Programmable ground fault circuit interrupter (pGFCI) - An alternative approach

A ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) trips on the tiniest difference between the current of the supply and return path of a circuit. Naturally this difference may occur if there is any leakage or short-circuit to the ground. This may lead to damage of the device, supply line or even the human as the device operator. Traditional domestic GFCIs are cheap and only able to break the circuit in case of this imbalanced or residual current. Industrial GFCIs are more expensive with a few selective choices for trip delay, sensitivity and are not capable of integration with BMS system. As GFCIs use Differential Current Transformer (DCT), some large installation may face challenge to utilize DCTs with Bus-Bar System. For the developing 3
^rd
world countries, having appropriate size of toroid for DCT may not be an easy solution. Also available devices are not highly tuneable to tailor those to the exact need of a particular substation. These limitations and requirements are the motivations in designing a GFCI that is programmable, easy to use with the readily available CTs (or current sensors) in local market and ready to integrate with virtually any of the BMS system around the world. Hence this proposed device is an alternative approach for GFCI, being a Programmable GFCI (pGFCI), which is easy to develop locally for the 3
^rd
world countries.