Looking for IEEE or Industry Standards Supporting Use of Current-Limiting Devices

[GoldenstateEE]

Hello everyone,
We are planning to install Current Limiting Protector (CLiP) devices at our substation and are looking for any industry standards or references that explicitly recommend or recognize the use of current-limiting devices to reduce fault current.

If anyone can point me to the applicable standard references, white papers, or technical documentation that support the use of CL devices in medium voltage system, I’d greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[ron]

If you are a utility, you could use engineering judgement to apply it using the current limiting curves provided by G&W.

If you are not a utility and need to follow the NEC, then there is no such permission to use a current limiting device like the CLiP to reduce fault current without testing it with the downstream equipment to show it works as a combination. The NEC actually does not have any permissions like a series rating for low voltage OCPDs, but if it is factory tested as an assembly, most would allow it.

Other than magazine literature, I do not think there is any consensus documents like IEEE allowing or promoting this type of product.

 

[GoldenstateEE]

If you are a utility, you could use engineering judgement to apply it using the current limiting curves provided by G&W.

If you are not a utility and need to follow the NEC, then there is no such permission to use a current limiting device like the CLiP to reduce fault current without testing it with the downstream equipment to show it works as a combination. The NEC actually does not have any permissions like a series rating for low voltage OCPDs, but if it is factory tested as an assembly, most would allow it.

Other than magazine literature, I do not think there is any consensus documents like IEEE allowing or promoting this type of product.

We are utility. Thank you for the help.

 

[BarryO]

Do you have access to IEEE Xplore? A search there would probably turn up some info.

 

[D. Castor]

The CLiP product is not covered by any standards or approvals that I am aware of. The manufacturer has test data that they can provide to you. It's possible that they have published their finding in an IEEE journal, but I'm not aware of it. We had a client who did an installation years ago. I reviewed the test data and came away thinking it was a good product that should work as advertised. Not a perfect solution, but it helps mitigate situations where underrated equipment would be extremely expensive (or impossible) to upgrade for increased fault current. I just hope I'm not around when one of these operates.

 

[ron]

The CLiP product is not covered by any standards or approvals that I am aware of. The manufacturer has test data that they can provide to you. It's possible that they have published their finding in an IEEE journal, but I'm not aware of it. We had a client who did an installation years ago. I reviewed the test data and came away thinking it was a good product that should work as advertised. Not a perfect solution, but it helps mitigate situations where underrated equipment would be extremely expensive (or impossible) to upgrade for increased fault current. I just hope I'm not around when one of these operates.

As I mentioned in the earlier post, as the utility, they can do what they like, but if the user needs to follow the NEC, there is no such permission to use underrated medium voltage equipment like found for 240.86 for low voltage equipment.