26/3/2015 What is the difference between MCB, MCCB, ELCB, and RCCB | EEP

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What is the difference between MCB,
MCCB, ELCB, and RCCB
MCB (Miniature Circuit Breaker)

Characteristics

Rated current not more than 100 A.

Trip characteristics normally not adjustable.
Thermal or thermal-magnetic operation.

MCCB (Moulded Case Circuit Breaker)

Characteristics

Rated current up to 1000 A.

Trip current may be adjustable.
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Thermal or thermal-magnetic operation.

Air Circuit Breaker

Characteristics

Rated current up to 10,000 A.

Trip characteristics often fully adjustable
including configurable trip thresholds
and delays.
Usually electronically controlled—some
models are microprocessor controlled.
Often used for main power distribution
in large industrial plant, where the
breakers are arranged in draw-out enclosures for ease of maintenance.

Vacuum Circuit Breaker

Characteristics

With rated current up to 3000 A,

These breakers interrupt the arc in a vacuum bottle.
These can also be applied at up to 35,000 V. Vacuum circuit breakers tend to have longer life
expectancies between overhaul than do air circuit breakers.

RCD (Residual Current Device / RCCB(Residual Current
Circuit Breaker)

Characteristics

Phase (line) and Neutral both wires connected through RCD.

It trips the circuit when there is earth fault current.
The amount of current flows through the phase (line) should return
through neutral .
It detects by RCD. any mismatch between two currents flowing through
phase and neutral detect by -RCD and trip the circuit within
30Miliseconed.
If a house has an earth system connected to an earth rod and not the

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main incoming cable, then it must have all circuits protected by an RCD (because u mite not be
able to get enough fault current to trip a MCB)
RCDs are an extremely effective form of shock protection

The most widely used are 30 mA (milliamp) and 100 mA devices. A current flow of 30 mA (or 0.03
amps) is sufficiently small that it makes it very difficult to receive a dangerous shock. Even 100 mA is
a relatively small figure when compared to the current that may flow in an earth fault without such
protection (hundred of amps)

A 300/500 mA RCCB may be used where only fire protection is required. eg., on lighting circuits,
where the risk of electric shock is small.

Limitation of RCCB

Standard electromechanical RCCBs are designed to operate on normal supply waveforms

and cannot be guaranteed to operate where none standard waveforms are generated by loads. The
most common is the half wave rectified waveform sometimes called pulsating dc generated by
speed control devices, semi conductors, computers and even dimmers.
Specially modified RCCBs are available which will operate on normal ac and pulsating dc.
RCDs don’t offer protection against current overloads: RCDs detect an imbalance in the live
and neutral currents. A current overload, however large, cannot be detected. It is a frequent cause
of problems with novices to replace an MCB in a fuse box with an RCD. This may be done in
an attempt to increase shock protection. If a live-neutral fault occurs (a short circuit, or an
overload), the RCD won’t trip, and may be damaged. In practice, the main MCB for the premises
will probably trip, or the service fuse, so the situation is unlikely to lead to catastrophe; but it
may be inconvenient.
It is now possible to get an MCB and and RCD in a single unit, called an RCBO (see below).
Replacing an MCB with an RCBO of the same rating is generally safe.
Nuisance tripping of RCCB: Sudden changes in electrical load can cause a small, brief current
flow to earth, especially in old appliances. RCDs are very sensitive and operate very quickly; they
may well trip when the motor of an old freezer switches off. Some equipment is notoriously
`leaky’, that is, generate a small, constant current flow to earth. Some types of computer
equipment, and large television sets, are widely reported to cause problems.
RCD will not protect against a socket outlet being wired with its live and neutral
terminals the wrong way round.
RCD will not protect against the overheating that results when conductors are not properly
screwed into their terminals.
RCD will not protect against live-neutral shocks, because the current in the live and neutral is
balanced. So if you touch live and neutral conductors at the same time (e.g., both terminals of a
light fitting), you may still get a nasty shock.

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ELCB (Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker)

Characteristics

Phase (line), Neutral and Earth wire connected through ELCB.

ELCB is working based on Earth leakage current.
Operating Time of ELCB: 
The safest limit of Current which Human Body can withstand is
30ma sec.
Suppose Human Body Resistance is 500Ω and Voltage to ground
is 230 Volt.
The Body current will be 500/230=460mA.
Hence ELCB must be operated in   30maSec/460mA = 0.65msec

RCBO (Residual Circuit Breaker with
OverLoad)
It is possible to get a combined MCB and RCCB in one device (Residual Current Breaker with
Overload RCBO), the principals are the same, but more styles of disconnection are fitted into
one package

Difference between ELCB and RCCB

ELCB is the old name and often refers to voltage operated devices that are no longer available
and it is advised you replace them if you find one.
RCCB or RCD is the new name that specifies current operated (hence the new name to
distinguish from voltage operated).
The new RCCB is best because it will detect any earth fault. The voltage type only detects earth
faults that flow back through the main earth wire so this is why they stopped being used.
The easy way to tell an old voltage operated trip is to look for the main earth wire connected
through it.
RCCB will only have the line and neutral connections.
ELCB is working based on Earth leakage current. But RCCB is not having sensing or
connectivity of Earth, because fundamentally Phase current is equal to the neutral current in
single phase. That’s why RCCB can trip when the both currents are deferent and it withstand up
to both the currents are same. Both the neutral and phase currents are different that means
current is flowing through the Earth.
Finally both are working for same, but the thing is connectivity is difference.
RCD does not necessarily require an earth connection itself (it monitors only the live and
neutral).In addition it detects current flows to earth even in equipment without an earth of its
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own.
This means that an RCD will continue to give shock protection in equipment that has a faulty
earth. It is these properties that have made the RCD more popular than its rivals. For example,
earth-leakage circuit breakers (ELCBs) were widely used about ten years ago. These devices
measured the voltage on the earth conductor; if this voltage was not zero this indicated a current
leakage to earth. The problem is that ELCBs need a sound earth connection, as does the
equipment it protects. As a result, the use of ELCBs is no longer recommended.

MCB Selection

The first characteristic is the overload which is intended to prevent the accidental overloading of
the cable in a no fault situation. The speed of the MCB tripping will vary with the degree of the
overload. This is usually achieved by the use of a thermal device in the MCB.
The second characteristic is the magnetic fault protection, which is intended to operate when the
fault reaches a predetermined level and to trip the MCB within one tenth of a second. The level
of this magnetic trip gives the MCB its type characteristic as follows:

Type Tripping Current Operating Time

Type B 3 To 5 time full load current 0.04 To 13 Sec

Type C 5 To 10 times full load current 0.04 To 5 Sec

Type D 10 To 20 times full load current 0.04 To 3 Sec

The third characteristic is the short circuit protection, which is intended to protect against heavy
faults maybe in thousands of amps caused by short circuit faults.
The capability of the MCB to operate under these conditions gives its short circuit rating in Kilo
amps (KA). In general for consumer units a 6KA fault level is adequate whereas for industrial
boards 10KA fault capabilities or above may be required.

Fuse and MCB characteristics

Fuses and MCBs are rated in amps. The amp rating given on the fuse or MCB body is the
amount of current it will pass continuously. This is normally called the rated current or nominal
current.
Many people think that if the current exceeds the nominal current, the device will trip, instantly.
So if the rating is 30 amps, a current of 30.00001 amps will trip it, right? This is not true.
The fuse and the MCB, even though their nominal currents are similar, have very different 
properties.
For example, For 32Amp MCB and 30 Amp Fuse, to be sure of tripping in 0.1 seconds, the
MCB requires a current of 128 amps, while the fuse requires 300 amps.

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The fuse clearly requires more current to blow it in that time, but notice how much bigger both
these currents are than the ’30 amps’ marked current rating.
There is a small likelihood that in the course of, say, a month, a 30-amp fuse will trip when
carrying 30 amps. If the fuse has had a couple of overloads before (which may not even have
been noticed) this is much more likely. This explains why fuses can sometimes ‘blow’ for no
obvious reason
If the fuse is marked ’30 amps’, but it will actually stand 40 amps for over an hour, how can we
justify calling it a ’30 amp’ fuse? The answer is that the overload characteristics of fuses are
designed to match the properties of modern cables. For example, a modern PVC-insulated cable
will stand a 50% overload for an hour, so it seems reasonable that the fuse should as well.

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About Author //
Jignesh Parmar

jiguparmar - Jignesh Parmar has completed his B.E(Electrical) from Gujarat

University. He is member of Institution of Engineers (MIE),India. Membership
No:M-1473586.He has more than 12 years experience in Transmission -
Distribution-Electrical Energy theft detection-Electrical Maintenance-Electrical
Projects (Planning-Designing-Technical Review-coordination -Execution). He is
Presently associate with one of the leading business group as a Assistant
Manager at Ahmedabad,India. He has published numbers of Technical Articles
in "Electrical Mirror", "Electrical India", "Lighting India", "Industrial Electrix"(Australian Power
Publications) Magazines. He is Freelancer Programmer of Advance Excel and design useful Excel base
Electrical Programs as per IS, NEC, IEC,IEEE codes. 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 themselves on various Engineering Topics.

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