Active arc fault protection

Innovations and measures to increase personal and plant safety.

Or: “Why everything is back under control in 2 milliseconds.”

The technology is based on the principle of ultra-fast arc quenching.

ARCON® is a pioneer in this field – the system has successfully passed all tests of the German Insurance Association GDV and VdS Schadenverhütung and has been certified according to the fire insurance guidelines VdS 2349 “Low-fault electrical installations”.

An active arc fault extinguishing system effectively limits the resulting arc energy and quickly extinguishes the arc fault. Once the fault has been rectified and the extinguisher replaced, the system is immediately ready for operation again.

It is not necessary to replace system parts, components and equipment in the range of the switchgear systems as a result of the effects of an arc fault.

Features/functional principle

Recognising the occurrence of an arc fault: Detection of the light flash in conjunction with overcurrent.

Extinguishing the arc fault: Generation of a 3-phase short circuit within 2 ms to concentrate the fault energy in a defined area.

Determining the point of origin: Monitoring the individual busbar sections.
Isolation of the affected area: Switch off the affected feed.
KÖHL switchgear systems for medium and low voltage already have impressive values for passive arc fault protection ex works, in some cases far exceeding the requirements of current standards.

In order to counter the physical forces of an arc fault with an additional barrier to protect people and systems and to prevent the development of a life-threatening fume gas mixture, KÖHL has been offering its customers a technical solution for many years with active arc fault protection systems, which can be installed both in new systems directly on delivery and as a retrofit in endangered existing systems.