A circuit interrupter is structured to electrically connect between a power source and a load. The circuit interrupter includes: separable contacts; an actuator coupled to the separable contacts and structured to open or close the separable contacts; a current sensor structured to sense current flowing through the circuit interrupter to the load; a communication module communicatively coupled to at least one of a cloud server and a user device and structured to transmit and receive data; and a controller coupled to the sensor, the actuator, and the communication module, the controller comprising at least one of a fault detector and a look-up table, the fault detector structured to detect and classify a fault, the look-up table comprising at least reference data associated with previous normal cycles, the reference data including at least power factors, closing angle ranges and fault classification categories.

A circuit interrupter is structured to electrically connect between a power source and a load. The circuit interrupter includes: separable contacts; an actuator coupled to the separable contacts and structured to open or close the separable contacts; a current sensor structured to sense current flowing through the circuit interrupter to the load; a communication module communicatively coupled to at least one of a cloud server and a user device and structured to transmit and receive data; and a controller coupled to the sensor, the actuator, and the communication module, the controller comprising at least one of a fault detector and a look-up table, the fault detector structured to detect and classify a fault, the look-up table comprising at least reference data associated with previous normal cycles, the reference data including at least power factors, closing angle ranges and fault classification categories.

Passive monitoring the integrity of current sensing devices and associated circuitry in GFCI and AFCI protective devices is provided. A protection circuit interrupter employs a capacitively coupled noise signal obtained by an arrangement of one or both of line side arms relative to a Rogowski coil. The noise signal is monitored while the line and load sides of a protective circuit interrupter are disconnected, and the connection of the line and load sides disabled if the noise signal fails to correlate sufficiently to a reference noise cycle. When the line and load sides are connected, the RMS value of the observed current signal is monitored such that the line and load sides are disconnected if the observed current signal fails to meet an RMS threshold. The observed current signal is compensated by subtracting the reference noise cycle prior to monitoring for the fault condition applicable to the protective device.

Passive monitoring the integrity of current sensing devices and associated circuitry in GFCI and AFCI protective devices is provided. A protection circuit interrupter employs a capacitively coupled noise signal obtained by an arrangement of one or both of line side arms relative to a Rogowski coil. The noise signal is monitored while the line and load sides of a protective circuit interrupter are disconnected, and the connection of the line and load sides disabled if the noise signal fails to correlate sufficiently to a reference noise cycle. When the line and load sides are connected, the RMS value of the observed current signal is monitored such that the line and load sides are disconnected if the observed current signal fails to meet an RMS threshold. The observed current signal is compensated by subtracting the reference noise cycle prior to monitoring for the fault condition applicable to the protective device.

Apparatuses and methods herein provide a voltage imbalance detector that employs two solenoid coils, each coil coaxially arranged around a slidable metal plunger on opposite sides thereof. One coil is electrically connected to one line of a 120 V/240 V power supply and to neutral, while the other coil is electrically connected to the other line of the 120 V/240 V power supply and to neutral. When the coils are energized by current from the power supply, each coil induces an equal but opposite electromagnetic force acting on the metal plunger if the power supply voltages are balanced, thereby maintaining the plunger stationary relative to the coils. But if the voltages are not balanced, then one coil will induce a greater (or lesser) electromagnetic force than the other coil, resulting in the plunger moving toward (or away from) the first coil, thereby sensing the voltage imbalance.

Apparatuses and methods herein provide a voltage imbalance detector that employs two solenoid coils, each coil coaxially arranged around a slidable metal plunger on opposite sides thereof. One coil is electrically connected to one line of a 120 V/240 V power supply and to neutral, while the other coil is electrically connected to the other line of the 120 V/240 V power supply and to neutral. When the coils are energized by current from the power supply, each coil induces an equal but opposite electromagnetic force acting on the metal plunger if the power supply voltages are balanced, thereby maintaining the plunger stationary relative to the coils. But if the voltages are not balanced, then one coil will induce a greater (or lesser) electromagnetic force than the other coil, resulting in the plunger moving toward (or away from) the first coil, thereby sensing the voltage imbalance.

A fault monitoring method for a multi-port internal passive load-free probabilistic load flow (PLF) electric network is presented. Current transformers are installed on the conductors. Currents from the current transformers are transformed into voltages, and the voltages are then converted into pulses by a voltage-to-frequency conversion (VFC) circuit. The pulses are transmitted via optical fiber to a comparison module, and an algebraic sum of all pulse counts is calculated. It is stipulated that when an installation direction of the current transformer is the same as a direction of the port pointing to the PLF electric network, the pulse count is positive, and when the installation direction of the current transformer is opposite to the direction of the port pointing to the PLF electric network, the pulse count is negative. When the algebraic sum exceeds a threshold, it is determined that a fault has occurred within the PLF electric network.

A method for detecting a phenomenon in an electrical power network including at least one protection zone with at least two subzones. The method including measuring in the subzones of the protection zone at least one current signal actual in the respective subzone, determining linear dependency between the at least one measured current signal actual in at least one subzone of the protection zone and the corresponding at least one measured current signal actual in at least one another subzone of the protection zone, and detecting the phenomenon in the protection zone of the electrical power network based on the at least one determined linear dependency. Furthermore, a system for detecting a phenomenon in an electrical power network.

A method for detecting a phenomenon in an electrical power network including at least one protection zone with at least two subzones. The method including measuring in the subzones of the protection zone at least one current signal actual in the respective subzone, determining linear dependency between the at least one measured current signal actual in at least one subzone of the protection zone and the corresponding at least one measured current signal actual in at least one another subzone of the protection zone, and detecting the phenomenon in the protection zone of the electrical power network based on the at least one determined linear dependency. Furthermore, a system for detecting a phenomenon in an electrical power network.

A protection circuit for a capacitive filter for a multi-voltage system includes a first capacitor electrically connected between a first connection point at a first electrical potential and a second connection point at a second electrical potential and a second capacitor electrically connected between the second connection point and a third connection point at a third electrical potential. The first electrical potential is greater than the second electrical potential and the third electrical potential is less than the second electrical potential. The third electrical potential may be electrical ground. A controller circuit monitors a voltage differential across the first capacitor and the second capacitor and, based on the voltage differential meeting a threshold condition, controls a switch to disconnect one or both of the first capacitor and the second capacitor.