Reconditioned Low-Voltage Circuit Breakers: Considering Electrical Safety for Applications in Industry

For many years, manufacturing plants in process industries, along with hospitals, schools, and commercial building owners, have installed used circuit breakers in panelboards, switchboards, switchgear, and motor control centers. Often, due to the vintage of existing electrical equipment, reconditioned circuit breaker replacements are the only available option. Is this practice safe? Some recognized industry standards, such as the Professional Electrical Apparatus Reconditioning League (PEARL)/ANSI Accredited Electrical Equipment Reconditioning Standard (EERS) say yes. For molded-case circuit breakers (MCCBs), the recently published U.S. National Electric Code, National Fire Protection Association NFPA 70-2020, says no.