Typical current motor protection circuit breakers, for rated currents up to approximately one hundred amps, are designed with bimetal strips/heaters for thermal protection and magnetic plungers for short circuit protection. The operation of these devices produces a significant amount of power loss in the form of heat. The trend of government regulation and public opinion is towards a reduction in power consumption of all electrical devices, creating market pressure for more efficient electrical device designs. Further, reduced operating expenses are available to encourage the use of the design in new applications and to offset the cost of retrofitting existing applications with a more efficient circuit breaker.
Another shortcoming in the design of this class of existing circuit breakers is the lack of integrated electronics for measuring circuit breaker conditions and the ability to communicate this data to a control system or network. Greater efficiency of operation and preventative maintenance opportunities are lost because the first sign of a problem with the circuit breaker is after circuit breaker failure. The consumer trend towards sophisticated control systems and control system network communications is creating additional market pressure to provide the ability to integrate this level of electrical device into the communication network of an existing control system.
Further, market interest in this class of circuit breaker with regard to the design's operational characteristics, such as speed of contact opening, prevention from reclosing and prevention from welding are required but a smaller form factor is desired to reduce manufacturing cost by allowing the circuit breaker to fit into existing smaller case designs and increase the applicability of the device by opening new areas of application. Accordingly, market pressure due to the unfulfilled need for a more power efficient circuit breaker, meeting expected government and industry standards, containing self-powered electronics for data collection and communication, but fitting in a smaller and possibly previously existing form factor has driven circuit breaker development in a direction previously thought unobtainable.