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When your circuit breaker contacts open, sparks—also called arcs—can form, allowing electricity to jump across the gap. In a vacuum circuit breaker, these contacts are sealed inside a vacuum chamber without air, which instantly stops the sparks.
This typically means your breakers need less maintenance and effectively handle sudden electrical spikes or surges to protect your switchgear.
Think of your thermos bottle, which uses a vacuum layer to keep your coffee hot by preventing heat loss. Similarly, a vacuum interrupter inside your vacuum circuit breaker isolates electrical connections from external conditions, quickly and safely stopping electrical current without sparking or overheating.
And this means less frequent circuit breaker maintenance for you.
To get a bit technical, when an electrical fault occurs, your breaker quickly separates two conducting contacts sealed inside a vacuum interrupter. The vacuum offers incredibly high insulation strength, preventing electricity from flowing across the gap between contacts.
Without air or contaminants, the electrical arc created during separation disappears almost instantly. This reduces your maintenance demands and ensures fast, reliable protection.
Within vacuum interrupters, the contacts are enclosed in a vacuum bottle. Under normal conditions, these contacts remain closed, allowing uninterrupted electricity flow.
However, if a fault occurs, they instantly open. Any electrical arc formed during this separation is immediately extinguished by the vacuum.
This eliminates arc exposure, greatly reduces your maintenance needs, and provides quick, dependable fault protection. This compact and reliable design is ideal for your high-demand industrial environments.
New and reconditioned industrial electrical equipment, including air, vacuum, molded case, and insulated case circuit breakers, as well as electrical switchgear.
Custom-designed switchgear solutions tailored to specific power distribution requirements, including stainless-steel, metal-enclosed, and metal-clad switchgear, along with switchboards ranging from 208V to 38kV.
Our proactive approach to electrical switchgear preventive maintenance and service minimizes the risk of costly unplanned outages and extends the operational life of your equipment.
Replacing critical parts so that your system remains dependable and compliant with modern standards.
⬛ What is a vacuum circuit breaker?
🟩 A vacuum circuit breaker is a type of breaker where electrical contacts are enclosed in a vacuum chamber, instantly extinguishing sparks (arcs) created when the breaker opens.
⬛ How does vacuum technology help with electrical protection?
🟩 Vacuum technology quickly stops electrical arcs by removing air from around the contacts, providing instant protection against electrical spikes and faults.
⬛ Do vacuum circuit breakers require much maintenance?
🟩 No. Because the contacts are sealed in vacuum chambers without air or contaminants, they typically require less maintenance than other types of breakers.
⬛ What is a vacuum interrupter?
🟩 A vacuum interrupter is a sealed device inside vacuum circuit breakers that safely isolates electrical contacts from outside conditions, quickly eliminating sparks and arcs.
⬛ Why do vacuum breakers handle electrical faults better than other breakers?
🟩 Vacuum breakers have very high insulation strength, so electrical arcs vanish almost immediately upon contact separation, ensuring quick and reliable fault protection.
⬛ Where are vacuum circuit breakers commonly used?
🟩 They’re commonly used in industrial and commercial facilities with medium-voltage systems, especially those requiring minimal downtime and reliable electrical protection.
⬛ How does vacuum breaker design reduce maintenance costs?
🟩 Vacuum breakers prevent arc exposure, which drastically reduces wear, downtime, and the overall frequency of maintenance.
BCS Switchgear is an industry leader in new and obsolete electrical control and distribution equipment. Since 1997, BCS has been servicing customers to extend electrical life of low and medium voltage electrical power equipment.
Cody can be reached by email: [email protected]
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