In contemporary industrial plants, electrical protection has been implemented for safety of personnel, reliability of operation and minimization of unavoidable downtimes. Terms such as NH Sicherung, FI Schalter and other Sicherungen have peaked the interest of many engineers searching the internet for “sicherung englisch strom”, “sicherung englisch”, “sicherungskasten” or “sicherung fliegt raus” wanting to learn more about electrical protection devices specific to Germany, how they are translated to English and their use within industrial plants. Knowledge of these components assists in improving safety and in the minimization of downtimes while also ensuring that electrical standards of the plant are being upheld.
What is an NH Sicherung?
An NH Sicherung is another fuse, however in this case it is a highcapacity one and is used in low-voltage power systems. The abbreviation NH comes from the German word for a low-voltage high-performance fuse, or rather Niederspannungs-Hochleistungs-Sicherung.
The fuse is used to interrupt too much current attempting to pass through and potentially harm expensive components such as cables, transformers, motors or switchgears. The fuse is used mainly in industrial plants, renewable energy systems, manufacturing plants and even in commercial power networks. These types of fuses however, can take much higher fault currents than the standard household fuses. Because of this, their application is usually in industrial plants where electricity reliability is key to the success of operations.
Role of FI Schalter in Electrical Safety
Another important protection device is the FI Schalter, or in English, residual current device or ground fault protection device. This has a different purpose, to detect leakage currents.If electricity flows where it shouldn’t, an FI Schalter disconnects the circuit. That is, it disconnects the circuit if current flows through the wrong path, for example, a cable that has been damaged, or a person.
More than just convenient, this type of protection considerably reduces the risk of electric shock and due to non-faulty reasons too, the risk of fire. Because of this, FI Schalter devices are found in industrial workshops, commercial buildings, in solar installations, automation systems, pretty much everywhere.
When combined with NH Sicherung protection, more complete overall electrical safety is seldom to be found.
Sicherung Englisch
It is likely that if you are reading this then you have researched sicherung englisch or sicherung englisch strom too, more often than not when reading instructions, from German-speaking suppliers.
Most often the German word sicherung is translated as fuse. However, as you can no-doubt see, context matters!
– Sicherung = fuse
– NH Sicherung = NH fuse
– Sicherungskasten = fuse or distribution box
– FI Schalter = Residual Current Device
– And sicherungen would mean fuses.
Without doubt, knowing all that can come in handy when dealing with a supplier, obviously reading equipment documentation and specifications.
Why Are Sicherungen Important in Industrial Applications?
Industrial electrical equipment handles a lot of workloads.Motors, drives, heating systems, welding machines, automation devices – all these have one thing in common they demand high currents to operate.
Should an electrical fault occur, such a series of events may take place as damage to equipment, interruption to production or even fire – leading to expensive repairs and jeopardizing the safety of staff. You can understand from this why Sicherungen of high quality form a basic part of every industrial electrical design.
A properly chosen fuse will limit the energy of the fault preventing the damage from spreading throughout the network.
What is a Sicherungskasten?
A Sicherungskasten is the enclosure which contains the protective devices, mainly Sicherungen but also circuit-breakers, FI Schalter units and distribution means. In the industrial world, the Sicherungskasten may be called upon to act as the central gathering place for electrical power, and the distribution cabinets in its domain normally contain, besides the NH fuse switch disconnectors, circuit breakers, residual current devices, surge protection, monitoring facilities etc. Neatly laying all the above inside the Sicherungskasten makes maintenance easy and adds to the overall reliability of the system.
Why does “Sicherung Fliegt Raus” happen?
Sicherung fliegt raus is a call common in Germany when the fuse blows or a device trips. The reasons for such a situation are manifold and include the following:
Overload conditions
Heating up cannot happen because equipment draws too much power for the circuit, and the fuse operates as intended.
Short apparently
A short-circuit is a direct connection between conductors creating huge fault currents which NH Sicherung devices are designed to interrupt safely.
Ground fault
Damaged insulation or water contacts conductors, making the offered path too easy. In this case it could be the FI Schalter protecting personnel or equipment that trips.
Equipment failure
Motors, power supplies and transformers all can develop internal faults which actuate devices.
Whatever the cause might be, indicated tests should always be made at least before a fuse is replaced or a protection-reset.
Selecting the right Sicherungen
Careful analysis of the electrical system followed-up with these questions usually leads to suitable Sicherungen:
What is the rated current?
What is the operating voltage?
What is the appropriate breaking capacity?
How are loads varied?
Is this a normal environment?
What standards apply?
It also pays for industrial engineers to keep in mind future expansion requirements. Basically, a well selected protection system today cuts costs later and enhances reliability.
Working with qualified electrical personnel helps make sure of correct fuse selection and fuse coordination.
NH Sicherung Applications in Renewable Energy
With growing developments in Renewable energy installations and more designs reaching electrical distribution specifications, it is common to find NH Sicherung products at work in photovoltaic and energy storage applications.
Applications include:
- Solar combiner boxes
- Battery energy storage systems
- DC distribution networks
- Inverter protection
- Grid connection equipment
These quite often see very disparate conditions of service necessitating reliable fuse protection to preserve the safe and stable running of the setups. Battery energy storage projects are especial in need of fuse coordination as modern Lithium battery systems are capable of great fault levels.
Conclusion
Electrical protection is one of the more significant aspects of almost all industrial power system designs. Devices of the NH Sicherung, FI Schalter and other Sicherungen variety help to prevent damage of equipment, bring down periods of downtime and guard the welfare of operator staff.
