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Home > NEC > Code Basics > Article 240: Overcurrent Protection
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Mike Holt
NEC Trainer / Consultant, Mike Holt Enterprises
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Article 240 provides the requirements for selecting and installing overcurrent protection devices
(OCPDs). Depending on your application, other Articles may apply (see Other Articles on page
54). An overcurrent exists when current exceeds the rating of conductors or equipment. It can
result from overload, short circuit, or ground fault. An overload is a condition in which
equipment or conductors carry
Article 240 provides the requirements for selecting and installing overcurrent protection devices
(OCPDs). Depending on your application, other Articles may apply (see Other Articles below).
An overcurrent exists when current exceeds the rating of conductors or equipment. It can result
from overload, short circuit, or ground fault.
A short circuit is the unintentional electrical connection between any two normally
current-carrying conductors of a circuit (line-to-line or line-to-neutral).
Circuits or equipment?
OCPDs protect circuits and equipment, but they protect circuits in one way and equipment in
another.
An OCPD protects a circuit by opening when current reaches a value that would cause an
excessive temperature rise in the conductors. Using a water analogy, current rises like water in a
tank at a certain level, the OCPD shuts off the faucet. Think in terms of normal operating
conditions that just get too far out of normal range. The interrupting rating must be sufficient for
the maximum possible fault current available on the line-side terminals of the equipment [110.9].
You'll find the standard ratings for fuses and fixed-trip circuit breakers in 240.6.
An OCPD protects equipment by opening when it detects a short circuit or ground fault. Every
piece of electrical equipment must have a short-circuit current rating that permits the OCPDs (for
that equipment) to clear short circuits or ground faults without extensive damage to the electrical
components of the circuit [110.10]. Short circuits and faults aren't normal operating conditions.
Thus, the OCPDs for equipment have different characteristics than OCPDs for conductors.
Circuit protection
OCPDs come in standard sizes, which are listed in 240.6. When you size conductor OCPDs,
you're trying to determine which of these standard sizes to use. Begin this sizing by determining
the conductor ampacity and then making ampacity adjustments specified in 310.15 [240.4].
OCPD application will vary under the following circumstances:
<b>Fig. 1.</b> If the circuits overcurrent protection device exceeds 800A, the conductor
ampacity after ampacity adjustment must have a rating not less than the overcurrent device
rating.
For example, a 400A OCPD can protect 500kcmil conductors, where each conductor has an
ampacity of 380A at 75C per Table 310.16. This next-size-up rule doesn't apply to feeder tap
conductors [240.21(B)] or secondary transformer conductors [240.21(C)].
Over 800A
If the OCPD exceeds 800A, the conductor ampacity (after ampacity adjustment and/or
correction) must have a rating not less than the rating of the OCPD. For example, a 1,200A
OCPD can protect three sets of 600kcmil conductors per phase, where each conductor has an
ampacity of 420A at 75C per Table 310.16 (Fig. 1).
Small conductors
Unless specifically permitted in 240.4(E) or (G), overcurrent protection must not exceed (after
ampacity adjustment and/or correction):
Supplementary OCPDs
Location in circuit
Install OCPDs at the point where the branch or feeder conductors receive their power.
Exceptions exist in 240.21 (A) through (G). Here's a summary of each of these, but be sure to
read the details if the exception applies to your situation.
(A) Branch circuits meeting 210.19 requirements are exempted from 240.21 location
requirements. Examples include multiwire and range circuits.
(B) You can't make a tap from a tap.
(C) The OCPDs for the primary side of a transformer provide protection for the secondary side,
if certain conditions are met.
(D) Service conductors are covered by 230.91.
(E) Busway taps are covered by 368.17.
(F) For motors, apply 430.28 and 430.53.
(G) For generators, apply 445.12 and 445.13.
OCPDs located next to equipment can be mounted above 6 feet 7 inches, if accessible by
portable means [404.8(A) Exception No. 2] (Fig. 3).
<b>Fig. 3.</b> Overcurrent protection devices located next to equipment can be mounted above
6 feet 7 inches, if accessible by portable means.
OCPDs must not be exposed to physical damage. Electrical equipment must be suitable for the
environment. Give consideration to the presence of corrosives, which may deteriorate conductors
or equipment [110.11].
Don't locate OCPDs near easily ignitable material or in locations such as clothes closets. Don't
locate them in bathrooms of dwelling units or guest rooms (or guest suites) of hotels or motels.
This rule also applies to the service disconnecting means, even in commercial or industrial
facilities [230.70(A)(2)].
Enclosures
Enclosures containing OCPDs must be mounted in a vertical position unless this is impractical
[240.33]. Circuit breaker enclosures can be horizontal if the circuit breaker is installed per
240.81.
<b>Fig. 4.</b> Enclosures for overcurrent devices must be mounted in a vertical position, unless
this is impractical.
The requirements of 240.81 specify that where circuit breaker handles are operated vertically, the
up position of the handle must be in the on position. Therefore, an enclosure that contains
one circuit breaker can be mounted horizontally, but an enclosure that contains a panelboard or
load center with multiple circuit breakers on opposite sides of each other would have to be
mounted vertically (Fig. 4).
Also note that these enclosures are designed for left-hand operation, under the assumption that
the operator is right-handed. The intended result is that the operator is standing to one side of the
enclosure, rather than in front of it (and in the blast path) when operating it. Allow space for this
when installing the enclosure.
Circuit breakers
Circuit breakers must be capable of being opened and closed by hand [240.80]. Non-manual
means of operating a circuit breaker, such as electrical shunt trip or pneumatic operation, are
permitted only if the circuit breaker can also be manually operated.
Circuit breakers used to switch 120V or 277V fluorescent lighting circuits must be listed and
marked SWD or HID. Circuit breakers used to switch high-intensity discharge lighting circuits
must be listed and marked HID.
UL 489, Standard for Molded Case Circuit Breakers, permits HID breakers to be rated up to
50A, but an SWD breaker may be rated only to 20A. The tests for HID breakers include an
endurance test at 75% power factor, but SWD breakers are endurance-tested at 100% power
factor. The contacts and the spring of an HID breaker are constructed of a heavy-duty material
designed to dissipate the increased heat caused by the greater current flow in the circuit that
occurs because the HID luminaire takes a minute or two to ignite the lamp.
Before you start any OCPD calculations, first determine if you're trying to protect circuits or
equipment. Next, determine if any other Articles apply for your application. Then, you can plug
in the numbers and select the correct OCPD.
Panelboards [408.36(A)]
Transformers [450.3]
reprints
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