MCCB (Moulded Case Circuit Breaker), ie thermal magnetic (compact) switches, are used in many facilities from industry to offices today. Let’s look at what we should pay attention to when buying these compact circuit breakers, which are very important in protecting both our facility and the people who use that facility.
The wide range of current ratings available from the case circuit breakers enables them to be used in a wide variety of applications. MCCBs can be used from as low as 15 Amps to as high as 2500 Amps . This allows them to be used at both low and high power.
What Does MCCB Do?
Protection against overload
When currents above the nominal value flow through the circuit, it cuts it off and protects the system.
Protection against electrical failure
It instantly cuts off the high currents that occur during a fault such as a short circuit or a line and prevents the system from being damaged to a large extent.
Opening and closing
Opening and closing a circuit – This is a less common function of circuit breakers, but they can be used for this purpose if an adequate manual switch is not available.
The 4 main factors that we should consider when buying an MCCB are as follows.
► Maximum operating voltage
► Insulation voltage
► Mechanical work (durability and robustness)
► Breaking capacity for each operating voltage
Contacts
Contacts are vital for an MCCB. First of all, the IP protection level of the MCCB should be selected according to the environment to be used. In areas such as petrochemical, cement, mining, high dust may cause the contacts to stick. The quality of the contacts and the extinguishing technology are very important for the life of the MCCB. LS Electric’s patented limits the current, especially at high currents, and prevents the contacts from being damaged. Again, the high-quality silver contacts of the product create a product that you can use without changing for a long time.
Fireproof Body
Another important factor is the flammability class of the bodies of MCCBs. Our recommendation is that you prefer MCCBs produced from BMC (Bulk Molding Compound) composite material with Vo inflammability class according to UL standard. This will both eliminate the risk of fire in the panels and increase the mechanical strength of the product.
Accessories
Although it is always neglected in the purchase of MCCB, the accessories of MCCBs provide both safer and flexible protection. LS Electric provides you with more advanced and intelligent protection with accessories such as alarm switch, low voltage warning switch and shunt switch. Thanks to the alarm switch, you can be notified immediately when a short circuit occurs in your facility. Or if the MCCB will be used in a system where voltage fluctuations are intense, the undervoltage switch will warn you. Shunt switch, on the other hand, will ensure that the circuit is closed in unexpected events such as fire and storm.
Bonus ELCB
With the developing technology in recent years, Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) has started to be used. While these products can break circuits like MCBB, they also have leakage current detection feature.