Fault protection in the 110V / 220V electrical distribution systems
The most common fault protection devices in existing electrical distribution systems are:
- Fuse
- Circuit Breaker
- AFCI – Arc fault circuit interrupter
- GFCI – Ground fault circuit interrupter
Structure of existing electrical distribution systems
In the existing electrical distribution systems the monitoring and protection functions are performed by devices located only at the entry point of the circuit.
Main characteristics of existing structure of the electrical distribution systems are:
- Fault-detection units monitor current-related values
- Protection devices do not use nor communicate processing
Inherent limits of existing electrical distribution systems:
- Are not aware of voltage drop on the wiring between the entry point of the circuit and the load(s)
- Are not aware of discontinuities
- Detects existence of a problem when it almost becomes a fire
- Cannot detect loose connections
- Cannot detect the presence of glowing connections
Fault protection vs. detection
It should be noted that in the existing electricity monitoring systems, the 110V / 220V devices that detect the electrical faults, also perform the protection function by disconnecting the electrical power. Although this sounds rational, the combination of the two functions was derived by the technological
New structure introduced
- Monitoring is done close to the loads or inside the loads
- Using IoT concepts – sensors located inside appliances or close to them
- Uses Communication – opposite to the existing “non-communicating”
- Using processing – not only relying on analog decisions.
- Big-Data concepts
Advantages of the new structure
- Early detection of fault-formation
- Detection of problems not detected by existing equipment
- Can detect loose connections
- Aims at detecting the presence of glowing connections
More information about the new electricity-monitoring approach is available at the white-paper