As we celebrate 100 years of Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCBs), a major milestone in ABB's history, Christian Voelker, Global Product Manager for Line Protection devices, reflects on the evolution of MCBs over the past century.
In this interview, Christian sheds light on the challenges and innovations when it comes to installation, product performance, and technological developments for a variety of applications. Join us as we delve into the fascinating world of electrical safety.
Looking at the first MCB that Hugo Stotz invented in 1924 and comparing it to today's latest versions, MCBs have certainly come a long way. The most obvious difference is the shape and size of these two, so how did they evolve over time?
When comparing the two devices, the main technological operating principles remain the same. However, over time, our MCBs have become more compact, resulting in less space being taken up in the distribution board.
In the last 100 years of innovation, we have developed devices reaching a breaking capacity of 25 kA and more. Furthermore, standardization has played a significant role in this evolution, introducing the DIN-rail mounting and defining device sizing and specifications.
Where can you find MCBs in daily life?
In your daily life, you'd find them almost everywhere – not only where you'd expect them, but also in places you probably wouldn't. In general, you find them protecting electrical installations in various settings, such as buildings, and electric cabinets in homes, offices, warehouses, and industrial plants. All these electrical circuits need to be protected from short circuits and overloads, along with other protective devices, to complete the building's protection.
Moreover, they are also found in trains, trams, and electric vehicle chargers. For these types of applications, MCBs need to fulfill specific standards such as shock & vibration or fire & smoke in traction, leading to additional variants being required.
Christian Voelker in ABB's Hugo Stotz museum, Heidelberg, Germany 
Milestone timeline from 1924 to 2024 
Technology inside a Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB) 
FlexLine® system for faster and more flexible installation
As the scope and width of the portfolio of MCBs and other protection devices keeps increasing over time, is installation becoming harder and harder?
Certainly, the increasing number of standards, different types of devices, breaking capacity and energy efficiency requirements, and connectivity add to the complexity of installation. On the other hand, we keep innovating toward easy installation.
One recent example is FlexLine®, which saves up to 50% on installation time through push-in technology and a clever one-size-fits-all universal busbar. Additionally, we continuously work on enhancing our online tools so our customers save time in configuration, commissioning, and planning.
