What Is a Ground Fault Interrupter?
The ground fault circuit breaker (GFCI) is a new type of circuit breaker. This kind of circuit breaker can not only prevent damage to the house wiring, but also protect people from electric shock.
- Chinese name
- Ground fault circuit breaker
- Foreign name
- Groundfault circuit interrupter
- The ground fault circuit breaker (GFCI) is a new type of circuit breaker. This kind of circuit breaker can not only prevent damage to the house wiring, but also protect people from electric shock.
- GFCI constantly monitors the current on the neutral and live wires in the circuit. When everything is normal, the current on both lines should be exactly the same. Once the live wire is directly grounded (for example, someone accidentally touches the live wire), the current on the live wire will suddenly increase, while the neutral wire will not. GFCI will cut off the circuit immediately after detecting this situation to prevent electric shock casualties. Because GFCI doesn't have to wait for the current to rise to dangerous levels before it can act, it reacts much faster than traditional circuit breakers.