With today’s high fault currents, it’s more important than ever to protect electrical equipment from extremely high current levels. Otherwise, the equipment may explode as it attempts to interrupt the fault. At Arc Flash San Diego will calculate the short circuit fault current levels at different locations in the power system. We will compare these calculated fault currents to your equipment short circuit interrupt/withstand ratings in order to determine if you have a problem. A short circuit study should be performed when an electrical system is first designed, and then updated when major modifications or renovation takes place — but no less frequently than every five years. Major changes would be considered a change in feed by the electric utility, in the primary or secondary system configuration within the facility, in transformer size or impedance, in conductor lengths or sizes, in type of circuit breaker, or a change in the motors that are energized by the system.

A Short Circuit study will:

• Identify underrated equipment before extensive system damage can occur

• Increase facility reliability, equipment protection and personnel safety

• Aid in future expansion plans by providing accurate fault current calculations at each location in the system,

thereby allowing properly rated equipment to be specified