As advanced as Electrical Systems have become today, it is still common for faults to occur — which means commercial and industrial enterprises must prepare for this possibility and mitigate their risk. Without the right equipment in place to quickly correct abnormalities in current, enterprises risk sustaining damage to equipment or even experiencing safety hazards.

Protection relays in electrical systems are meant to address a number of different kinds of faults. It’s important when choosing Protection relay equipment to match the device to its functionality. Here’s more about the role Protection Relays play in modern electrical systems, plus an overview of 13 specific applications for this tech.

The Role of Protection Relays in Electrical Systems

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers cites this helpful definition from The Art and Science of Protective Relaying: “The function of protective relaying is to cause the prompt removal from service of an element of a power system when it suffers a short circuit or when it starts to operate in an abnormal manner that might cause damage or otherwise interfere with the effective operation of the rest of the system.”

Rather than thinking of faults as something that might occur, it’s more useful to think of them as negative events that will occur. Only with this mindset can enterprises prepare their electrical systems to handle adverse events large and small. Faults can stem from many sources, from arc flash discharges to short circuits, current leakage, lightning and more.

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Put simply, protection relays help increase the safety and reliability of electrical systems. They accomplish this task by receiving inputs about current and voltage from transformers, processing them, and outputting trip signals if necessary.

Electrical Protection Relays by Application

Now let’s take a closer look at some protection relays broken down by the specific application they’re designed to fulfil.

• Overcurrent: Provides protection when the load current exceeds relay settings.

• Arc: Isolates power and minimizes energy discharge in the event of an arc flash event.
• Motor: Helps protect motors against damage so they can operate efficiently and reliably.

• Transformer: Designed to clear abnormal conditions so as to protect transformers, which are vital and often expensive components of an electrical system.

• Line Differential: Acts quickly to interrupt fault current on overhead lines and cables.

• Busbar Differential: Protects busbars, which are an important component of electrical distribution.

• Voltage & Frequency: Focus on detecting faults based on abnormal voltage and frequency which could lead to instability.

• Circuit Breaker Failure: Provides backup protection for cables and lines in the event circuit breakers fail.

• Capacitor bank: These relays safeguard capacitor banks specifically, which collect electrical energy and correct the power factor to improve energy quality.

• Generator: Protect small, medium and large generators, capable of converting other energy sources into electrical energy.
• Critical Power: Certified for use in critical power applications like oil, gas and nuclear power plants.
• Marine: Meet the standards for defending marine equipment against faults.

• Rail: Designed to work with railway-specific equipment.

As you can see, there are myriad uses for protection relays across electrical systems — and it’s imperative to choose equipment with the ratings and features best suited to each specific application. It’s also important to note some protection relays are primary, or first-line defenders, while others serve as backups in case the main protection system fails to detect the fault for some reason.

These 13 applications for protection relays in electrical systems are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more applications to explore. Having proper protection relays in place can help protect your equipment and your employees from suffering the ill effects of a fault.

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