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Voltage-ELCBs were first introduced about sixty years ago and Current-ELCB was first introduced about forty
years ago. For many years, the voltage operated ELCB and the differential current operated ELCB were both
referred to as ELCBs because it was a simpler name to remember. But the use of a common name for two
different devices gave rise to considerable confusion in the electrical industry. If the wrong type was used on an
installation, the level of protection given could be substantially less than that intended. To ignore this confusion,
IEC decided to apply the term Residual Current Device (RCD) to differential current operated ELCBs. Residual
current refers to any current over and above the load current
Voltage-ELCB is a voltage operated circuit breaker. The device will function when the Current passes through the
ELCB. Voltage-ELCB contains relay Coil which it being connected to the metallic load body at one end and it is
If the voltage of the Equipment body is rise (by touching Phase to metal Part or Failure of Insulation of Equipment)
which could cause the difference between earth and load body voltage, the danger of electric shock will occur.
This voltage difference will produce an electric current from the load metallic body passes the relay loop and to
earth. When voltage on the equipment metallic body rose to the danger level which exceed to 50Volt, the flowing
current through relay loop could move the relay contact by disconnecting the supply current to avoid from any
The ELCB detects fault currents from live to the earth (ground) wire within the installation it protects. If sufficient
voltage appears across the ELCBs sense coil, it will switch off the power, and remain off until manually reset. A
voltage-sensing ELCB does not sense fault currents from live to any other earthed body.
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These ELCBs monitored the voltage on the earth wire, and disconnected the supply if the earth wire voltage was
over 50 volts.
These devices are no longer used due to its drawbacks like if the fault is between live and a circuit earth, they will
disconnect the supply. However, if the fault is between live and some other earth (such as a person or a metal
water pipe), they will NOT disconnect, as the voltage on the circuit earth will not change. Even if the fault is
between live and a circuit earth, parallel earth paths created via gas or water pipes can result in the ELCB being
bypassed. Most of the fault current will flow via the gas or water pipes, since a single earth stake will inevitably
have a much higher impedance than hundreds of meters of metal service pipes buried in the ground.
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The way to identify an ELCB is by looking for green or green and yellow earth wires entering the device.
They rely on voltage returning to the trip via the earth wire during a fault and afford only limited protection to the
installation and no personal protection at all. You should use plug in 30mA RCDs for any appliances and
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Advantages
ELCBs have one advantage over RCDs: they are less sensitive to fault conditions, and therefore have fewer
nuisance trips.
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While voltage and current on the earth line is usually fault current from a live wire, this is not always the case, thus
When an installation has two connections to earth, a nearby high current lightning strike will cause a voltage
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gradient in the soil, presenting the ELCB sense coil with enough voltage to cause it to trip.
If the installations earth rod is placed close to the earth rod of a neighboring building, a high earth leakage current
in the other building can raise the local ground potential and cause a voltage difference across the two earths,
If there is an accumulated or burden of currents caused by items with lowered insulation resistance due to older
equipment, or with heating elements, or rain conditions can cause the insulation resistance to lower due to
moisture tracking. If there is a some mA which is equal to ELCB rating than ELCB may give nuisance Tripping.
If either of the earth wires become disconnected from the ELCB, it will no longer trip or the installation will often no
Disadvantages:
They do not detect faults that dont pass current through the CPC to the earth rod.
They do not allow a single building system to be easily split into multiple sections with independent fault protection,
They may be tripped by external voltages from something connected to the earthing system such as metal pipes, a
TN-S earth or a TN-C-S combined neutral and earth.
As electrically leaky appliances such as some water heaters, washing machines and cookers may cause the ELCB
to trip.
ELCBs introduce additional resistance and an additional point of failure into the earthing system.
Archives
November 2015(1)
Checking the health of the ELCB is simple and you can do it easily by pressing TEST Push Button Switch of
ELCB. The test push-button will test whether the ELCB unit is working properly or not. Can we assume that If
October 2015(2)
ELCB is Trip after Pressing TEST Switch of ELCB than your system is protected against earth protection? Then
September 2015(1)
August 2015(1)
confirm that the ELCB will trip when an electric shock hazard does occur. It is a really sad fact that all the while
July 2015(1)
this misunderstanding has left many homes totally unprotected from the risk of electric shocks.
June 2015(1)
This brings us or alarming us to think over second basic requirement for earth protection. The second requirement
for the proper operation of a home shock protection system is electrical grounding.
May 2015(1)
We can assume that the ELCB is the brain for the shock protection, and the grounding as the backbone.
April 2015(1)
Therefore, without a functional grounding (Proper Earthing of Electrical System) there is totally no protection
March 2015(2)
against electrical shocks in your house even if You have installed ELCB and its TEST switch show proper result.
Looking after the ELCB alone is not enough. The electrical Earthing system must also be in good working order
February 2015(2)
for the shock protection system to work. In addition to routine inspections that should be done by the qualified
January 2015(2)
electrician, this grounding should preferably be inspected regularly at shorter intervals by the homeowner and
December 2014(2)
need to pour Water in Earthing Pit at Regular interval of Time to minimize Earth Resistance.
November 2014(2)
October 2014(2)
Current-operated ELCBs are generally known as Residual-current devices (RCD). These also protect against earth
September 2014(2)
leakage. Both circuit conductors (supply and return) are run through a sensing coil; any imbalance of the currents
August 2014(3)
means the magnetic field does not perfectly cancel. The device detects the imbalance and trips the contact.
When the term ELCB is used it usually means a voltage-operated device. Similar devices that are current operated
July 2014(2)
are called residual-current devices. However, some companies use the term ELCB to distinguish high sensitivity
June 2014(2)
current operated 3 phase devices that trip in the milliamp range from traditional 3 phase ground fault devices that
May 2014(2)
April 2014(2)
March 2014(3)
February 2014(4)
January 2014(2)
December 2013(1)
November 2013(1)
October 2013(2)
September 2013(3)
August 2013(3)
July 2013(3)
June 2013(3)
May 2013(3)
April 2013(2)
March 2013(3)
February 2013(2)
January 2013(3)
December 2012(2)
November 2012(3)
The supply coil, the neutral coil and the search coil all wound on a common transformer core.
October 2012(1)
On a healthy circuit the same current passes through the phase coil, the load and return back through the neutral
September 2012(3)
coil. Both the phase and the neutral coils are wound in such a way that they will produce an opposing magnetic
August 2012(7)
flux. With the same current passing through both coils, their magnetic effect will cancel out under a healthy circuit
condition.
July 2012(2)
In a situation when there is fault or a leakage to earth in the load circuit, or anywhere between the load circuit and
May 2012(7)
the output connection of the RCB circuit, the current returning through the neutral coil has been reduced. Then the
April 2012(2)
magnetic flux inside the transformer core is not balanced anymore. The total sum of the opposing magnetic flux is
no longer zero. This net remaining flux is what we call a residual flux.
March 2012(3)
The periodically changing residual flux inside the transformer core crosses path with the winding of the search coil.
February 2012(2)
This action produces an electromotive force (e.m.f.) across the search coil. An electromotive force is actually an
January 2012(1)
alternating voltage. The induced voltage across the search coil produces a current inside the wiring of the trip
circuit. It is this current that operates the trip coil of the circuit breaker. Since the trip current is driven by the
residual magnetic flux (the resulting flux, the net effect between both fluxes) between the phase and the neutral
coils, it is called the residual current devise.
December 2011(3)
November 2011(2)
October 2011(4)
With a circuit breaker incorporated as part of the circuit, the assembled system is called residual current circuit
breaker (RCCB) or residual current devise (RCD). The incoming current has to pass through the circuit breaker
first before going to the phase coil. The return neutral path passes through the second circuit breaker pole. During
tripping when a fault is detected, both the phase and neutral connection is isolated.
September 2011(2)
August 2011(1)
June 2011(5)
RCD sensitivity is expressed as the rated residual operating current, noted In. Preferred values have been
defined by the IEC, thus making it possible to divide RCDs into three groups according to their In value.
May 2011(3)
April 2011(12)
Standard IEC 60755 (General requirements for residual current operated protective devices) defines three
types of RCD depending on the characteristics of the fault current.
March 2011(17)
Type AC: RCD for which tripping is ensured for residual sinusoidal alternating currents
Sensitivity of RCB:
EEP
Medium sensitivity (MS): 100- 300- 500- 1000 mA (for fire protection)
Low sensitivity (LS): 3- 10- 30 A (typically for protection of machine)
Type of RCB:
Type A: RCD for which tripping is ensured
for residual sinusoidal alternating currents
Pages
Abstract
Abstract of CPWD-Part1
Abstract of IERules
Abstract of ISCode.
as for type A
for residual sinusoidal currents up to 1000Hz
IS 1255
IS 15652/11171/1445/1678
IS 3043 /5039
IS 5613
Electrical Notes
Maximum break time: 200 ms for 1x In, 150 ms for 2x In, and 40 ms for 5x In
1. S (selective) or T (time delayed) for RCDs with a short time delay (typically used in circuits containing surge
suppressors)
Minimum break time: 130 ms for 1x In, 60 ms for 2x In, and 50 ms for 5x In
Electrical.Tool
Maximum break time: 500 ms for 1x In, 200 ms for 2x In, and 150 ms for 5x In
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FILED UNDER UNCATEGORIZED
About Jignesh.Parmar
Jignesh Parmar has completed M.Tech (Power System Control), B.E(Electrical) from Gujarat
University. He has more than 13 years experience in Power Transmission-Power DistributionElectrical energy theft detection-Electrical Maintenance-Electrical Projects(Planning-Designing-
coordination-Execution). He is Presently associate with one of the leading business group as a Deputy Manager at
Ahmedabad,India. He is Freelancer Programmer of Advance Excel and design useful Excel Sheets of Electrical
Engineering as per IS,NEC,IEC,IEEE codes. He is technical Author for "Electrical Mirror" and "Electrical India"
Magazines. He is Technical Blogger and Familiar with English, Hindi, Gujarati, French languages. He wants to
Share his experience & knowledge and help technical enthusiasts to find suitable solutions and updating
kkk says:
December 31, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Very Good & Very Clear Explanation of RCB / ELCB, TQVM! However, can you please give a statistic on the
cases of Electric shock and or electrocution due to the malfunction of RCB / ELCB. Thanks again.
Reply
GEE says:
December 3, 2011 at 11:54 am
any body have note about relay calibration?? like over current relay, earth fault relay, earth leakage relay. i want to
learn using secondary injection test. and i must know about its calculation.. please.
Reply
GEE says:
December 3, 2011 at 11:56 am
mkl says:
January 8, 2012 at 8:31 am
very very good but more drawings are needed please for the answeres and other places.
thanks
Reply
keith says:
February 16, 2012 at 10:15 am
My ELCB at home trips every day when the water heater runs for some time. What is the solution to fix this
problem?
Reply
Jignesh.Parmar says:
February 16, 2012 at 5:00 pm
Sankalp says:
June 25, 2012 at 3:56 pm
Why does ELCB in generator is connected to Y phase while overcurrent protection in R and B phases?
Reply
sanjaykumar says:
July 13, 2012 at 3:56 pm
manjunatha says:
September 17, 2012 at 12:32 pm
-Manjunatha
Reply
Jignesh.Parmar says:
September 17, 2012 at 1:54 pm
After paying amount You will get Link for Downloading PDF file.
Reply
TRM says:
November 8, 2013 at 1:48 pm
Toink says:
November 14, 2012 at 3:15 am
Its possible to installing ELCB 2 pole with 2 Phase (L1 and L2) ?
Reply
santosh says:
January 26, 2013 at 4:47 pm
Jignesh.Parmar says:
January 27, 2013 at 4:01 am
MOHANKUMAR. C says:
October 21, 2013 at 7:17 am
Voltage-ELCBs were first introduced about sixty years ago and Current-ELCB was first introduced about forty
years ago. For many years, the voltage operated ELCB and the differential current operated ELCB were both
referred to as ELCBs because it was a simpler name to remember. But the use of a common name for two
different devices gave rise to considerable confusion in the electrical industry. If the wrong type was used on
an installation, the level of protection given could be substantially less than that intended. To ignore this
confusion, IEC decided to apply the term Residual Current Device (RCD) to differential current operated
ELCBs. Residual current refers to any current over and above the load current
Muzi says:
March 24, 2013 at 11:56 am
B.S.Khan says:
May 7, 2013 at 6:46 am
Jignesh.Parmar says:
May 7, 2013 at 2:33 pm
Jignesh.Parmar says:
May 21, 2013 at 2:46 pm
A.MANJUNATH says:
May 24, 2013 at 4:15 am
A.MANJUNATH says:
May 24, 2013 at 4:21 am
Every time there is a heavy rain, there is a power surge in our area and and which ever equipment is ON like fan,
cfl tubes gets damaged. and this has happened several times.. Local electricians say it is due to neutral and
phase wire fault at main the supply line.. In this case which ELCB will help. This is a regular problem in several
houses in our area
t.k.nayyar says:
June 14, 2013 at 3:08 pm
jay says:
July 24, 2013 at 4:57 am
Does a portable generator need an ELCB? Are there ELCBs for 400Hz power?
Reply
Mohammad says:
August 2, 2013 at 2:11 pm
russxy says:
September 13, 2013 at 6:27 pm
How does 4P RCD works? Red , Yellow & Blue have currents and may not be balanced. The return current is
zero.
Reply
OVR/UVR Controller will protect any loose connection issues on the DB?
Reply
My 3 phase RCB (100-milli amps) trips when the electrician shorts the phase and earth in a power socket, but
it does not trip when the neuter and earth is shorted and the electrician says it is a defect of the wiring. Is it
true?
Reply
lalit says:
October 1, 2013 at 7:34 am
vinod says:
October 3, 2013 at 7:19 am
I have legrand rccb 2 pole with 25A switch. which has 4 holes. How to do wiring ? please help me?. i have bought
for home used (1 bhk)
Reply
Jignesh.Parmar says:
October 4, 2013 at 3:19 pm
2 Nos for out going 2 Nos for incoming..for single phase supply
Please concern any electrician if you do not have basic idea of electricity.
Dont take any rick or experiment because it may be resulted in Fatal Accident
Reply
I have a three story residential building with 20 KW load equially distributed on all floors. I have a three phase
connection (three phase and one neutral). I am connected each phase and a common neutral in each floor. Do I
need THREE ELCB on each phase. Any one, please advise. Thanks.
Reply
Manohar M says:
December 13, 2013 at 10:41 am
For 2 kw heater which ELCB can I Use 30ma or 100ma please let me know.
Reply
sir
if i change a circuit from raw power to emergency and connect only phase and neutral of raw power to phase and
neutral of emergency do not connect earth of raw power to emergency then can ELCB trip please suggest me
ASAP thank you
Reply
Leonard says:
January 22, 2014 at 7:50 pm
This kind of discussions really build confidence and expansion of knowledge. keep it up
Reply
Mr. Jignesh,
I want to get a solutions from you. There is one 4P ELCB on the main incomer line. Test button works of the same
as tripping. Phases, R, Y, B testing by test lamps with Earth also tripping the ELCB. But when we are testing N
and Earth of the outgoing side of ELCB not tripping. Why? what is the reason for not tripping when shorting with N
and E?
Thanks sir
Reply
Can ELCB gives us protection from electric shock, means what happen, if we touch live wire which is not a part of
elcb circuit. and what is proper position of elcb in home wiring (in SLD)
Reply
HERTZ says:
March 2, 2015 at 8:46 am
nice one
Dear Jignesh
I have a query regarding the operation of RCCB. We want to incorporate the feature of RCCB as per IS13947
(Part-2):1993 Annexure-B in our LT Distribution box for 25KVA to 100KVA transformers. Our main intention is to
isolate the circuit instantly on occurrence of ground fault, such a snapping of LT line conductor. However, we
anticipate that considering the sensitivity of RCCB, (which is maximum upto 30Amp), it will result in to nuisance
tripping also if there is leakage current on consumer side. Moreover, it is also anticipated that in some one is
using the load through earth (without using the system neutral to prevent the energy recording in meter) in such
case also, RCCB will trip. Looking to the huge numbers of connections connected on 100KVA transformers, it
would not be possible for field engineer to identify such dishonest consumer in shortest possible time and this will
affect large numbers of honest consumers connected on that transformer.
Will you provide some technical solution to this problem..? or suggest some other alternative..?
Moreover, please also suggest the what should be the maximum Rated Short time withstand current for
Distribution box for 25KVA, 63KVA and 100KVA transformer.
Reply
dear jignesh g iam feel very glad to be connect with u or learn somthing from u ,thanks a lot again .
Reply
raju says:
May 28, 2015 at 8:03 am
Mahesh says:
June 4, 2015 at 3:19 pm
We have 10 light fixtures (LED Fixtures) connected in one circuit and connected through 30 mA RCCB. The
neutral to earth voltage is 3 volts and we have frequent tripping issues of the RCCB. Is it this high neutral to earth
voltage causing the RCCB tripping? Please explain.
Reply
dear sir ,
i have a question how i can connect ELCB in a panel as in coming breaker where magnetic contactor of 220 volt
is operating and tripping the ELCB.
Abul Basher
Reply
Charging mobile with UPS power ll lead to RCCB triping? if yes please explain
Reply
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