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Miniature circuit breakers and supplementary protectors are designed, built, tested, and applied in accordance with one or more specific sets of standards.
Compliance with these exacting standards ensures the customer of a high quality level. Governing standards have a profound impact on the design and application of circuit breakers worldwide. There is no room for compromise when performance, quality, and safety are involved.
Like miniature circuit breakers, ratings for supplementary protectors are usually dictated by standards for the part of the world in which the device is to be applied.
Briefly, review the world map show in Figure 21. This will give you a feel for the standards applicable to miniature circuit breakers in different parts of the world.
Figure 21. Dominant Standards Around the World for All Types of Circuit Breakers
For any application, it is key to know which standards apply in the application location. The actual product selection, based on standards compliance, is left to the experts. However, it is helpful to know which specific standards your products comply with, and which areas of the world abide by those standards.
NEC or UL Compliance
When compliance with NEC and/or UL standards is required, thermal magnetic miniature circuit breakers are used.
Supplementary protectors are only approved for use on circuits where branch circuit protection is already provided through some other means, or not required at all.
IEC Compliance
When compliance with IEC standards is required, both supplementary protector types are used.
They have the flexibility to be used as IEC circuit breakers in assembled equipment applied in areas that require IEC compliance. Thermal magnetic miniature circuit breakers cannot normally be applied where IEC compliance is required.
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