What is the difference between MCB, MCCB, ELCB, RCCB and RCD?

What is the difference between MCB, MCCB, ELCB, RCCB and RCD? MCB, MCCB, ELCB, RCCB and RCD are often controversial most of the time and can be chosen and installed in the home, commercial or industrial industries for the simple reason that many users and electrical contractors do not know the exact difference between them, which results in the installation of an excellent electrical installation without taking advantage of its correct function. Users are exposed to the risk of electric shock and fire hazard. In this article, I will take you to understand the functions and differences of these electrical equipment, so that your later choice and use, I hope to help you.

The circuit breaker is designed to disconnect and extinguish the arc that flows safely over the circuit breaker terminals to prevent a fire from any spark on the terminals, while disconnecting the power supply from the live load.

What are MCB, MCCB, ELCB, RCCB and RCD called?

All of these electrical devices fall under the category of electrical circuit breakers, which connect input power to the device during normal operation and immediately provide protection to people, equipment and entire electrical installations from failure, damage, electric shock and even fire by triggering built-in protection systems depending on the nature of the fault.

Depending on the cause and nature of the failure, different circuit breakers operate in installations in different locations, whether it is a local circuit breaker directly connected to the device, or a circuit breaker close to the input power to take care of the entire electrical installation. The following is a description of these circuit breakers.

MCB - Miniature circuit breaker

MCCB - Molded case circuit breaker

ELCB - Leakage circuit breaker

RCCB - Residual current circuit breaker

RCD - Residual current device

These circuit breakers are installed in different locations in the electrical installation for specific applications, depending on the type of protection required.

The role of MCB

The MCB in full form in electrical is the micro circuit breaker, which is the most prominent protection used by almost everyone. It is an electromechanical device that prevents circuit short circuits, system overload beyond the installed capacity or imperfect design of the device itself.