Software-Driven Circuit Breakers Eliminate Arc-Flash

Atom Power has developed a new circuit breaker technology that utilizes digitally controlled solid-state components built into a product call the Atom Switch. The Atom Switch is a circuit breaker that provides all of the functionality of a traditional circuit breaker but is software driven, allowing operators to dynamically change characteristics.

“Using the Atom OS software platform, we could have one Atom Switch be a 20-amp circuit breaker one day, then simply program it to be an 80-amp circuit breaker on another day, depending upon need and circumstance,” explains Ryan Kennedy, CEO of Atom Power, LLC.

In addition to being able to manipulate the ampacity, the Atom Switch is fast, operating over 100 times faster than mechanical circuit breakers, mitigating short circuit and arc flash hazards. Atom Power has created an end-to-end product, both with the hardware and tightly integrated software. “For the first time in history, we will allow full digital control of an electrical infrastructure all while making it safer and easier,” says Kennedy.

Every electrical system within any building has an incoming utility service and is protected by a network of circuit breakers which “trip” or interrupt the flow of electricity in the event of a short circuit or power overload. In today’s commercial buildings, multiple branch circuit breakers feed everything from the HVAC system to the lights and receptacles to security.

Circuit breakers have to withstand huge amounts of electrical current and they are very imprecise when they trip. “There are only limited methods by which you can tell anything about them or how much current is flowing through them. The existing systems operate under a big veil of mechanical complexity,” says Kennedy.

Engineering companies are routinely engaged to do complicated, detailed coordination studies to decipher the order in which circuit breakers will trip in case of an overload as well as to determine how much electrical energy will be created in the event of an arc flash event due to a short circuit.

“An inherent cost of engineering a building is in doing coordination studies, which figure out which circuit breakers trip first, which parts to use for large systems, and how big the fireball will be in the event of a short circuit event. Everything you do affects everything downstream,” explains Kennedy. “These studies are quite expensive for building owners to have done. Now, OSHA has adopted standards for ensuring electrical safety in the workplace (most hazards of which are caused by the slow speed of mechanical circuit breakers), making these studies just short of mandatory.”

Atom Power is lifting the veil of complexity with its software designed to make the function of its solid-state circuit breakers visible. With the software in play, operators can now see all of the circuit breakers and panels in their infrastructure, see how much power is being consumed at the circuit breaker level, change the characteristics of the system, and control remotely (turn breakers off and on).

“It’s been taken for granted for so long that this is just complex; that to know how to actually install a full electrical system, you have to have all these experts, conduct all these studies, analyze all these products, and be told what to buy. Our product is self-aware; it knows where it’s at in the system. It tells you everything about itself,” says Kennedy.

The slow tripping speeds of traditional circuit breakers are also problematic—they can cause short circuits and arc flash hazards. When the circuit breaker is slow to respond to a short circuit, huge amounts of energy are released with risks that include fires, explosions and personal injury.

With thousands of breakers in a system, operators can’t truly know for sure which one will trip first in a fault, which is why they must rely on engineered coordination and arc flash studies, says Kennedy. “Believe it or not, these problems still have not been solved,” Kennedy continues, shaking his head. “Conversely, an entire industry has been born out of these problems. Lines of protective wear are available for workers who must handle these electrical risks. Insurance companies are now asking building owners what their arc flashing hazards are within their facilities.

“Our Atom Switch trips over 100 times faster than a traditional mechanical circuit breaker,” compares Kennedy. “As soon as we see a short circuit happening, we snuff it out—no delay. It knows to trip itself before the one upstream. Now we don’t have to have such huge amounts of power or design a system to tolerate such huge faults. We are going to eliminate arc flash and short circuit hazards in the industry.”