9/8/2019 What is the difference between MCB, MCCB, ELCB, and RCCB

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What is the difference between MCB, MCCB,

ELCB, and RCCB
Home / Technical Articles / 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. Stop 📃
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MCCB (Moulded Case Circuit Breaker)

Characteristics

Rated current up to 1000 A.

Trip current may be adjustable.
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.
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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 main
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incoming cable, then it must have all circuits protected by an RCD (because
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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,
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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.

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.
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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 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)Stop 📃
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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

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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.
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.

Jignesh Parmar

Jignesh Parmar has completed M.Tech (Power System Control), B.E (Electrical).
He is member of Institution of Engineers (MIE), India. He has more than 13
years experience in transmission & distribution-energy theft detection and
maintenance electrical projects.

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