LECTURE 07 - PROTECTION
Electric energy distribution
Protection devices
Protection against electric shock
1. By covering the live part or parts with insulation, which can only be removed by
destruction, for example cable insulation.
2. By placing the live part or parts behind a barrier or inside an enclosure, providing
protection.
3. By placing obstacles to prevent unintentional approach to or contact with live
parts. This method must only be used where skilled persons are working.
4. By placing out of arm’s reach; for example, overhead lines.
5. By using a residual current device (RCD) as additional protection.
Protection against overcurrent
An overcurrent is a current greater than the rated current of a circuit.
Causes of overcurrent
1. Overload condition.
Occurs when overcurrent flows in healthy circuit due to:
➢ Faulty appliances
➢Plugging in too many appliances in a socket outlet circuit.
2. Fault condition
a) A short-circuit.
Occurs when a ‘dead short’ occurs between live and neutral for single phase and line to
line for three phase.
b) An earth fault.
Occurs when there is a short between a live conductor and earth
Fuses and circuit breakers are used for overcurrent protection
FUSE
A fuse is a device that carries a conductor which will melt and break the circuit
when excessive current flows.
Fuses are always connected in series with the component to be protected from over
current, so that when the fuse blow (melt) it will open the entire circuit and stop
flow to that component.
There are three types of fuses:
1. The rewirable or semi-enclosed fuse.
2. The cartridge fuse
3. The high-rupturing-capacity (HRC) fuse.
Some definitions
Fuse element or Fuse wire: is the part of a fuse which is designed to melt when
excessive a current passes through it.
Current rating: this is the maximum current that a fuse can carry without melting the
fuse element.
Fusing current: This is a minimum current that will melt a fuse element
Fusing factor: This is the ratio of the minimum fusing current to the current rating.
Rewirable fuse
A rewirable fuse consists of a fuse, a holder, a fuse element and a
fuse carrier.
Advantages
➢ simple to replace the blown fuse element and to install.
➢ cheap in cost.
➢ easier to identify a blown fuse.
➢ Has no mechanical moving parts.
Disadvantages:
➢ The fact that it is repairable enables the wrong size of fuse wire
(element) to be used.
➢ It is very easy to replace a wrong fuse wire.
➢ Undue deterioration of the fuse elements due to oxidization
(diameter reduces in size).
➢ The elements become weak after long usage and may break
under normal
conditions.
Cartridge fuse
A cartridge fuse consists of a porcelain tube with metal
and caps to which the element is attached. The tube is
filled with silica
These fuses are found generally in modern plug tops
used with 13 A socket outlets.
Advantages
➢ Do not deteriorate;
➢ maintain accuracy in breaking at rated values;
➢ do not arc when interrupting
faults.
Disadvantage
➢ expensive to replace.
HRC fuse
The HRC fuse is a sophisticated
variation of the cartridge fuse
➢It consists of a porcelain body filled
with silica with a silver element and
lug type and caps.
➢It has indicating element, which shows
when the fuse has blown.
➢It is very fast-acting
➢is normally found protecting industrial
installations.
Circuit breakers
Is a device for making and breaking a circuit both under normal conditions and
under abnormal conditions , such as short circuit, the circuit being broken
automatically.
Types of circuit breakers
1. Miniature circuit breakers (MCB)
2. Earth leakage circuit breaker (ELCB)
a) Voltage operated ELCB
b) Current Operated ELCB
Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB)
MCB breaks the circuit automatically when an overloading
or short circuit occurs.
Advantages of mcb over fuses
➢it is much more sensitive to over current than fuse.
➢A faulty circuit may be quickly identified.
➢Once having operated, they can be reset by just
switching ON operation. But fuse must be rewirable or
replaced for restoring the supply.
➢Handling MCB is more electrically safe than fuse.
Disadvantage of MCB over fuse
➢MCB is more costly than fuse.
➢They contain mechanical moving parts and therefore
require regular testing to ensure satisfactory operation
under fault conditions
EARTHING
Earth is the conductive mass of earth, whose electric potential at any point is
conventionally taken as zero.
Earthing is the process of connecting metallic parts of electrical appliances to the
general mass of the earth by means of an earth electrode.
➢Earthing (or grounding) provides a safe, low-resistance path for fault currents to
flow to the earth, which protects people from electric shock and prevents damage
to electrical equipment.
INTEGRAL PARTS OF AN EARTHING
SYSTEM
i) Earth continuity conductor ( For linking earthing busbar at the substation LT
panel or main distribution of a building)
ii) Earth lead cables/Wire (Connecting the earth electrodes with the earthing busbar
system.
iii) Earth electrode (buried under the ground)
NECESSITY OF EARTHING
i) To prevent the person from danger of
electric shock.
ii) To protect electric system and buildings
from lightning.
iii) To avoid fire hazards due to fault
currents.
Electrical system with & without earthing
Electrical system with earthing
Electrical system without earthing
Type of earthing system
These letters combine into two-letter codes, such as TN, TT, and IT. These codes
classify a specific system configuration. The first letter describes the source
connection, and the second letter describes the consumer equipment connection:
First Letter (Source Connection):
• T: The neutral point of the power source is directly connected to the earth.
• I: The power source is isolated from earth or only connected to earth through a
high impedance (resistance).
Second Letter (Consumer Installation Connection):
•T: The consumer's electrical equipment has its own local, independent
connection to earth.
•N: The consumer's electrical equipment is connected to the neutral point of the
power source via a protective conductor (PE or PEN).
Type of earthing system
The letters C and S are suffixes that further define how the neutral (N) and
protective earth (PE) conductors are routed within a TN system:
• S: Indicates that separate neutral (N) and protective earth (PE) conductors are used
throughout the entire installation (e.g., TN-S).
• C: Indicates that the neutral and protective earth functions are combined into a
single PEN conductor throughout the entire installation (e.g., TN-C).
• C-S: Indicates that the functions are combined in the utility supply lines (C) but
are separated within the customer's premises (S) (e.g., TN-C-S).
Type of earthing system
i. TN-C system
A TN-C system is an electrical earthing system where the neutral (N) and protective
earth (PE) conductors are combined into a single conductor called a PEN
(Protective Earth and Neutral) conductor.
This system is characterized by its simplified wiring, which can lead to lower
installation costs but also presents safety considerations compared to other systems
where neutral and earth are separate throughout.
TN-C system
Type of earthing system
ii. TN - S system
The TN-S system is a type of electrical earthing (grounding) system where the
protective earth (PE) conductor and the neutral (N) conductor are kept separate
throughout the entire system, from the power source (transformer or generator) to
the consuming device.
This design is widely recognized for its high level of safety and low electromagnetic
interference.
TN - S system
Type of earthing system
iii. TN – C – S system
The TN-C-S (Terra-Neutral Combined-Separate) system is an electrical earthing
method where the neutral and protective earth conductors are combined into a
single PEN conductor in the supply network (TN-C) but are separated into distinct
neutral (N) and protective earth (PE) conductors within the user's installation (TN-
S).
This system is a common and cost-effective solution that starts with a combined
neutral-earth conductor from the power source, which is then split at the building's
main supply point.
TN – C – S system
Type of earthing system
iv. TT system
A TT system is an electrical earthing arrangement where the power supply source is
directly earthed, and the electrical installation is also earthed separately with its own
earth electrode.
This system is commonly used in rural areas with overhead power lines and lacks a
direct metallic connection between the supply's earth and the installation's earth.
Safety relies heavily on a Residual Current Device (RCD), as a standard circuit
breaker may not trip reliably due to the high resistance of the soil acting as the fault
path.
TT system
Type of earthing system
v. IT system
An IT system is an electrical installation where the power source is either
completely ungrounded or connected to earth through a high impedance, and all
exposed conductive parts are earthed.
The primary purpose is to maximize availability by allowing the system to continue
operating after a first insulation fault, which generates a low, harmless fault current,
unlike in grounded systems where it would cause a short circuit and trip the
breaker.
IT system
ASSIGNMENT
Discuss in your groups the advantage,
disadvantage and application of each earthing
system.
Type of earthing
• Earthing Methods (Physical Installation Types)
• These methods refer to the type of earth electrode and the mode of installation
used to provide a conductive connection to the soil.
a) Pipe Earthing
This method uses a perforated galvanized iron (G.I.) pipe, commonly around 38
mm diameter and 2–3 meters long, installed vertically in the ground.
➢Installation
The pipe is placed in a deep pit and surrounded by alternating layers of charcoal and
salt to maintain moisture and conductivity.
A funnel and inspection chamber are installed to allow periodic watering, especially
in dry conditions.
The charcoal-and-salt mixture helps reduce soil resistivity and maintain a stable
earth resistance.
➢Applications
i. Widely used in residential buildings, commercial installations, and small
industries.
ii. Suitable for low- to medium-voltage systems.
a) Pipe Earthing
b) Plate Earthing
In this method, a metal plate electrode is buried vertically in the ground.
Copper plate: minimum size 60 cm × 60 cm × 3.15 mm
G.I. plate: minimum size 60 cm × 60 cm × 6.3 mm
➢Installation
The plate is buried at least 3 meters deep below ground level.
Surrounded by layers of charcoal and salt to improve conductivity.
An inspection chamber and watering pipe ensure long-term performance.
➢Applications
i. Used where a large surface area is required to dissipate high fault currents.
ii. Ideal for substations, power plants, and lightning arresters.
b) Plate Earthing
c) Strip/Wire Earthing
This method uses strips or wires of copper or galvanized iron, buried horizontally.
➢Installation
Laid in trenches at a depth of at least 0.5 meters.
Common strip sizes:
• Copper strip: e.g., 25 × 3 mm
• G.I. strip: e.g., 50 × 6 mm
Suitable for soils where deep pits or rods cannot be installed (rocky or dry terrain).
➢Applications
i. Used in transmission line earthing, industrial installations, and long building
perimeters.
ii. Provides large horizontal coverage for effective fault current dissipation.
c) Strip/Wire Earthing
d) Rod Earthing
Rod earthing uses a copper or galvanized iron rod driven vertically into the ground.
➢Installation
Rod length typically 2.4 m (8 ft) or more.
Driven manually or using a mechanical driver until it reaches permanently moist
soil.
Multiple rods can be connected in parallel to reduce overall resistance.
➢Applications
i. Common in residential, commercial, and tight urban spaces.
ii. Effective in areas with low soil resistivity or where vertical installation is easy.
d) Rod Earthing
AUTOMATIC EARTH FAULT PROTECTION
An Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) is a device used to directly detect
currents leaking to earth from an installation and cut the power.
There are two types of ELCB
i) Voltage Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (voltage-ELCB)
ii) Current Earth Leakage Current Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (Current-ELCB)
or RCD
RCD
An RCD is a type of circuit breaker that
continuously compares the current in the phase
and neutral conductors of the circuit.
The currents in a healthy circuit will be equal,
but in a circuit that develops a fault, some
current will flow to earth and the phase and
neutral currents will no longer balance.
The RCD detects the imbalance and disconnects
the circuit
In domestic premises the use of 30mA RCDs is
required for the protection of all socket outlets
Working principle of RCD
In a healthy circuit the same current passes
through the live coil, the load and back
through the neutral coil. Hence the magnetic
effects of line and neutral currents cancel out.
In a faulty circuit, either live to earth or
neutral to earth, these currents are no longer
equal; therefore the out-of-balance current
produces some residual magnetism in the
core.
As this magnetism is alternating, it links with
the turns of the search coil, inducing an
electromotive force (e.m.f) in it. This e.m.f. in
turn drives a current through the trip coil,
causing operation of the tripping mechanism.
Electric shock protection by RCD