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A circuit breaker is an electrical safety device designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by current in excess of that which the equipment can safely carry (overcurrent).
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 protection device, that interrupts an electrical circuit when the current passing through a conductor is not equal and opposite in both directions, therefore indicating leakage current to ground or ...
Selectivity, also known as circuit breaker discrimination, is the coordination of overcurrent protection devices so that a fault in the installation is cleared by the protection device located immediately upstream of the fault. The purpose of selectivity is to minimize the impact of a failure on the network.
Instantaneous overcurrent requires that the current exceeds a predetermined level for the circuit breaker to operate. Time overcurrent protection operates based on a current vs time curve. Based on this curve, if the measured current exceeds a given level for the preset amount of time, the circuit breaker or fuse will operate.
Possible causes for overcurrent include short circuits, excessive load, incorrect design, an arc fault, or a ground fault. Fuses, circuit breakers, and current limiters are commonly used overcurrent protection (OCP) mechanisms to control the risks. Circuit breakers, relays, and fuses protect circuit wiring from damage caused by overcurrent. [1]
Current limiting is the practice of imposing a limit on the current that may be delivered to a load to protect the circuit generating or transmitting the current from harmful effects due to a short-circuit or overload. The term "current limiting" is also used to define a type of overcurrent protective device.