Differential protection for home electric systems

I'm not a specialist in designing Home Electric Systems, I have only designed industrial cabinets, not the entire electric network. My interest in this area is stricty personal for use in my home or in other automation systems. There are many houses in my country built in 1960s and the electrical wiring used at that time is no longer compliant with actual standards.

In Europe, there are requirements to have 10mA / 30mA residual current protection called "earth leakage protection" on all final circuits rated 16A / 32A. The purpose of this is to protect against electric shock, should a person get in contact with a live wire while at the same time having contact with ground. In that situation, a tiny amount of current does not return back to the power source but rather leaks to ground through the person in contact, putting his life in danger.

Earth fault protection is intended to protect equipment when an insulation fault occurs, earth leakage protection is intended to protect human beings and animals. Faulty currents are generally much lower in leakage protection.

Terminology: RCB means Residual Current Breaker. RCBO stands for Residual Current Breaker with Over-Current. MCB means Miniature Circuit Breaker. MCCB means Molded Case Circuit Breaker and is an electrical protection device designed for high-current electrical circuits over 100A. RCCB stands for Residual Current Circuit Breaker. MCB protects wires and appliance, RCCB provides only leakage protection to protect human life, RCBO protects both. IEC 61008-1 compliant 30mA Residual Current Circuit Breakers (RCCBs) are mandatory for personal protection, tripping within to prevent fatal electric shocks in homes, bathrooms, and socket circuits. These devices detect leakage current and must be used for additional safety, protecting people from direct and indirect contact with live parts.

Type A RCCBs detect both alternating current (AC) leakage and pulsating direct current (DC) leakage. Applications: Ideal for modern electrical devices with rectifiers, inverters, variable frequency drives. Commonly used in: Solar photovoltaic systems, Wind turbines, Electric vehicle charging stations, LED lighting and electronic appliances.

Type AC RCCBs detect only pure AC leakage. They are ineffective against DC components. Applications: Best suited for traditional electrical systems without electronic components, such as: Household circuits, Power tools, Basic electrical loads.

Type B RCCBs detect alternating (AC), pulsating DC, and smooth DC leakage currents. They are "universal" devices crucial for modern electronics, protecting against shocks and fire in systems using inverters, EV chargers and Solar Power Systems.

Type F RCCBs are designed for circuits with single-phase variable speed drives, covering composite frequency residual currents.

Figure 1
3P+N 100 A
Figure 2
3P+N 32 A
Figure 3
1P+N 16 A
Figure 4
F202 AC
Figure 5
AFDD
Figure 6
Residual Current

The lower sensitivities of 10mA and 30mA provides protection against electric shocks, while the higher sensitivities of 100mA and 300mA are designed to prevent fires by detecting larger leakage currents. The applicable standards are IEC 61008 (RCCB), IEC 61009 (RCBO), IEC 60755 (RCD).

AFDD stands for Arc Fault Detection Device and refers to advanced electrical safety devices designed to detect hazardous electrical arcs (sparking) and to automatically disconnect power to prevent fires, providing protection that traditional circuit breakers and RCDs cannot cover. There are two types, with integrated MCB and with integrated RCBO (usually 30mA sensitivity). AFDDs are essentially microcomputers with a rudimentary "operating system", so they may become outdated by newer models, they’re not updatable and not programmable. AFFDs are usually needed on each circuit and they can be expensive. They’re not to be considered as the only protection measures.

The use of AFDDs is recommended in any rooms with sleping facilities in private apartments and houses. I have tested a RCD adaptor [11] by powering an old washing machine, but mine does not detected properly leakage currents. I think you have to test these devices very well before putting them in circuit.

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Links:
[01] - RCCB F202AC-16A/0.01
[02] - RCCB F202B-16A/0.3
[03] - AFDD DS-ARC1 B16A30
[04] - Auxiliary contact S2C-H6R
[05] - Electrical installations related to buildings
[06] - Telecommunications in buildings
[07] - Telecommunications Channels Fiber Optics
[08] - Sanitary installations related to buildings
[09] - Ventilation and air conditioning installations
[10] - Central heating installations
[11] - RCD Adaptor