:

•    Overloaded Circuit
•    Short Circuit
•    Ground Fault
•    Overloaded Circuit

These breakers are available for indoor or outdoor applications and High-voltage breakers are broadly classified by as follows

1.    Oil circuit breakers (OCBs)
2.    Vacuum circuit breaker (VCB)
3.    SF6 Circuit Breakers
4.    Air Circuit Breakers

Low voltage circuit breakers  and medium voltage circuit breaker types will discussed on future articles separately .