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Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Question & Answer Forum
RCD keep tripping with lots of computer equipment
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<blockquote data-quote="Doc Hudson" data-source="post: 482540" data-attributes="member: 1607"><p>Welcome to the forum, A bit of background detail may help you make your decision. An RCD is a safety device designed to protect against electrical shock. It measures any current leaking from the circuit. It must NOT operate at 15miliamps or less, but MUST operate at 30miliamps or greater as that is sufficient to kill a healthy adult. (That is 0.03Amps, remember your socket circuit could allow over 1000 times this amount of electricity to flow through it in normal use if it is rated at 32Amps). So we are talking exceptionally small amount of electricity leaking, but some appliances also have natural leakage, especially computer equipment. So if you have multiple appliances with sufficient natural leakage then they can trip an RCD. Or an RCD may be over sensitive and tripping too early. Wiring regulations do say that installations must be designed to minimise inconvenience in the event of a single fault (Reg 314). I would suggest that either your RCD is oversensitive or your installation has insufficient RCD's per the quantity of final circuits. Probably the latter, it is easy for someone with an appropriate tester to verify if you RCD is operating correctly, probably just a standard 1hour call out charge. In an ideal world every circuit would have its own RCBO, but they are more expensive than standard MCB fuses which is why a lot of electricians &amp; customers opt for the cheaper, but potentially far more inconvenient option. An individual RCD board may well solve your problem as you can get similar issues with some makes of electric ovens/cookers as they can have natural leakage, also old fluorescent tube fittings, so the more potential leaky appliances you have sharing a single RCD, the greater the risk of inconvenience. </p><p></p><p>Doc H. </p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Doc Hudson, post: 482540, member: 1607"] Welcome to the forum, A bit of background detail may help you make your decision. An RCD is a safety device designed to protect against electrical shock. It measures any current leaking from the circuit. It must NOT operate at 15miliamps or less, but MUST operate at 30miliamps or greater as that is sufficient to kill a healthy adult. (That is 0.03Amps, remember your socket circuit could allow over 1000 times this amount of electricity to flow through it in normal use if it is rated at 32Amps). So we are talking exceptionally small amount of electricity leaking, but some appliances also have natural leakage, especially computer equipment. So if you have multiple appliances with sufficient natural leakage then they can trip an RCD. Or an RCD may be over sensitive and tripping too early. Wiring regulations do say that installations must be designed to minimise inconvenience in the event of a single fault (Reg 314). I would suggest that either your RCD is oversensitive or your installation has insufficient RCD's per the quantity of final circuits. Probably the latter, it is easy for someone with an appropriate tester to verify if you RCD is operating correctly, probably just a standard 1hour call out charge. In an ideal world every circuit would have its own RCBO, but they are more expensive than standard MCB fuses which is why a lot of electricians & customers opt for the cheaper, but potentially far more inconvenient option. An individual RCD board may well solve your problem as you can get similar issues with some makes of electric ovens/cookers as they can have natural leakage, also old fluorescent tube fittings, so the more potential leaky appliances you have sharing a single RCD, the greater the risk of inconvenience. Doc H. [/QUOTE]
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RCD keep tripping with lots of computer equipment
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