Redirect appreciated if needed.
How does an arc fault circuit interruptor work? What does it do in order to detect an arc?
So far, nobody, not even the dealer of our electric supplies has been able to explain how an arc fault circuit interruptor works. I've not found the answer on the internet either. The explanations say "unique circuitry," or "arc detection technology" and other vague words that do not explain _how_ it works, only what it does.
I'm going to guess... high frequencies dominating the current draw.
You may need to search for patents to get the real info.
Bye. Jasen
An ARC fault detector in common home circuits utilizes a current-sense-transformer with the 115AC wire and the nuetral wire both passing through it. If there is any current flowing through the
115V wire which is not also flowing back through the nuetral wire, then this current is obviously going somewhere else back to ground. (from the cheap chinese grinder I bought on ebay, through my body, into the garage floor to earth). The secondary of the transformer is hundreds of windings which converts the current unbalance to a current output. If this is above a certain threshold, a timer starts and several milliseconds later a relay is opened to stop the power."highpower" wrote in message news:SMSdnZaqK4TdHwbeRVn snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com...
You have described a ground-fault detector or interrupter.
and really poorly as well
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