Arc Flash Circuit Breaker

The arc fault circuit interrupter is designed to turn off an electrical circuit when an arc is detected that can lead to a fire or other hazardous conditions within the range of the protection that the afci is able to detect.

Arc flash circuit breaker. The engineers who have designed these afci breakers found that motors like the ones found in the power drill vacuums and treadmills produce a rhythmic mechanical arc pattern. Although current sensing circuitry enables afcis to detect arcing conditions unintended trickles of current may also cause the breaker to shut off afcis are very sensitive. The term arc flash is used to describe low impedance connections in an electrical system which allows movement of unwanted electric discharge through the air from one voltage phase to another or to ground. Afci protection is provided by either an afci circuit breaker installed at the electrical panel or by a receptacle specifically identified as providing arc fault protection.

Both the circuit breaker and receptacle are installed similar to the gfci circuit breakers and receptacles that are present in many homes already. An arc fault circuit interrupter or afci breaker prevents fires by sensing when an electrical arc is about to occur and instantly disconnecting the damaged circuit before the arc builds enough heat to catch fire. Sparking and arcing are exactly what the afci breaker is looking for and so it will interrupt the circuit power. An arc fault circuit interrupter afci also known as an arc fault detection device afdd is a circuit breaker that breaks the circuit when it detects an electric arc in the circuit it protects to prevent electrical fires.