lühistakaitse

Lühistakaitse, meaning short-circuit protection in Estonian, refers to the protective measures and devices implemented in electrical systems to prevent damage caused by short circuits. A short circuit occurs when an unintended low-resistance path allows current to flow between two points in an electrical circuit that are supposed to be at different potentials. This can lead to a rapid and dangerously high surge of current.

The primary goal of lühistakaitse is to interrupt the flow of this excessive current as quickly as possible to prevent overheating of wires, insulation damage, fire hazards, and harm to connected equipment and personnel. Common devices used for lühistakaitse include fuses and circuit breakers. Fuses contain a wire that melts and breaks the circuit when the current exceeds a specific limit. Circuit breakers, on the other hand, are resettable devices that automatically trip and open the circuit when an overcurrent condition is detected, and can be manually reset after the fault is cleared.

Properly designed lühistakaitse is a critical aspect of electrical safety. It ensures that electrical installations are reliable and safe to operate under normal conditions and can withstand or safely respond to abnormal events like short circuits. The selection and coordination of these protective devices are based on the expected fault currents and the characteristics of the electrical system.