Eaton’s smart circuit breaker (also known as energy management circuit breaker) for residential users was prominently displayed at this year’s International Solar Energy Show. Sonnen demonstrated Eaton’s smart circuit breaker through dynamic installation. The device demonstrated the ability of ecoLinx to dynamically communicate with the circuit breaker, and can even throttle the current flowing through them as a tool for circuit-level demand response functions.
After SPI, CleanTechnica caught up with Eaton’s John Vernacchia and Rob Griffin to learn more about how its household circuit breakers work, and to understand what Eaton is doing to expand this potential for commercial and industrial (C&I) )application.
The new Eaton Power Defense molded case circuit breaker is designed to bring the intelligent functions of its residential circuit breakers to commercial and industrial customers. They still increase connectivity and intelligence, but there are two main differences from Eaton’s residential products.
First, they have higher power ratings, from 15 amps all the way to 2500 amps. Secondly, they are designed as the famous Rosetta stone of control languages, because they can speak any kind of control language or scheme, so that they can be seamlessly integrated into almost any environment. Rob shared: “Electricity and national defense have laid the foundation for building houses.”
The way customers use circuit breakers is also different from residential products. Residential customers are looking for circuit breakers that can be switched on and off remotely to respond to customer needs digitally or for demand response purposes, while C&I customers are less interested.
Instead, they hope to use the connectivity provided by smart power and defense circuit breakers to increase metering, predictive diagnosis, and protection of buildings, factories, and processes. This is essentially another option for companies that want to add intelligence and certain controls to their business.
In other words, power and defense circuit breakers can communicate with the circuit breakers, while also generating useful data for companies to bind them to their existing control networks, MRP or ERP systems. Rob shared: “We must be more agnostic about communication, because wifi is not the only standard for communication.”
Communication is a good umbrella and can be played well in promotional videos, but Eaton knows that reality is more complicated. “We found that most customers have control software they want to use, and it depends on the customer, which makes a big difference,” Rob said. To solve this problem, Eaton’s power supply and defense circuit breakers can use most standard control communication protocols, even if it means only using standard 24v cables for communication.
This flexibility gives Power and Defense circuit breakers unprecedented flexibility, which can be integrated with existing control networks or create basic control networks for facilities without existing networks. He shared: “We provide other communication methods, so even if it just lights the control light, you can communicate locally.”
Eaton’s power and defense circuit breakers will be launched on the market in the fourth quarter of 2018. There is already a circuit breaker available, and by the end of the year it will provide 6 specifications of rated power with a rated current range of 15-2,500 amperes.
The new circuit breaker also adds some new functions to assess its own health, thereby adding great value in commercial and industrial environments. In commercial and industrial environments, unplanned power outages may quickly cost companies money. Traditionally, circuit breakers do not know whether they are good or bad, but the Power Defense product line has changed this situation.
Eaton’s Power Defence circuit breakers are globally recognized and comply with various industry standards, including applicable UL®, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), China Compulsory Certification (CCC) and Canadian Standards Association (CSA). To learn more, visit www.eaton.com/powerdefense. (Adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []). push({});
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Kyle Field (Kyle Field) I am a tech geek, passionate about finding feasible ways to reduce the negative impact of my life on the planet, save money and reduce stress. Live consciously, make conscious decisions, love more, act responsibly, and play. The more you know, the fewer resources you need. As an activist investor, Kyle owns long-term stakes in BYD, SolarEdge and Tesla.
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