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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 ...
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.
In addition, a fault condition to a bootleg ground will not trip a GFCI breaker, nor protect a receptacle that is wired from the load side of a GFCI receptacle. [2] Before 1996, in the United States it was common to ground the frames of large 120/240-volt permanently-connected appliances (such as a clothes dryer or oven) to neutral conductors.
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 ).
The three conductors are usually coloured red, black, and white. The white serves as a common neutral, while the red and black each feed, separately, the top and bottom hot sides of the receptacle. Typically such receptacles are supplied from two circuit breakers in which the handles of two poles are tied together for a common trip.
A shunt-trip unit appears similar to a normal breaker and the moving actuators are ganged to a normal breaker mechanism to operate together in a similar way, but the shunt trip is a solenoid intended to be operated by an external constant-voltage signal, rather than a current, commonly the local mains voltage or DC. These are often used to cut ...
Most GFCI receptacles allow the connection and provide GFCI protection for down-stream connected receptacles. Receptacles protected in this manner or with a GFCI circuit breaker should be labeled "GFCI protected". (Outside North America these are referred to as a "Residual-current device" or RCD.)
A 120 volt combination AFCI/GFCI receptacle. Unlike circuit breakers and fuses, which only open the circuit when the current exceeds a fixed value for a fixed time, a GFCI device will interrupt electrical service when more than 4 to 6 milliamperes of current in either conductor leaks to ground.