Advantages of Fuses That You Need To Know

Fuses have been used for decades as safety devices to protect electrical circuits and equipment from damage caused by overcurrents. They are a simple and effective way to prevent electrical fires and other hazards. In this article, we will explore the advantages of fuses and why they are an important component in any electrical system. Whether you are a homeowner, electrician or engineer understanding the benefits of fuses will help you make informed decisions about the safety and reliability of your electrical systems.

Advantages of Fuses

Fuses offer a combination of exceptional advantages such as:

1. High breaking capacity and speed

Fuses have high breaking capacities (current interrupting ratings). The speed and the high breaking capacity give the insurance of better safety factors against equipment damages and people injury.

In the case of large short-circuit currents nothing is faster than the fuses. The consequence is that the peak current is limited down to low values by the fuse. When the application must protect sensitive power electronics downstream (inverters, UPS systems, VSDs etc. ) the fast tripping time (2-5ms) under over current (short circuit) conditions offers the best protection.

2. Easy short circuit calculations

Fuses do not need complex short-circuit calculations. The fuse installed to protect against such current must be able to break this current as I²t₁.

3. Inexpensive solution

Cost, size and performance are chief aspects considered by the end user. Low cost is by far the most important criterion. Fuses are still the most economical protection. They can be expanded easily where increased fault currents are concerned.

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4. Mandatory fault elimination before resetting

Unlike other short-circuit protective devices fuses cannot be reset, thus forcing the user to identify and correct the overcurrent condition before re-energizing the circuit.

5. Reliability

No moving parts wear out or become contaminated by dust, oil or corrosion. Fuse replacement ensures protection is restored to its original state of integrity.

6. Compact size

The compact size of fuses offers low-cost over-current protection at high short-circuit levels. In this way, a low-voltage distribution board can be made more compact.

7. Suitability for type 2 protection

By limiting short-circuit energy and peak currents to extremely low levels, fuses are particularly suitable for type 2 protection without damage to components in motor circuits.

8. Safe and silent operation

Fuses emit no gas, flames, arcs or other materials when clearing the highest levels of short-circuit currents. In addition, the speed of operation at high short-circuit currents significantly limits the arc flash hazard at the fault location. The arc extinction is totally enclosed so that no hot or ionized gases can go outside.

9. Easy co-ordination

Standardization of fuse characteristics and a high degree of current limitation ensure effective coordination and discrimination between fuses and other devices. Current-limiting fuses make achieving selective coordination easy and simple by maintaining a minimum amp ratio between upstream and downstream fuses. Using published ratio tables eliminates the need for selective coordination studies.

10. Standard performance

Fuse links according to IEC 60269 ensure the availability of replacements with standardized characteristics throughout the world.

11. Improved power supply quality

Voltage sags caused by power system faults can cause serious problems for computer systems, drives and other industrial equipment. Current limiting fuses interrupt high fault currents in a few milliseconds minimizing dips in system supply voltage.

12. Tamperproof

Fuses cannot be modified or adjusted in order to change their level of performance. This is because fuses are designed to protect electrical systems and devices by breaking the circuit when the current exceeds a certain level. If the fuse was able to be modified or adjusted, it would not be able to perform its intended function and could potentially lead to malfunction or damage to the electrical system.

13. Future system growth

In many plants, the total power increases with time. Consequently, the total short circuit currents increase as well. Fuses still comply with the new requirement owing to their initial large breaking capacities. Adding new fuses to an existing system helps to upgrade the breaking capacity of the protection system.

14. Low power consumption

Fuses have a low power loss compared to circuit breakers. Fuses are designed to limit the amount of current that can flow through a circuit and when the current exceeds the rated value, the fuse will open the circuit and prevent damage to the equipment. Circuit breakers, on the other hand, use mechanical or electronic components to trip and open the circuit when the current exceeds the rated value. These components can cause a significant amount of power loss which can add up over time and increase operating costs.