The Top 5 Types of Circuit Protection Devices For Your Panel
Choosing where to order parts for your circuit panel is like deciding where to eat with a large group of people. You want to choose somewhere with a large variety of options for every situation (palate) and somewhere you can count on to deliver the quality you were promised. With Rockwell Automation’s wide assortment of circuit breaker options and best-in-class reliability, Van Meter would recommend the top five types of products for your industrial circuit panel below.
1. DC CONTROL CIRCUIT PROTECTION
It is important to remember that your Short Circuit Current Rating (SCCR) depends on coordination. To make it simple, if you have a Rockwell power supply, you should protect it with Rockwell’s modular, electronic circuit breakers.
1694 Electronic Circuit Protection
- Protects secondary circuits of 24VDC switch mode power supplies
- 12.5mm wide modules
- Can be mounted side by side with no further accessories
- Fixed range between 1A-10A or adjustable current
- Time-saving push-in terminals
2. MOLDED CASE CIRCUIT BREAKERS
Molded-case circuit breakers (MCCB) are essentially the main breaker of your panel. Rockwell has two main types.
- Nine different frame sizes
- Range from 10A-3,000A
- Wide range of operators and accessories
- Protect against overload, short circuit and ground fault
140UT Molded Case Circuit Breakers
- UL489 and IEC60947-2 listed for global applications
- Limits current and provides short circuit and overcurrent protection
- Offers high interrupt ratings for two and three-pole devices
- Suitable for back feeding 240V and 480Y/277V circuits
3. MINIATURE CIRCUIT BREAKERS
If MCCB are your main breaker, then miniature circuit breakers are like your branch breakers used for smaller loads.
- UL489 listed for branch circuit protection and certified for IEC applications
- Ideal for extreme ambient conditions
- Fast breaking time and superior shock and vibration resistance
1492-MC Thermo-Magnetic Circuit Breakers
- General purpose devices suitable for a majority of industrial, inverse-time, circuit breaker applications
- Combine thermal and magnetic trip actions
- Provide overload and short circuit protection for conductors and connected equipment
- Supplementary protectors used to protect equipment in applications
- Current limiting with dual terminals for wiring and bus bar flexibility
- Suitable for extreme ambient conditions
4. MOTOR CIRCUIT PROTECTORS
Motor Circuit Protectors (MCP) are used to protect motor circuits and provide no overload protection. In the United States., the MCP is UL listed with a controller, and together they form a combination starter. The advantage is that there is a choice in the overload protection that is applied to the starter.
140MT Motor Circuit Protectors
- Enable assembled starters to be applied without additional branch circuit protection
- Tap conductors allow smaller conductors in group motor installations, saving money
- Applied with a separate overload relay for three-component starters
- Can provide a disconnecting means for motor branch circuits, branch circuits, short circuit magnetic protection and manual switching
- Rated between 3A-1200A
5. MOTOR PROTECTION CIRCUIT BREAKERS
Motor Protection Circuit Breakers (MPCB) are similar to MCP, but MCPB are UL489 listed as circuit breakers and verified as motor overload protection. Allen-Bradley MPCB are 100% rated, which allows full use of the circuit breakers’ thermal capacity in motor protection applications, whereas most circuit breakers are only 80% rated.
140MT Motor Protection Circuit Breakers
- Enables assembled starters to be applied without additional branch protection
- Tap conductors allow smaller conductors in group motor installations, saving money
- Tested with Allen Bradley 100-C and 100-K contactors to create two component starters
- Provides magnetic, short-circuit and thermal overload protection up to 32A with a rating at 400V of up to 100kA
- Tested with Allen Bradley 100-C and 100-K contactors to create two component starters
- Can provide disconnecting means for branch motor circuits, branch circuits and branch circuits
- Provides short circuit magnetic protection, overload thermal protection and manual switching
- Has amperage range of 25A-150A to meet many applications
- Factory installed internal accessories make installation and wiring easy
No matter the type of circuit protection device you need for your panel, Van Meter has you covered. For more information about these products or any other circuit protection devices, contact us.
