1 Protection of feeders

1.3 Protection against overload

The Standard IEC 60364-4-43 “Electrical installation of buildings - Protection

against overcurrent” specifies coordination between conductors and overload
protective devices (normally placed at the beginning of the conductor to be
protected) so that it shall satisfy the two following conditions:

Where:
• Ib is the current for which the circuit is dimensioned;
• Iz is the continuous current carrying capacity of the cable;
• In is the rated current of the protective device; for adjustable protective releases,
the rated current In is the set current;
• I2 is the current ensuring effective operation in the conventional time of the
protective device.

Ib Iz 1.45Iz

1SDC010009F0001
In I2

According to condition (1) to correctly choose the protective device, it is

necessary to check that the circuit-breaker has a rated (or set) current that is:
• higher than the load current, to prevent unwanted tripping;
• lower than the current carrying capacity of the cable, to prevent cable overload.
The Standard allows an overload current that may be up to 45% greater than
the current carrying capacity of the cable but only for a limited period.
The verification of condition (2) is not necessary in the case of circuit-breakers
because the protective device is automatically tripped if:
• I2 = 1.3⋅In for circuit-breakers complying with IEC 60947-2 (circuit-breakers
for industrial use);
• I2 = 1.45⋅In for circuit-breakers complying with IEC 60898 (circuit-breakers for
household and similar installations).
Therefore, for circuit-breakers, if In ≤ Iz, the formula I2 ≤ 1.45⋅Iz will also be
verified.
When the protective device is a fuse, it is also essential to check formula (2)
because IEC 60269-2-1 on “Low-voltage fuses” states that a 1.6⋅In current
must automatically melt the fuse. In this case, formula (2) becomes
1.6⋅I n ≤ 1.45⋅I z or I n ≤ 0.9⋅I z.

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 1.3 Protection against overload

1 Protection of feeders
To summarize: to carry out by a fuse protection against overload, the following
must be achieved:

≤ ≤

and this means that the cable is not fully exploited.

1SDC010010F0001
Ib Iz

In

Circuit-breaker: choice of rated current

1SDC010011F0001
Ib 0.9 Iz

In
Fuse: choice of rated current

Where the use of a single conductor per phase is not feasible, and the currents
in the parallel conductors are unequal, the design current and requirements for
overload protection for each conductor shall be considered individually.

Examples
Example 1
Load specifications
Pr = 120 kW; Ur = 400 V; cosϕ = 0.9; three-phase load so Ib = 192.6 A

Cable specifications

Iz = 239 A

Protective device specifications

XT3N 250 TMD In 200; set current I1 = 1 x In = 200 A

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 1.3 Protection against overload

1 Protection of feeders
Example 2
Load specifications
Pr = 70 kW; cosϕ = 0.9; Ur = 400 V; three-phase load so Ib = 112 A

Cable specifications

Iz = 134 A

Protective device specifications

XT2N 160 Ekip LSI In160; set current I1 = 0.8 x In = 128 A

Example 3
Load specifications
Pr = 100 kW; cosϕ = 0.9; Ur = 400 V ; three-phase load so Ib = 160 A

Cable specifications

Iz = 190 A

Protective device specifications

XT3N 250 TMD In 200; set current I1 = 0.9 x In = 180 A

Example 4
Load specifications
Pr = 50 kW; cosϕ = 0.9; Ur = 230 V ; single-phase load so Ib = 241 A

Cable specifications
Iz = 262 A

Protective device specifications

XT4N 250 Ekip LSIG In 250; set current I1 = 0.98 x In = 245 A

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 1 Protection of feeders
1.4 Protection against short-circuit

A cable is protected against short-circuit if the specific let-through energy of

the protective device (I2t) is lower or equal to the withstood energy of the cable
(k2S2):

where
• I 2t is the specific let-through energy of the protective device which
can be read on the curves supplied by the manufacturer (see Part 1,
Chapter 2.4 “Specific let-through energy curves”) or from a direct
calculation in the case of devices that are not limiting and delaying;
• S is the cable cross section [mm2]; in the case of conductors in parallel it is
the cross section of the single conductor;
• k is a factor that depends on the cable insulating and conducting material.
The values of the most common installations are shown in Table 1; for a more
detailed calculation, see Annex C.

Table 1: Values of k for phase conductor

Conductor insulation

PVC PVC EPR Rubber Mineral

≤300 mm2 >300 mm2 XLPE 60 °C
PVC Bare
Initial temperature °C 70 70 90 60 70 105
Final temperature °C 160 140 250 200 160 250
Material of conductor:
Copper 115 103 143 141 115 135/115 a
Aluminium 76 68 94 93 - -
tin-soldered joints 115 - - - - -
in copper conductors
a
This value shall be used for bare cables exposed to touch.

NOTE 1 Other values of k are under consideration for.

- small conductors (particularly for cross section less than 10 mm2);
- duration of short-circuit exceeding 5 s;
- other types of joints in conductors;
1SDC010010F0201

- bare conductors.

NOTE 2 The nominal current of the short-circuit protective device may be greater than the current carrying
capacity of the cable.

NOTE 3 The above factors are based on IEC 60724.

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 1.4 Protection against short-circuit

1 Protection of feeders
Table 2 shows the maximum withstood energy for cables according to the cross
section, the conductor material and the type of insulation, which are calculated
by using the parameters of Table 1.

Table 2: Maximum withstood energy for cables k2 S2 [(kA)2 s]

Cross section [mm2 ]

Cable k 1.5 2.5 4 6 10 16 25 35
-2 -2 -1 -1 1
Cu 115 2.98·10 8.27·10 2.12·10 4.76·10 1.32 3.39 8.27 1.62·10
PVC -2 -2 -2 -1 -1
Al 76 1.30·10 3.61·10 9.24·10 2.08·10 5.78·10 1.48 3.61 7.08
-2 -1 -1 -1 1 1
Cu 143 4.60·10 1.28·10 3.27·10 7.36·10 2.04 5.23 1.28·10 2.51·10
EPR/XLPE -2 -2 -1 -1 -1 1
Al 94 1.99·10 5.52·10 1.41·10 3.18·10 8.84·10 2.26 5.52 1.08·10
-2 -1 -1 -1 1 1
Cu 141 4.47·10 1.24·10 3.18·10 7.16·10 1.99 5.09 1.24·10 2.44·10
Rubber -2 -2 -1 -1 -1 1
Al 93 1.95·10 5.41·10 1.38·10 3.11·10 8.65·10 2.21 5.41 1.06·10

Cross section [mm2 ]

Cable k 50 70 95 120 150 185 240 300
1 1 2 2 2 2 2 3
Cu 115 3.31·10 6.48·10 1.19·10 1.90·10 2.98·10 4.53·10 7.62·10 1.19·10
PVC

1SDC010002F0901
1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2
Al 76 1.44·10 2.83·10 5.21·10 8.32·10 1.30·10 1.98·10 3.33·10 5.20·10
1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3
Cu 143 5.11·10 1.00·10 1.85·10 2.94·10 4.60·10 7.00·10 1.18·10 1.84·10
EPR/XLPE 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2
Al 94 2.21·10 4.33·10 7.97·10 1.27·10 1.99·10 3.02·10 5.09·10 7.95·10
1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3
Cu 141 4.97·10 9.74·10 1.79·10 2.86·10 4.47·10 6.80·10 1.15·10 1.79·10
G2 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2
Al 93 2.16·10 4.24·10 7.81·10 1.25·10 1.95·10 2.96·10 4.98·10 7.78·10

The formula (1) must be verified along the whole length of the cable. Due to the
shape of the specific let-through energy curve of a circuit breaker, it is generally
sufficient to verify formula (1) only for the maximum and minimum short-circuit
current that may affect the cable. The maximum value is normally the value
of the three-phase short-circuit current at the beginning of the line, while the
minimum value is the value of the phase to neutral short-circuit current (phase
to phase if the neutral conductor is not distributed) or phase to earth at the
end of the cable.

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 1.4 Protection against short-circuit

1 Protection of feeders
2
[(KA) s] 102

10

10-1

10-2

10-3

1SDC010011F0001
10-1 1 10 [KA]

This verification can be simplified by comparing only the let-through energy value
of the circuit-breaker at the maximum short-circuit current with the withstood
energy of the cable and by ensuring that the circuit breaker trips instantaneously
at the minimum short-circuit current: the threshold of the short-circuit protection
(taking into consideration also the tolerances) shall therefore be lower than the
minimum short-circuit current at the end of the conductor.

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1 Protection of feeders
Calculation of short-circuit current at end of the conductor
Minimum short-circuit current can be calculated by the following approximate
formulas:

with non-distributed neutral conductor (2.1)

with distributed neutral conductor (2.2)

where:
• Ikmin is the minimum value of the prospective short-circuit current [kA];
• Ur is the supply voltage [V];
• U0 is the phase to earth supply voltage [V];
• ρ is the resistivity at 20 °C of the material of the conductors in Ωmm2/m and
is:
- 0.018 for copper;
- 0.027 for aluminium;
• L is the length of the protected conductor [m];
• S is the cross section of the conductor [mm2];
• ksec is the correction factor which takes into account the reactance of the
cables with cross section larger than 95 mm2:

S[mm2] 120 150 185 240 300

ksec 0.9 0.85 0.80 0.75 0.72

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 1.4 Protection against short-circuit

1 Protection of feeders
• kpar is the correcting coefficient for conductors in parallel:


number of parallel
conductors 2 3 4 5
kpar* 2 2.7 3 3.2
*kpar = 4 (n-1)/n where: n = number of conductors in parallel per phase

• m is the ratio between the resistances of the neutral conductor and the phase
conductor (if they are made of the same material m is the ratio between the
cross section of the phase conductor and the cross section of the neutral
conductor).
After calculating the minimum short-circuit current, verify that

where:
• I3 is the current that trips the magnetic protection of the circuit-breaker;
• 1.2 is the tolerance at the trip threshold.

Example
U Ur = 415 V
Ik = 30 kA
Choice of CB1
CB1
System data:
XT1N160 In160
Rated voltage 415 V
Ik = 30 kA
Cable Section 50 mm2

Cable data:
PVC Cu L = 150 m
1SDC010011F0201

Insulated copper conductor in PVC

Length = 150 m Iz = 134.0 A
S = 50 mm2
Iz = 134 A
L

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 1.4 Protection against short-circuit

1 Protection of feeders
Protection against short-circuit at the beginning of the conductor
XT1N 160 In160 (breaking capacity 36 kA@415 V)
I2t (@30 kA) = 7.5 10-1 (kA)2s
k2S2 = 1152 ⋅ 502 = 3.31.101 (kA)2s
The cable is therefore protected against short-circuit at the beginning of the
conductor.

Protection against short-circuit at end of the conductor

The minimum short-circuit current at end of the conductor (ksec=1 and kpar=1) is:

The magnetic threshold of the circuit breaker XT1N 160 In160 is set at 1600 A.
If tolerance is 20%, the circuit breaker shall definitely trip if the values exceed
1920 A; the cable is therefore fully protected against short-circuit.

Maximum protected length

The formula (3), when solved for the length, enables the maximum length pro-
tected by the protective device to be obtained for a precise instantaneous trip
threshold. In Table 3, the maximum protected length can be identified for a given
cross section of the cable and for the setting threshold of the instantaneous
protection of the circuit breaker against short-circuit:
- three-phase system, 400 V rated voltage;
- non-distributed neutral;
- copper conductor with resistivity equal to 0.018 Ωmm2/m.
The values on the table below take into account the 20% tolerance coefficient
for the magnetic trip value, the increase in cable resistivity due to heating caused
by the short-circuit current and the reduction of voltage due to the fault.
The correction factors shown after the table must be applied if the system
conditions are different from the reference conditions.

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 1.4 Protection against short-circuit

1 Protection of feeders
Table 3: Maximum protected length
section [mm2]
I3[A] 1.5 2.5 4 6 10 16 25 35 50 70 95 120 150 185 240 300
20 370 617
30 246 412 658
40 185 309 494 741
50 148 247 395 593
60 123 206 329 494
70 105 176 282 423 705
80 92 154 246 370 617
90 82 137 219 329 549
100 74 123 197 296 494 790
120 61 102 164 246 412 658
140 52 88 141 211 353 564
150 49 82 131 197 329 527
160 46 77 123 185 309 494 772
180 41 68 109 164 274 439 686
200 37 61 98 148 247 395 617
220 33 56 89 134 224 359 561 786
250 29 49 79 118 198 316 494 691
280 26 44 70 105 176 282 441 617
300 24 41 65 98 165 263 412 576
320 23 38 61 92 154 247 386 540 772
350 21 35 56 84 141 226 353 494 705
380 19 32 52 78 130 208 325 455 650
400 18 30 49 74 123 198 309 432 617
420 17 29 47 70 118 188 294 412 588
450 16 27 43 65 110 176 274 384 549 768
480 15 25 41 61 103 165 257 360 514 720
500 14 24 39 59 99 158 247 346 494 691
520 14 23 38 57 95 152 237 332 475 665
550 13 22 35 53. 90 144 224 314 449 629
580 12 21 34 51 85 136 213 298 426 596 809
600 12 20 32 49 82 132 206 288 412 576 782
620 11 19 31 47 80 127 199 279 398 558 757
650 11 19 30 45 76 122 190 266 380 532 722
680 10 18 29 43 73 116 182 254 363 508 690
700 10 17 28 42 71 113 176 247 353 494 670 847
750 16 26 39 66 105 165 230 329 461 626 790 840
800 15 24 37 62 99 154 216 309 432 586 667 787
850 14 23 34 58 93 145 203 290 407 552 627 741
900 13 21 32 55 88 137 192 274 384 521 593 700
950 13 20 31 52 83 130 182 260 364 494 561 663
1000 12 19 29 49 79 123 173 247 346 469 533 630 731
1250 15 23 40 63 99 138 198 277 375 427 504 585 711
1500 13 19 33 53 82 115 165 230 313 356 420 487 593
1600 12 18 31 49 77 108 154 216 293 333 394 457 556 667
2000 14 25 40 62 86 123 173 235 267 315 365 444 533
2500 11 20 32 49 69 99 138 188 213 252 292 356 427
3000 16 26 41 58 82 115 156 178 210 244 296 356
3200 15 25 39 54 77 108 147 167 197 228 278 333
4000 12 20 31 43 62 86 117 133 157 183 222 267
5000 10 16 25 35 49 69 94 107 126 146 178 213
6300 13 20 27 39 55 74 85 100 116 141 169
8000 10 15 22 31 43 59 67 79 91 111 133
9600 13 18 26 36 49 56 66 76 93 111
10000 12 17 25 35 47 53 63 73 89 107
12000 10 14 21 29 39 44 52 61 74 89
15000 12 16 23 31 36 42 49 59 71
20000 12 17 23 27 31 37 44 53
24000 10 14 20 22 26 30 37 44
30000 12 16 20 25 30 40 49

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 1.4 Protection against short-circuit

1 Protection of feeders
Correction factor for voltage other than 400 V: kv
Multiply the length value obtained from the table by the correction factor kv:

Ur [V] kv
(three-phase value)
230(*) 0.58
400 1
440 1.1
500 1.25
690 1.73

230 V single-phase is the equivalent of a three-phase 400 V system with distributed

(*)

neutral and with the cross section of the phase conductor the same as the cross section
area of the neutral conductor, so that kv is 0.58.

Correction factor for distributed neutral: kd

Multiply the length value obtained from the table by the correction factor kd:

where
• S is the phase cross section [mm2];
• SN is the neutral cross section [mm2].

In particular:

Correction factor for aluminium conductors: kr

If the cable is in aluminium, multiply the length value obtained from the table
above by the correction factor kr = 0.67.

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 1.4 Protection against short-circuit

1 Protection of feeders
To summarize:
On the table, for the cross section and magnetic trip threshold it is possible
to read a maximum protected value L0. This length shall then be multiplied, if
necessary, by the correction factors in order to obtain a value that is compatible
with the installation operating conditions:

Example 1
Neutral not distributed
Rated voltage = 400 V
Protective device: XT2N 160 TMA In100
Magnetic threshold: I3 = 1000 A (max setting)
Phase cross section = Neutral cross section = 70 mm2
The table shows that at I3 = 1000 A, the 70 mm2 cable is protected up to
346 m.

Example 2
Neutral distributed
Rated voltage = 400 V
Protective device: XT4N 250 TMA In200
Magnetic threshold: I3 = 2000 A (max setting)
Phase cross section = 300 mm2
Neutral cross section = 150 mm2
For I3 = 2000 A and S = 300 mm2, a protected length equivalent of L0= 533
m is obtained.

By applying the correction factor kd required when the neutral is distributed:

L= L0 . 0.39 = 533 . 0.39 = 207.9 m

This is the maximum protected length with neutral distributed.

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 1 Protection of feeders
1.5 Neutral and protective conductors

Neutral conductor
The neutral conductor is a conductor that is connected to the system neutral
point (which generally but not necessarily coincides with the star centre of the
secondary windings of the transformer or the windings of the generator); it is
able to contribute to the transmission of electric power, thereby making available
a voltage that is different from the phase to phase voltage. In certain cases and
under specific conditions, the functions of neutral conductor and protective
conductor can be combined in a single conductor (PEN).

Protection and disconnection of the neutral conductor

If fault conditions arise, a voltage to earth may occur on the neutral conductor.
This may be caused by a phase to neutral short-circuit and by the disconnection
of the neutral conductor due to accidental breaking or to tripping of single-pole
devices (fuses or single-pole circuit breakers).
If the neutral conductor only is disconnected in a four-conductor circuit, the
supply voltage to the single-phase loads may be altered so that they are supplied
by a voltage different from the U0 phase to neutral voltage (as shown in Fig. 1).
Therefore, all the necessary measures to prevent this type of fault shall be taken,
e.g. by not protecting the neutral conductor with single-pole devices.

P
P 3 . U0 . R 1
U1 =
P R1+ R2
N

1SDC010013F0001
U1 R1 R2

Figure 1: Disconnection of the neutral conductor

Moreover, in TN-C systems, voltage to earth arising on the neutral conductor
constitutes a hazard for people; in fact, since this conductor is also a protective
conductor, this voltage reaches the connected exposed conductive parts. For
TN-C systems, the Standards specify minimum cross sections (see next clause)
for the neutral conductor in order to prevent accidental breaking and they
forbid the use of any device (single-pole or multi-pole) that could disconnect
the PEN.
The need for protection on the neutral conductor and the possibility of
disconnecting the circuit depend on the distribution system:

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 1.5 Neutral and protective conductors

1 Protection of feeders
TT or TN systems:
• if the cross section of the neutral conductor is the same or larger than the
cross section of the phase conductor, there is neither the need to detect
overcurrents on the neutral conductor nor to use a breaking device (neutral
conductor is not protected or disconnected); this requirement applies only if
there are no harmonics that may, at any instant, cause r.m.s. current values
on the neutral conductor higher than the maximum current detected on the
phase conductors;
• if the cross section of the neutral conductor is less than the cross section of
the phase conductor, overcurrents on the neutral conductor must be detected
so as to have the phase conductors, but not necessarily the neutral conductor,
disconnected (neutral conductor protected but not disconnected): in this case
the overcurrents on the neutral conductor do not need to be detected if the
following conditions are simultaneously fulfilled:
1. the neutral conductor is protected against short-circuit by the
protective device of the phase conductors;
2. the maximum current that can flow through the neutral
conductor during normal service is lower than the neutral
current carrying capacity.
In TN-S systems, the neutral need not be disconnected if the supply conditions
are such that the neutral conductor can be considered to be reliable at earth
potential.
As already mentioned, in TN-C systems, the neutral conductor is also a
protective conductor and cannot therefore be disconnected. Furthermore, if
the neutral conductor is disconnected, the exposed conductive parts of the
single-phase equipment could take the system rated voltage to earth.
In certain specific cases, the neutral conductor has to be disconnected to
prevent currents circulating between parallel supply sources (see Figures 2
and 3).

Figure 2: Three-phase alternative power supply with a 4-pole switch

Power supply 1 Power supply 2

NOTE - This method

prevents electromagnetic
fields due to stray currents L1 L1
in the main supply system L2 L2
of an installation. The sum L3 L3
PEN
of the currents within one Supplier
PE
cable must be zero. This
ensures that the neutral
current will flow only in the
neutral conductor of the
respective switched on User
circuit. The 3rd harmonic
1SDC010012F0201

(150 Hz) current of the line

conductors will be added
with the same phase angle
to the neutral conductor
current.
Current using equipment

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 1.5 Neutral and protective conductors

1 Protection of feeders
Figure 3: Three-phase alternative power supply with non-suitable
3-pole switch

L1 L1
L2 L2
L3 L3
PEN
PE

NOTE – A three-phase
alternative power supply

1SDC010014F0001
with a non-suitable
3-pole switch, due to
unintentional circular
stray currents generating
electromagnetic fields.

IT system:
The Standard advises against distributing the neutral conductor in IT systems.
If the neutral conductor is distributed, the overcurrents must be detected on the
neutral conductor of each circuit in order to disconnect all the live conductors
on the corresponding circuit, including the neutral one (neutral conductor
protected and disconnected).
Overcurrents do not need to be detected on the neutral conductor in any of
the following cases:
• the neutral conductor is protected against short-circuit by a protective device
fitted upstream;
• the circuit is protected by a residual current device with rated residual current
lower than 0.15 times the current carrying capacity of the corresponding
neutral conductor. This device must disconnect all the live conductors, the
neutral conductor included.

For all distribution systems, whenever necessary, connection and disconnection

of the neutral conductor, shall ensure that:
• the neutral conductor is not disconnected before the phase conductor;
• the neutral conductor is connected at the same moment or before the phase
conductor.

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 1.5 Neutral and protective conductors

1 Protection of feeders

START

Upstream protection TT/TN System? SN ≥ S?

no for the neutral? no yes yes
no
yes

Is the circuit protected

by a RCD with Is the neutral protected by
I∆n≤ 0.15 x Neutral the short-circuit protection
no carrying capacity ? no
of the phase conductor?

yes yes

Neutral max current

<
Neutral carrying capacity (Iz)? no

yes

1SDC010013F0201

It is necessary to: It is necessary to: It is necessary to: It is necessary to: It is not necessary:
detect the neutral current - open all the contacts -open the phase contacts -detect the neutral current; -the presence of a
in order to open all the contacts (phase and neutral) It is not necessary to: -open the phase contacts; breaking device
(phase and neutral). It is not necessary to: -detect the neutral overcurrent; It is not necessary to: for the neutral.*
-detect the neutral current. -open the neutral contact. -open the neutral contact.

* in TT systems the
neutral conductor
shall be disconnected.

Neutral shall not be disconnected before the phase conductors

Neutral shall be reconnected at the same time as
or before the phase conductors

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 1.5 Neutral and protective conductors

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Determination of the minimum cross section of the neutral conductor
The neutral conductor, if any, shall have the same cross section as the line
conductor:
• in single-phase, two-wire circuits whatever the section;
• in polyphase and single-phase three-wire circuits, when the size of the
line conductors is less than or equal to 16 mm2 in copper, or 25 mm2 in
aluminium.1 
The cross section of the neutral conductor can be less than the cross section of
the phase conductor when the cross section of the phase conductor is greater
than 16 mm2 with a copper cable, or 25 mm2 with an aluminium cable, if both
the following conditions are met:
• the cross section of the neutral conductor is at least 16 mm2 for copper
conductors and 25 mm2 for aluminium conductors;
• there is no high harmonic distortion of the load current. If there is high harmonic
distortion (the harmonic content is greater than 10%), as for example in
equipment with discharge lamps, the cross section of the neutral conductor
cannot be less than the cross section of the phase conductors.

Table 1: Minimum cross sections of the neutral conductor

Phase cross section Min. neutral cross section
S [mm2] SN [mm2]
Single-phase/two-phase circuits
Cu/Al Any S*
Three-phase circuits S ≤ 16 S*
Cu S > 16 16
Three-phase circuits S ≤ 25 S*
Al S > 25 25
*
for TN-C systems, the Standards specify a minimum cross section of 10 mm2 for
copper and 16 mm2 for aluminium conductors

1
The cross section of phase conductors shall be dimensioned in compliance with the
instructions of the Chapter 1.2.1 “Current carrying capacity and methods of installation”

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