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SAFETY DEVICES
SAFETY DEVICES
SAFETY DEVICES
SAFETY DEVICES
INTRODUCTION
We use electricity for many of the energy services around the house. Because of this, it is extremely
important to have various safety devices to protect from re and electrocution. Industrial electricity use
has similar problems. This page examines these electrical safety devices. Namely, fuses, circuit breakers,
and ground fault circuit interrupters. Both fuses and circuit breakers are the connection point between
the electrical grid and an individual house
Fuse: A fuse is an electrical safety device that can protect an electric circuit from excessive electric
current. It is designed to allow current through the circuit, but if the current exceeds some maximum
value, it will open, severing the circuit.
Circuit breaker : Circuit breakers are devices that protect circuits from overload current conditions. They
do the same job as fuses, but they are not destroyed when activated. They are more expensive to put in
than fuses but since components rarely need to be replaced, it may be cheaper in the long term. Circuit
breakers are often considered safer since the user can’t as easily disable them (like putting the wrong
size fuse in place).
Circuit breakers functionally open a switch which turns off all the electrical current before the excess
electrical current can start a re. Before resetting the circuit breaker, always turn off or unplug the
electronic devices that were being used with the breaker was activated.
Ground fault circuit interrupt
A ground fault circuit interrupt is a device designed to detect a tiny mismatch in currents (going into and
out of the circuit), to prevent electrocution. They are mandatory in bathrooms and kitchens, and
anywhere else in a house where water may come in contact with an electric circuit