What is the full form of ELCB

ELCB: Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker

ELCB stands for Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker. It is an appliance that protects against leakage to earth.

What is Earth Leakage?

Earth leakage is the electric current which passes to earth through the live conductor by an unintended path. This current may flow through a human body or from the mid of a poor insulation facility and cause an electrical shock. The electric shock may be life-threatening if the current leak is just more than 30mA. Hence, there is a need to install protection devices to break the pathway of the current when such leakage takes place.

What are the causes of the Earth's Leakage?

The causes of earth leakage are different. Some of them are as follows:

1. The damaged insulators of the live conductor or broken conductors sometimes cause earth leakage.
2. Sometimes, the live conductors come in touch with improperly grounded appliances, resulting in earth leakage. Hence, if the conductor is touched, the current passes through the person's body to the earth.

What is the ELCB or Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker?

Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) is the equipment that breaks the current flow, which ultimately protects from the leaked current. The ELCB interrupts the circuit and disconnects the power supply when it senses the current leakage. This leakage can cause shocks which can be fatal. However, it should be noted that the Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) provides safety against electrical shock but is not used to protect from short circuits or overloading. Hence, it is advised that they should be used with an MCB (miniature circuit breaker) placed in a series.

What are the features of an ELCB or Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker?

The features of an Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) are as below:

1. Its principal part is to provide safety from electric shock.
2. It keeps track of the current leaked out of the circuit through the wrong route.
3. It, however, cannot work against the overloading and short circuit current.

How does an ELCB or Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker operate?

The current from the source passes to the load by the live wires and comes through the neutral wire. Here, the fact is that, in ordinary situations, both currents are in equal amounts. However, if there is a leakage in any of the pathways, the amount is not equal in quantity in the neutral and live wires. A current transformer present in the Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) feels the imbalance and then interrupts it with the help of an electromagnetic relay.

What are the types of ELCB or Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker?

At present, there are two types of ELCB or Earth Leakage Circuit Breakers in the market. They are differentiated based on their principle of functioning. They both identify the leakage, but there is a difference between the sensing ability and the level of security. The two types of Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) are as follows:

1. Voltage ELCB: This was introduced before the later one but now stands inferior to it. Those devices mainly work on voltages. Earth Leakage Circuit Breakers working on voltage are still known as ELCB but are obsolete.
2. Current ELCB: Earlier, voltage detection devices were the earth leakage circuit breaker. But now, they are exchanged to the devices which work upon sensing current. The present Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker is named the RCCB or RCD.

Based on the poles, what are the types of ELCB or Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker?

According to the poles of the circuit breakers, there are three types in which ELCBs are separated on the basis of poles. The three types are as follows:

1. 2-Pole ELCB - These types of ELCB are used to take protection in a single-phase system. It possesses neutral connections, along with two incoming and outgoing terminals each.
2. 3-Pole ELCB - This type of ELCB is used to receive protection in a three-phase three-wire system. As names, it carries three ingoing and outgoing terminals.
3. 4-Pole ELCB - This is used for safety in four wire three-phase system.

Advantages of an ELCB or Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker

The pros of an Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) are as follows:

1. It immediately interrupts and breaks away the circuit to prevent shock.
2. It keeps us away from damage caused due to broken wires and insulation.

Disadvantages of an ELCB or Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker

The cons of an Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) are as follows:

1. Not able to protect against overloading and short circuit current.
2. Unable to save against the live, neutral shock.
3. They may unnecessarily get tripped, especially in old appliances, due to leakage of a small current.