Principles & Applications Electronics Principles & Applications Seventh Edition Charles A. Schuler Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

A GFCI will open the circuit when the current to ground exceeds some predetermined value (such as 5 milliamperes). RESET TEST TEST They can be found as part of a circuit breaker in a distribution box or in a load center. They can be found as part of a duplex receptacle. Or, they can be found as part of an assembly at the end of a line cord.

Start with a toroid core. Add hot and neutral windings. Adding a load will cause current to flow and magnetic flux in the core. L O A D Hot Neutral Note that the flux created by the neutral wire opposes the flux from the hot wire.

No flux means no output from the sense winding. The flux cancels. L O A D Hot Neutral No flux means no output from the sense winding.

Yow! Let’s add a ground fault. Hot Neutral The fault current flows in the hot wire but not in the neutral.

The hot wire current is larger and its flux is greater. Neutral The net flux produces an output at the sense winding. (to service panel ground)

GFCI schematic A ground fault induces an output from the sense transformer which is amplified and causes the SCR to trigger. The SCR then activates the circuit breaker to disconnect the load circuit. MOV Drive Sense Hot Load Line Neutral Circuit breaker Bridge rectifier LM1851 SCR

2. More current in hot wire 3. 60 Hz signal at sense winding 1. Ground fault 2. More current in hot wire 3. 60 Hz signal at sense winding 4. SCR fires 5. Circuit breaker trips Sense Hot Line Neutral 60 Hz LM1851

An unwanted low resistance path from ground to neutral at the load end can prevent the GFCI from working since the currents are no longer unbalanced. There is no net flux and no output at the sense winding. L O A D Hot Neutral Unwanted ground to neutral path As we will see, a second drive coil is used to detect this fault.

The bridge injects a 120 Hz signal into the drive coil. When there is an unwanted low-resistance path from the neutral wire to the ground wire at the load side, current flows in the neutral via the normal connection at the service panel. This current does not flow in the hot wire and the imbalance trips the breaker. Drive Sense Hot Load side Panel side Neutral Unwanted 120 Hz 120 Hz Normal Bridge rectifier LM1851

Class A GFCIs trip at 5 mA. This sensitivity is achieved by amplifying the output of the sense coil. The sensitivity is such that nuisance tripping can be experienced with exterior outlets during a rain storm. Check the gaskets when this happens. Hot Amplifier Neutral Moisture

The common mode rejection of the amplifier helps prevent false tripping. However, large signals can exceed the amplifier’s common-mode limits. Lightning strikes often trip GFCIs. Hot Amplifier Neutral A direct hit is not required to trip a GFCI since the wires act as antennas. Also, strong radio signals can cause tripping. The common-mode rejection usually decreases as frequency goes higher.