ADVERTISING FEATURE COVER STORY


RELAUNCHED, REFRESHED AND REVITALISED


R


esidual current devices are electrical devices that, when incorporated into


an electrical installation, will provide the highest degree of protection against the risks of electrocution and fire caused by earth faults. PowerBreaker first created the RCD in 1975. The company used its in-house expertise to produce a RCD that could be housed within a 13A plug. The 17th Edition of Building


Regulations recommends the use of RCD for sockets as well as for inside consumer units. However, despite this recommendation, there are still approximately 13 million homes in the UK that have no RCD protection at all. Approximately 10 per cent of all fires are caused by electrical faults and many of these could be prevented by using RCDs. RCDs are available in different variants,


namely ‘passive’ or ‘active’, and can be used for different applications. Many people are unaware of the differences between these two products and do not understand where best to use what. For passive RCDs a typical application


would be a refrigerator or freezer that would return to its regular mode of operation as soon as the power supply resumes normal operation. Passive RCDs are also useful to use for sockets in hard


6 MAY 2017 | ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING


GreenBrook has relaunched its brand of Powerbreaker RCDs. A new brochure detailing the range of 10mA, 30mA, active and passive products entitled ‘A Guide to Electrical Safety’ is available now, along with a new website solely dedicated to the range


to reach places where having to gain access to re-set an RCD would be tricky, but where protection is still required. An active RCD is better


used for electrical equipment, such as hedgetrimmers or power tools, where unexpected restarting of the equipment could present a danger to the user in a powercut situation. PowerBreaker offers both


a 30mA RCD as standard plus a 10mA option. The PowerBreaker 10mA RCDs are the latest products to hit the market and are the super sensitive products. These RCDs trip earlier as they are more sensitive to a fault current flowing, breaking the circuit before the trip occurs further upstream,


PowerBreaker socket RCDs offer MFBL (make first break last) technology, critical to avoiding upstream RCD nuisance tripping at the consumer unit


removing the nuisance tripping – often then cutting out other faultless items. The PowerBreaker 30mA RCDs trip at least 10 milliseconds faster than the BSEN standards require. These RCDs have been deemed safer for


use in areas with young children, such as nurseries and schools, but also in places with vulnerable people such as hospitals or retirement homes, where a chance of electric shock could be fatal. Public access areas would be advised to


use 10mA as all types of people can pass through these areas. The degree of risk, then, depends not only on current and time, but also on if the victim is a child or a person in poor health. In these cases, the effects can be more serious and the need for RCD protection is therefore even greater.


GreenBrook www.powerbreaker.co.uk


/ ELECTRICALENGINEERING


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56