Question

What is a miniature circuit breaker?

Answer 1

1. Safety is the first concern when choosing electrical appliances or devices.
2. When the power fluctuates or when excess current flows, it causes damage resulting in an overload or short circuit.
3. Hence, it is important to incorporate a device as a safety element to provide overcurrent protection to the electrical devices/circuits.
4. Fuse is one of the most common devices used in the early days for the protection of the circuit.
5. In recent days fuse has been replaced by a much more efficient and small electronic device known as MCB – Miniature Circuit Breaker.
6. MCB is an automatic switch that opens when excessive current flows through the circuit.
7. It can be reclosed without any manual replacement. In the case of a fuse, once a fuse has been operated, it must be replaced or rewired, depending on the type of the MCB.
8. Hence, the fuse is known as one of the sacrificial devices.
9. This is the main reason why MCBs are used as an alternative to the fuse in most circuits.
10. Also, whenever there is a fault in the circuit, the switches in the MCB automatically shut down and the fault of the device can be easily detected.