Earth leakage protection device selection principles
Earth leakage protection devices
Earth leakage protection devices are used to:
guard against fires that might be caused by an electric circuit with an insulation fault;
protect people against electric shock (direct or indirect contact).
The choice of protective devices must be optimized to provide absolute protection while ensuring continuity of service.
The implementation of earth leakage protection on lighting circuits varies according to standards, neutral system and installation habits.
RCDs are used to:
Protecting the installation against fires generated by a cable insulation fault
Protecting people against electric shock
Advice : Choice of sensitivity
For protection against fire only: 300 mA.
For protection against electric shock: 30 mA.
Advice : Choice of rating
The rating must be greater than or equal to the total consumption of the circuit.
This consumption can be as much as twice the rated current of the lamps:
in the case of discharge lamps, due to the long preheating time (several minutes);
higher consumption by lamps that have exceeded their nominal service life.
The rating of the earth leakage protection function (Vigi module or residual current circuit breaker) should always be greater than or equal to the rating of the upstream circuit breaker.
