What Is a Shunt Trip Breaker and How Does It Work?
If you’re looking for an easy way to shut off the electrical supply in your circuit, installing a shunt trip breaker may be worthwhile. Shunt trips can add additional protection to your electrical system to prevent short circuits and injury during a disaster in your home, such as a fire.
Read on to learn the answers to “What is a shunt trip breaker?” and “What is the purpose of a shunt trip breaker?”’
You are viewing: What Is A Shunt Trip
What Is a Shunt Trip Circuit Breaker?
When a circuit breaker “trips,” it detects a fault condition and automatically shuts off its electrical flow to prevent the wiring from overheating.
A shunt trip breaker is an optional accessory for your circuit breaker that can allow you to trip the breaker remotely at any time or automatically during a surge, preventing injuries and equipment damage during emergencies.
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There are two main types of shunt trip breakers: automatic and manual. Manual switches allow you to turn off the breaker outside the building using a remote button. Meanwhile, automatic switches shut off power as soon as they detect a surge from an external power source.
How Does a Shunt Trip Breaker Exactly Work?
Typically, electrical currents travel through your house’s circuit breaker unchanged. However, when these currents surge too high, the extra surge of power charges an electromagnet beneath the main breaker switch, tripping the switch and cutting power.
A shunt trip breaker provides an additional method to charge the electromagnet and trip the switch, allowing for a remote or automatic power shutoff.
Some shunt trips connect to an external power source. Anytime a power surge reaches this source, a signal travels from the shunt trip to the breaker, mechanically cutting the power.
Alternatively, a shunt trip can connect to a remote switch outside the building. Pressing a button on this switch sends an electrical surge through the shunt trip wiring and shuts off the power that way.
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While shunt trip breakers are not required in homes, many homeowners install them as a safety precaution. However, these devices are also common in businesses that use industrial machinery or expensive electrical systems that could experience damage during a power surge.
Why Are Shunt Trip Breakers Important?
You can use a shunt trip breaker within your home to create an additional way to shut off your house’s electrical current during an emergency, preventing injury or electrical damage.
One of the most common ways people use shunt trips is to shut off electrical equipment during a fire. Connecting the shunt trip to a smoke alarm can automatically shut off electricity as soon as the smoke detector triggers an alarm, preventing electrical hazards from the fire.
Installing a shunt trip may be especially important if your smoke detector connects to a sprinkler system. This device can shut down your electrical power as soon as the smoke detector triggers the sprinklers, reducing the risk of electrocution and minimizing damage to your electrical equipment.
Conclusion
Installing a shunt trip breaker is a quick and easy safety precaution that could prevent injury and expensive electrical damage down the line. Now that you know the answer to “what is a shunt trip breaker used for?” browse our Electrical Supply Distribution inventory of shunt trips today to discover the perfect shunt trip breaker for your home.
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