Why Is It Important to Have an RCCB in a Distribution Board?

 Electricity has become one of the essential things in our lives nowadays. In the past, it wasn’t so readily available. Before electrocution, electric shock, short-circuits, fires and other electric damages were usual. These can be harmful to your life as well as property. 

Due to this, one cannot simply overlook safeguarding equipment when looking into electricity and power distribution. This is where RCCB (Residual Current Circuit Breaker) comes in the picture. RCCB is one such safety measure for stabilizing electrical circuits. It is a device that senses and disconnects any faulty circuit and also offers protection against earth leakage. 

It is a very crucial device to put into your distribution board as it can protect any person against electric shocks, electrocution as well as fires caused by short-circuits. It makes sure that the circuit trips swiftly and hence safeguards the person from electric shocks. 

RCCB operates on the principle of ‘Kirchhoff’s Current Law’. This law states that ‘The amount of current entering the circuit must be equal to the amount of current leaving the circuit’. Hence, it measures the difference in current values between the live and neutral wires, which should ideally be 0. 

 

In the case of a fault, the current from the neutral wire is lowered. The difference between both the currents is called the Residual Current. According to this current, RCCB will trip the current. 

RCCB has a CBCT (Core Balance Current Transformer) inside it, which helps in sensing the magnitude of current entering and leaving the circuit. 

Advantages of RCCB:

1. It helps in tripping the circuit even when there is a fault in earth continuity. 

2. It is entirely accurate and will safeguard the person. 

3. It doesn’t require any separate individual earthing devices.

4. The wiring is easy and simple to understand. 

According to studies, About 10,000 people in India die each year as a result of electrocution, which is far more than deaths caused by lightning. Most of these deaths take place on-the-job. RCCB is your go-to safety device to protect your loved ones from any harm that could happen due to electric charges. 

They are connected parallel to the MCBs in a distribution board. While MCB offers protection from overload and short circuit, and RCCB offers protection against earth leakage. This happens due to the neutral connection and phase that is present in the distribution board. 

The neutral is required for the RCCB to sense the incoming and outgoing current.

In an RCCB, the ON and OFF positions are clearly visible with the help of a window provided at the top of the chamber. The ‘Green’ colour indicates the ‘OFF’ position, while the ‘Red’ colour indicates the ‘ON’ position.

Whether you’re getting a new house or renovating your old house, you need to consider these little devices which could make a difference between life and death for you. Check out Caretron IndoAsian RCCB, which is ISI/CE marked as per IS/IEC 12640-1. IndoAsian offers a range of high quality and durable electric devices. It also provides IP 20 degree of protection. It is rated conditional Short Circuit Current Inc 6kA.