Individual vs. group mounted circuit breakers?
Individual vs. group mounted circuit breakers?
(OP)
What's the difference between individual vs. group mounted circuit breakers in term of switchborad? It it depending on breakers and bus size? Are there any advantages to use group mounted CBs? Thanks!






RE: Individual vs. group mounted circuit breakers?
Individual mounting provides separate compartments for each breaker. Commonly the load terminals are accessible only from the rear of the switchboard.
Group mounting is less expensive and arguable more convenient to service - by far the most common. Individual mounting provides isolation that provides safer maintenance and less probability of an arcing fault spreading throughout the switchboard. Generally a safer arrangement.
RE: Individual vs. group mounted circuit breakers?
RE: Individual vs. group mounted circuit breakers?
I will dig up some pics and post.
RE: Individual vs. group mounted circuit breakers?
Individually mounted breakers have some physical separation from other breakers and can also have compartments/barriers.
Also individually mounted breakers would typical afford more cable space, servicable withput disturbing adjacent breakers, etc.
In short, for run of the mill applications group mounted breakers are fine. If the application involves serving critical loads, you may want to consider individually mounted breakers or even a switchgear vs a switchboard but that is different disussion.
RE: Individual vs. group mounted circuit breakers?
RE: Individual vs. group mounted circuit breakers?
RE: Individual vs. group mounted circuit breakers?
Two photos of what I think of as group-mounting...
RE: Individual vs. group mounted circuit breakers?
RE: Individual vs. group mounted circuit breakers?
In my world, I guess what you show would be a power panel, altho a big one.
My switchboards have what may be unique requirements. I must be able to remove breakers from the front without disassembling the switchgear so we can change them out without shutting down if need be (shipboard). The breakers are screwed into mounting blocks (load and line side) which are bolted to the back panel. It is the dimension of the mounting blocks that result in a small gap between breakers.
Some of the disadvantages would be the same. A fault on the bus or load connections can disable the entire section, same on the breaker side where a breaker fault can damage other breakers adjacent.
The advantage in a fault would be that a bus fault or load connection fault might not destroy breakers (and vice-versa), but it usually takes out at least the one associated breaker.
RE: Individual vs. group mounted circuit breakers?
Yours is interesting. It looks more like individual mounting, but without the barriers. I might have a use for something like that. Is it something that's available from one of the major manufacturers?
RE: Individual vs. group mounted circuit breakers?
SPD has good quality as well, but too rich for my blood.