What is an earth wire?

What is an earth wire? Using an earth wire, which is one of the types of wires and cables, can be a great way to prevent electrocution. Basically, any equipment or device that has an electric current will suffer from electric current leakage, that's why it is necessary to use an earth wire in order to prevent electric shock. For example, earth wire is used in devices such as cars, refrigerators, sockets, washing machines, etc. If the earth wire is not used in electrical and electronic devices, the device will be damaged due to the high electric load, or it may lead to fire.

In general, this wire is used for more protection and increased safety, basically it is connected to the ground from the output of the electrical device; And then it transfers the leakage current generated from the electrical equipment to the ground. For example, during the transportation of a washing machine, its cable may be damaged due to decay, impact, corrosion, etc., and the internal wires of the cable, which are electrified, may come into contact with the body of the machine. The body of the device is metallic and conductive, and upon contact with the earth wire, an electric charge will flow in it, and if someone touches it, they will be electrocuted. The earthing wire that is used directly transfers the electric current to the ground and protects the person from this danger.

Application of earth wire

In fact, electricity leakage occurs based on various parameters such as crushing, insulation surface decay, moisture, impact, dust, bare wire, etc. If this current leakage is transferred to the external surface of electronic and electrical devices, you will definitely be electrocuted as soon as you touch it.

To solve this problem, you need to use a grounding wire. In many cases, they use this wire in the wiring of buildings, that is, you can see them in electrical outlets. It goes without saying that this wire is present in various equipment that can be seen at home, for example, when installing various lights or lamps, it will be a yellow/green wire that has the same diameter as the phase wire.

You can also see earth wire in packaging machines. It is necessary to mention that in general, the existence of this wire can prevent the increase of static electricity and increases the safety for various devices and people. This wire protects people from fire and electrocution and finally prevents damage to circuit insulation against voltage increase.

The method of installing earth wire in the building

In order to implement the earth protection and wiring system, they use two methods, which we will examine below:

1. The deep method of installing the earth wire of the building:

To install this wire and find a suitable place to dig a well, it is necessary to choose a land that has clay and usually has less resistance; Therefore, shallow wells should be dug. The earthen well that should be dug in this method is better to be in wet environments such as gardens, green spaces and lawns. The depth of the well in this method is considered from 4 to 8 meters and its diameter should be 80 cm. After digging a well, they connect a copper plate, and finally, the earth wire and the lightning rod with low twist are in a straight path.

2. The surface ground method of installing the earth wire:

This method is used in environments where it is not possible to drill a well. For example, in places where the height is lower than the sea level, in the environments where the area is high or low, the distance is short, etc., they use this method. The depth of the well considered in this method is 80 cm, and due to the resistance of the earth, they use a steel plate with copper coating instead of a copper plate. In fact, copper cables are connected to this plate. Then they cover the copper wire with bentonite.

The best brand of earth wire supplier

Due to the fact that the existence of earth wire is necessary and is considered an important protective equipment, various companies are active in the field of its production. Basically, earth wires are widely used in earthing systems and are of great importance.

Basically, this wire is designed and produced in the size of 25x1, and its conductor is made of copper metal. The copper conductor considered for earth wires has a high electrical conductivity and passes the current well. Various companies such as Master Volt are active in the field of producing this wire.

This brand has been able to produce this wire with excellent quality and provides it to the consumer. Due to the use of up-to-date devices and new technologies, this company has improved the quality of its products, and this high quality has made this company one of the best and most reliable companies. and have been able to gain the satisfaction and trust of most customers.

What is Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB)?

Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker is a type of sensor breaker that is switched by current measuring devices (RCD/RCCB). Generally, current measuring devices are known as RCCB switches and voltage detecting devices are known as Earth Leakage Circuit Breakers (ELCBs). Forty years ago, the first current models of ELCB voltage switches were introduced. For many years, both voltage and current devices were referred to by the same name because of their easy-to-remember names. But the mechanism and application of these two devices are somewhat different.

What is an earth leakage circuit breaker?

This key is a type of safety device that is used during the installation of an electrical device to prevent electric shock caused by earth leakage. This equipment, small stray voltages of electrical devices on the enclosures It detects metal and cuts the current if dangerous voltage is detected. Therefore, the main purpose of the ground leakage interrupter is to prevent damage to humans and animals due to electric shock caused by current leakage.

The main function of the earth leakage interrupter switch

An ELCB switch is a special type of latching relay that connects the incoming power to appliances through its switching contacts to trip the breaker in unsafe conditions. This device detects human or animal fault currents to the earth wire in the connection it protects. If a certain voltage is sensed in the breaker sense coil, this switch will cut power and remain off until manually reset.

ELCB switch operating mechanism

The working method of earth leakage voltage switch is very simple. One terminal of the coiled relay is connected to the metal body of the electrical device to protect it against ground voltage leakage. Another terminal is placed directly in contact with the ground. In case of any failure in the insulation of the electrical device or the contact of any electric current or living organism with its surface, it will lead to a voltage difference between the terminal connected to the body of the metal device and the terminal connected to the ground, which will cause current It turns in the relay.

How to connect earth leakage circuit breaker

The connection to the earth rod is done through the earth leakage switch by connecting to its two earth terminals. One goes to the protective earth circuit (CPC) conductor connection and the other goes to the earth rod or other type of earth connection.

Types of ELCB switches

In general, there are two types of earth leakage interrupters as follows.

• Voltage switch

• Leakage current switch

What is a voltage leakage switch?

A voltage-sensing type ELCB is used to detect earth leakage. A single-phase voltage leakage switch includes 6 terminals named input line, output line, input zero, output zero, ground and fault. The metal body of the device is connected to the fault terminal of the leakage switch and the ground terminal. For normal use, the voltage across the coil is "0" because the metal body is disconnected from the supply line.

Operation method of leakage voltage switch

When a ground fault occurs on a metal body due to wire-to-body interaction, a current flows through the fault terminal to ground. This current creates a voltage across the trip coil. The coil also rotates the circuit to protect the device and the user. A voltage-operated ELCB detects the potential rise between the threatened metal and a remote isolated ground reference electrode. These devices operate as a sensed potential of about 50 volts to open the main breaker and disconnect the power supply from the hazardous location.

Advantages of using a leakage voltage circuit breaker in Dubai

These keys are less sensitive to error conditions and have little annoying trip. While current and voltage on the ground line generally carry current through a power wire, this is not always the case, so there are situations where an ELCB can cause interference. When the installation of electrical equipment has two contacts with the ground. A lightning strike with nearly high current creates a voltage gradient to ground and activates the sense coil with enough voltage to source it in the trip. But in general, the advantages of this equipment include the following:

• This is not a fault sensitive device.

• Cheap as well as efficient.

• Protects humans and animals from electric shock.

Disadvantages of ground voltage leakage switch

• These circuit breakers do not sense faults that do not allow current to pass through the CPC to ground.

• These switches may be tripped by external voltages from something connected to the earthing system, such as metal pipes.

• Some water heaters and stoves, as electrically leakage applications such as washing machines, may be the source of an ELCB for tripping.

• These switches create an additional resistance and an additional failure point in the earthing system.

Leakage circuit breaker in Dubai

The RCCB switch is the same as the general application ELCB and consists of a three-winding transformer that has two primary windings as well as a secondary winding. The neutral and line wires work as two primary windings. The partial winding current is “0” in steady state. In this condition, the flux due to the current on the phase wire is deactivated by the current passing through the neutral wire, while the current passing through the phase is returned to the neutral.

How the RCCB key works in error mode

When a fault occurs, a small current also flows to ground. This creates confusion between the circuit current and the neutral current, creating an unstable magnetic field. It amplifies the current through the partial coil which is connected to the sensor circuit. As a result, the switch detects the output current and disconnects the system. For more information, see this article:

How to inspect the ground leakage switch in Dubai

The earth leakage breaker should be checked once a year to see if it is working properly. Usually the circuit breakers are in the ON position. Here we have listed the step by step steps on how to test earth leakage circuit breaker. To disable the breaker, just press the operation key to turn off the power supply.

Using a sharp object or a pen, press the earth leakage circuit breaker test button.

1. Check that the ELCB goes to the OFF position.

2. Check the switch again in the ON position.

3. Turn on the main power.

Earth leakage breaker and miniature switch in UAE

The MCB miniature switch is an advanced version of the fuse and can disable the circuit's contact with the power supply. That is when the current source exceeds the rated current of the circuit breaker. MCB function, breaking contact to help safe The circuit is faulty. On the other hand, a ground leakage interrupter, similar to a miniature switch, can disable circuit connections through the power supply. Unlike the MCB though, it does not disable the contacts in the event of an unexpected increase in source current. Basically, this type of breaker is used to prevent the current from continuing when a person gets an electric shock due to the operation of the circuit.