An earth leakage relay (ELR) is an electronic safety device. ELR detects abnormal current flow to the earth and trips the circuit to protect people from electric shock. Earth leakage relay prevent equipment damage and fires. It constantly monitors the balance between outgoing and incoming currents. ELR tripped when a leakage path to ground is detected through a core balance current transformer (CBCT). Key features include adjustable sensitivity thresholds, time delays, and visual indicators for fault conditions.
An ELR continuously monitors the current balance in a circuit by passing all conductors through a CBCT.
In a healthy system, the current flowing out through the live conductors equals the current returning through the neutral conductor.
If there’s an insulation fault or an unintended connection to the earth, some current will leak to the ground. This creates an imbalance in the magnetic flux within the CBCT, generating a residual current.
The ELR detects this residual current. If the current exceeds a pre-set threshold and/or a defined trip time, the relay activates.
Users can set the threshold for the earth leakage current, typically from 30 mA to 30 A, to suit the application.
An adjustable time delay (e.g., 0 to 10 seconds) can be configured to avoid nuisance tripping from brief leakage currents.
Visual indicators show the percentage of the set threshold value, providing a warning before an accident occurs.
ELRs often include manual and remote reset features.