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Eaton’s new Type F residual-current circuit breaker offers minimal false tripping and a high degree of safety

Photo by Eaton Corporation

Photo by Eaton Corporation

Power management company Eaton has expanded its switching device portfolio to include a Type F residual-current circuit breaker. It is designed specifically for use in single phase variable frequency drive applications such as washing machines and heat pumps, and provides excellent protection for personnel and systems. It enables electrical engineers to increase the reliability of their equipment while ensuring high safety levels for the user.

The IEC 62423 standard includes specifications for the requirements and testing of Type F residual-current protection devices (RDCs). As a result, the recommendations for installations involving variable frequency drives have been modified. In this type of application, residual currents with mixed frequencies can arise which conventional (Type A) residual-current circuit breakers are unable to cope with. Other measures are required to protect people from electric shocks due to either direct or indirect contact with a defective device, or to minimise the risk of fire from earth fault currents.

The Type F RCD not only provides safe and reliable protection against sinusoidal residual currents and pulsating DC fault currents (l0069ke Type A devices), but it is also capable of handling residual currents with mixed frequencies of up to 1 kHz in accordance with the IEC 62423 standard. This type of mixed frequency often occurs at the outlet of an internal variable frequency drive. Type F RCDs can handle smooth DC fault currents of up to 10 mA, have a short delay before tripping and distinguish themselves from other devices thanks to their high resistance to power surges: this ensures minimal false tripping and a high degree of safety. They are available in 2-pole or 4-pole versions for nominal currents of 25 to 100 A. With three versions for different residual currents (30 mA, 100 mA and 300 mA), Type F RCDs are ideal for both personal safety and error proofing to prevent fires, especially in single-phase applications.

For more information, please visit http://www.eaton.eu.