Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB)

An earth leaking circuit breaker is a safety device used in both

residential and commercial electrical circuits with high earth
impedance to prevent electric shocks. It detects minor stray
voltages on electrical equipment’s metal casings and cuts the
circuit if a harmful voltage is detected.

ELCB’s help in the detection of current leakage and insulation

failures in electrical circuits, which could result in electrical shocks
to anyone in contact with the circuit.

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ELCB’s are primarily used to protect against electrical shock. They
do not provide overload or short circuit protection. As a result,
they must be used in conjunction with an MCB-miniature circuit
breaker.

Function of the ELCB

Because it is a safety device, the main function of an earth-leakage

circuit breaker, or ELCB, is to prevent shock when electrical
installations through high Earth impedance. This circuit breaker
detects minuscule stray voltages on top of electrical devices using
a metal shell and interrupts the circuit if a hazardous voltage is

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detected. The primary function of ELCBs is to prevent electric
shock from causing injury to humans and animals.

Operation of the ELCB

An electrical circuit breaker is a type of latching relay that has a

mains supply of buildings connected through its switching
contacts so that when earth leakage is detected, the circuit breaker
will disconnect the power. The fault current from live to the
ground wire in the fitting it protects can be identified using it. If
sufficient voltage is applied across the sensor coil of the circuit

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breaker, it will shut off and remain off until physically reset. An
ELCB utilised for voltage sensing cannot identify fault currents.

Installation of Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker

When an ELCB is employed, the earth circuit is modified; the

connection to the earth rod is recognized through the earth leakage
circuit breaker by connecting to its two earth terminals. One
connects to the appropriate earth circuit protecting conductor
(CPC), and the other to an earth rod or similar type of earth
connection. As a result, the earth circuit allows current to flow
through the ELCB’s sense coil.

Advantages of ELCB

1. To avoid electrical shock, the ELCB immediately breaks the

circuit.
2. It protects against harm caused by broken wires
(or) damaged insulation.
3. The ELCB is not a device that is easily affected by faults.
4. It is also economical in addition to being effective.
5. In this operation, once the installation of ELCB has two
connections toward the earth (ground), high-current
lightning that is close to the ground will strike to cause a
voltage gradient within the soil. As a result of this voltage
gradient, the ELCB will be able to sense the coil by a
sufficient voltage to cause it to safely trip.

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Disadvantages of ELCB

1. Overloading and short circuit current are not protected by

ELCB.
2. It is incapable of protecting against live-neutral shock.
3. It may trip unnecessarily as a result of minor current leaks
in obsolete equipment.
4. The load protection provided by ELCB requires the usage
of a reliable earth connection.
5. If the earth rod is near another building ground, a current
with high earth leakage from many other constructions
might increase the potential of earth to generate a voltage
differential across the earth to trip the ELCB again.

Applications for ELCB

1. ELCBs are used to prevent current leakage.

2. Electrical shock and system problems are caused by current
leakage.
3. It instantly breaks the circuit to prevent damage to the
associated circuits.
4. They are needed in moist areas where electrical shocks are
more likely.

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Types of the ELCB

Based on their operation

ELCBs are categorised into two types based on their

operation principle:

1. Voltage Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker and

2. Current Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker
Both types of ELCBs detect leakage current, but their sensitivity
and level of protection differ. The current ELCB was invented
before the voltage ELCB. Voltage-based ELCBs are inferior than
current-based ELCBs. To minimise uncertainty, the voltage ELCB
has been renamed ELCB, while the current ELCB has been called
RCCB or RCD.

1). Voltage Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker

Voltage ELCB function on the voltage level between the earth and
the equipment’s body. The voltage difference is utilised to identify
leakage current and break the circuit immediately.

It contains terminals for both phases and neutral on both the

supply and load sides.It contains two additional terminals that link
to the body of the equipment and the ground. These terminals are
linked to the electromagnetic relay and play an important function
in breaking the circuit during current leakage.

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Working Principle of Voltage ELCB
One terminal of the relay coil is directly connected to the earth,
while the other is attached to the equipment’s body. The coil senses
the voltage difference between the earth and the body of the
equipment.

A voltage difference arises across the terminals of the coil if the live
wire breaks or its insulation fails and comes into touch with the
body of the apparatus. As a result, current begins to flow through
the coil, and it becomes activated. The relay begins to produce
electromagnetic force. When the current surpasses a specific
threshold, the relay generates enough force to lift the latch. The
latch break then opens the connections, disconnecting the power
supply to the machine and preventing electrical shock.

As a result, the earth connection is required since the relay activates

only when the leakage current runs through it. If the current leaks
through any other portions of the circuit and flows through any
other undesired path, the circuit will not be broken since the
current must flow through the relay in order for the circuit to be
broken.

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Advantages of Voltage ELCB

1. It helps in the prevention of electrical shocks.

2. They are less sensitive and do not trip as often.
3. They are less costly.

Disadvantages of Voltage ELCB

1. It is unable to detect current leakage from the phase to any

other earthed body.
2. It cannot protect against electrical shock if the phase
conductor is physically touched.

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 3. Only when the leaking current travels through the ground
conductor does it trip.
4. It requires an additional connection with the equipment’s
body and the soil.
5. It has a lower sensitivity and cannot detect minor leakage
current.
6. Electrical equipment that usually leaks voltage may cause
the ELCB to trip unnecessarily.

Applications of Voltage ELCB

1. The voltage-operated E.L.C.B. is typically utilised in

locations that have poor earthing conditions such as rocky
or dry sub-soil.

2). Current Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker

Current ELCBs, also known as RCDs (Residual Current Devices)

or RCCBs (Residual Current Circuit Breakers), are another type of
ELCB that breaks the circuit when a leakage current is detected. It
works by measuring the current difference between the phase and
neutral lines. When current leaks from the phase line, the
difference occurs. As a result, RCCBs can protect against any type
of current leakage.

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It has four terminals, two input and two output for phase and
neutral. The phase-in and neutral-in connections are connected to
the supply, while the phase-out and neutral-out connections are
connected to the load. It lacks the extra terminal for earth
connection.

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The current operation of an ELCB or RCCB is dependent on the
current imbalance between the phase and neutral lines. It
constantly measures the phase and neutral currents. Because it is
the same current coming back from the load, both phase and
neutral current are identical under normal conditions. If the
current leaks through an undesired path, it diminishes the neutral
current and generates an imbalance. When the imbalance
surpasses a particular threshold, the RCCB breaks the connections
and cuts off the electricity.

The RCCB operates on the Kirchhoff’s current law principle, which

states that the amount of current entering the load through the hot
wire should match the amount of current exiting the load through
the neutral wire. The residual current should be equal to the
difference between the two currents. If there is a discrepancy, it
indicates that current is seeping someplace, causing the imbalance.

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The RCCB contains a zero-sequence current transformer with three
coils: phase coil, neutral coil, and search coil. It detects the
imbalance or difference between two currents. The phase coil and
neutral coil are twisted around the toroidal core in such a way that
their flux cancels out.

Advantages of Current ELCB or RCCB

6. When current leaks from any section of the circuit, the

RCCB breaks the circuit.

7. It is quite dependable in terms of delivering electrical shock

protection.

8. It has a far higher sensitivity than a voltage ELCB.

9. It continuously monitors residual current and breaks

instantly when it exceeds its rated limit.

10. There is no need for an earth connection.

Disadvantages of Current ELCB or RCCB

6. It does not give short-circuit current protection.

7. It has no overload protection.

8. It costs more than ELCB.

9. It cannot protect against electrical shock caused by

touching both phases and neutral wires since the current
remains constant.

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 10. It may trip unintentionally due to its high sensitivity
when utilised with old appliances that have minimal
current leakage.

11. It can only function on standard supply waveforms and

cannot operate reliably on the on-standard waveforms.

Applications of Current ELCB

5. The current operated ELCB is a prominent type of circuit

breaker that is utilised in a variety of commercial,
industrial, and residential applications.

Based on the poles

The ELCB is divided into three categories based on the poles of the
circuit breakers:

1. 2-Pole ELCB,

2. 3-Pole ELCB and

3. 4-Pole ELCB

1). 2-Pole ELCB

In order to provide protection for a single-phase system, a 2-Pole

ELCB is used. It has two terminals that are two ingoing terminal

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and two that are outgoing terminal, and both of them have phase
and neutral connections.

2). 3-Pole ELCB

In a three-wire three-phase system, a 3-Pole ELCB is utilised for the

purpose of providing protection. It has three terminals that are
three ingoing terminal and three terminals that outgoing.

3). 4-Pole ELCB

In a four-wire, three-phase system, the 4-Pole ELCB serves the

function of providing protection.

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