Study of Power Supply &

Safety Devices
Electricity

Electricity is a form of energy. Electricity is the flow

of electrons.

We get electricity, which is a secondary energy

source, from the conversion of other sources of
energy, like coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear power,
Hydro power and other natural sources, which are
called primary sources.
AC & DC:
 DC or direct current is steady current. It never
changes its direction.
 AC is alternating in nature. AC voltage can be
increased or decreased with the help of
transformers.
 By using high voltage AC, we can drastically
reduce the transmission losses.
 AC can be converted into DC easily but
reverse is not so easy.
 In Pakistan WAPDA are the authorities to generate
and distribute electric energy.
 WAPDA generates electric power at a voltage of
11 KV.
 This power is transmitted by increasing the
voltage at different levels as 33 KV, 66KV, 110
KV, 220KVor 400 KV from different substations.
 At load centers this voltage is again stepped
down as 11 KV and a feeder network is created.
This feeder line energizes the
11KV/415V step down transformer,
and from these transformers electric
supply can be given to consumers at
240V and 415 V as single phase or
three phase.
 All domestic and commercial consumers get electric
energy from the distribution network of concerned
electricity boards.
 Based on the power requirements of consumers Electricity
Boards may give 3-phase connection (for high power) or
single phase connection (for low power).
 Phase to neutral voltage in our country is 230 V and
phase-to-phase voltage is 400 V for frequency 50 Hz.
 Most of the appliances work on single-phase supply.
There are some motors, which requires three phase
supply.
 A KWh meter is provided at the consumer end for
measuring the electrical energy consumed. WAPDA
introduces different tariffs for different consumers, as per
their connected load and nature of connection.
 The safety features are inbuilt with electric power
distribution.
 Insulators like PVC, paper or rubber are provided
across the path through which the current is not
expected to flow.
 The circuit may also carry, under short circuit
condition much more than normal value of the
current.
 The inbuilt safety features will isolate the faulty
circuit from the rest of the supply.
 Protective devices are needed to break short-
circuit and overload currents.
 In case of an overload or a short on that circuit,
the breaker or fuse trips and automatically shuts
off power to that circuit.
 Fuses are the commonly used protection devices
to protect components like wires, transformers
electronics circuit modules against overload.
 Fuse
 Circuit breakers( MCB, MCCB & ELCB)
 Earthing

Basically two types of protections are provided in

the power supply system of domestic consumers:

a. Protection from over current.

b. Protection from leakage current due to failure of
insulation or inadvertent contact with live
conductors by the user.
 The electrical wiring is rated for certain maximum
current.
 When the wiring heats too much, it will cause the
melting of cable insulation, cause fire if there is
something flammable near cable and even melt the
copper conductors in the cable.

 When two conductors of an electric circuit touch each

other without any load this causes short circuit.
 The current flow caused by a short circuit is usually
high and rapid and is quickly detected and halted by
conventional circuit protective devices, such as fuses
or circuit breakers.
 Every electrical circuit shall be protected
against over current by suitable over current
devices.

These devices could be :

a. Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB)

b. Moulded Case Circuit Breaker
c. High Rupturing Capacity (HRC) fuses
 Electrocution is a passage of current through
human body
 A correctly chosen RCCB can detect small currents
flowing to earth and reduces the risk of
electrocution.
 A person gets electrocuted by coming in contact
with an object that has a different potential from
his/her own.
 The difference in potential causes the current to
flow through the body.
 The human body has known limits:
- Under normal dry conditions, voltage limit = 50V.
- In damp surroundings, voltage limit = 25V.
 Fuse is a wire of short length having low melting
point which gives protection against excessive
current.
 This excessive current may be due to over load or
short circuit.
 When some faults such as short circuit occurs the
current exceeds the safe limit value, the fuse wire
gets heated and melts.
 After one fusing operation, fuse wire must be rewired
with the same size wire.
 Appliances up to 700 Watts = 3 Amp fuse
 Appliances between 700 and 1000 Watts = 5 Amp
fuse
 Appliances over 1000 Watts = 13 Amp fuse
1. Re wireable fuse:
 Wires of different diameters made of lead and tin
are used in the circuit.
 Fuse wire is carried in a removable fuse link.
 The fuse link is made of porcelain or other
suitable insulating material.
 The fuse carrier is push-fitted to the fuse base to
make the connection through.
 An advantage of this type is that the blown fuse
wire can be replaced with negligible cost.
 It may sometimes lead to fire hazards, when the
fuse wire blows.
2. Cartridge fuse :

 Cartridge fuse consists of a tube with metal

end caps at both ends.
 Since the tube is made of glass, the fuse
element can be easily inspected for breakage.
 The advantages of cartridge fuses are, quick
and easy replacement and the fuse rating is
marked on the end cap of the cartridge itself.
3. High Rupturing Capacity Fuse
(HRC):
 This is a completely enclosed
cartridge type of fuse
 Generally it is used in the high
power circuits.
 HRC fuse consists of a porcelain
tube with metal end caps and
fixing tags.
 The tube is filled with silica
sand or granulated quartz.
 The silica inside the tube
prevent the formation of an arc.
 HRC fuse links are available in a
range of 10A to 800A.
 It is automatic in action.
 When excessive current passes through the
circuit, handle of MCB will moves down and thus
trips the circuit.
 After one such an operation we can manually
reset the supply by solving the fault in that
circuit.
 MCBs are available in a range of 0.5A to 63A
normal operating current and for the entire
range, the physical dimensions are almost
identical.
 They cannot be reclosed if fault persist.
 Miniature circuit breakers are compact devices used in
distribution boards for protection against overload and short
circuit.
 The overload protection is achieved by a thermal trip mechanism
using a bimetallic strip.
 An electromagnetic trip mechanism is also incorporated for
instantaneous tripping in the event of a short circuit.
 When there is a sudden increase in current due to a short circuit,
the circuit should open immediately, but the bimetallic strip does
not respond quickly.
 In this case, the solenoid attracts the plunger and thus triggers
the trip mechanism.
 After clearing the fault, the MCB can be switched on manually.
 The current passes through a solenoid coil and a bimetallic strip.
 When an overload condition persists for a few seconds, the
bimetallic strip bends and triggers the trip mechanism.
The principle of operation of an MCB is based on the
following two principles :

a. Thermal operation :
 In thermal operation, the extra heat produced by the high
current warms the bimetal strip.
 The thermal operation is slow.
 It is ideal for operation in the event of small but prolonged
overload currents.

b. Magnetic operation :
 The magnetic operation is suitable for protection against
high short circuit currents.
 This magnetic operation is due to the magnetic field set
up by a coil carrying the current, which attracts an iron
part to trip the breaker when the current becomes large
enough.
 The magnetic operation is very fast and is used for braking
fault currents.
 The earth leakage circuit breaker (ELCB) is a
protective device, which will automatically trip,
when there is an earth leakage within the
installation.
 It is also known as residual current circuit
breaker (RCCB).
 It works on the current balance principle.
 The main part is a core consisting of three
windings.
 Here one winding carries the phase current, the
other winding carries the neutral current and the
third winding to the tripping circuit.
 Under normal operating conditions the net flux in the
core is zero and no emf is induced in the trip coil.
 However, when earth fault occurs, the phase and
neutral current varies, the net flux in the core will be
different and emf is induced in the trip coil and it is
energized.
 The functioning of the ELCB can be checked using a
switch.

RCD - Residual Current Device. This is a generic term

for the entire range of RCDs.
RCCB - Residual Current Circuit Breaker. This is
basically a mechanical switch with an RCD function
added to it. Its sole function is to provide protection
against earth fault currents.
RCBO- Residual Current Breaker with Over current
Protection. This is basically an over current circuit
breaker (such as an MCB) with an RCD function added
to it.
 RCDs can be divided into two categories based on the
means by which they detect and respond to earth fault
currents.
 The two types are Voltage Independent (VI) and Voltage
Dependent (VD).
 These are sometimes also referred to as electromechanical
and electronic types respectively.
 The VI type uses the output energy from the coil to
activate a relay which in turn activates a tripping
mechanism causing the RCD to trip.
 The VD type uses electronic circuitry to detect the earth
fault current and to activate a tripping mechanism causing
the RCD to trip.
 The VI device derives its operating energy from the earth
fault current whereas the VD device derives its operating
energy from the mains supply.
 THE END