User Attachable GFCI and RCD

 What does a GFCI do?

To answer the question of what a GFCI actually does, it is helpful to break down the meaning of the acronym. GFCI stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter.

A Ground Faultoccurs when there is a break in the low-resistance grounding path from a tool or electrical system. For those at are not electrical savvy, this means that the electricity running through the circuit is taking an alternate and unintended path to ground, most typically through the user of the equipment, also known as being electrocuted. 

A Circuit (in our case an Electrical Circuit) is a path in which electrons flow from a voltage or current source. In other terms, it is the path that the electricity takes. 

An Interrupter is something that stops, or interrupts, something from happening. In this case, it is something that stops the flow of electricity through the circuit.

Now, putting these terms together, it is simple to understand what a GFCI does. When a 'Ground Fault' is detected, the 'Interrupter' stops the flow of electricity through the 'circuit'. 

To demonstrate this using an example, we will consider a 'lazy river' (for those of you who do not know what a lazy river, it is a river setup in a loop which you float upon... lazily). During normal operation of the lazy river, water flows from the starting point, around the river, and the same amount of water arrives back at the start. However, suppose that a wall on one side of the river began to collapse, allowing water to escape and travel along an unintended path (possibly in the direction of the Tiki Bar close by ). Now, the amount of water returning to the start is less than the amount of water that left, triggering the 'interrupter' to stop the flow of water and hopefully protecting the Tiki Bar from being destroyed.

What is an RCD?

An RCD, or residual current device, is a life-saving device which is designed to prevent you from getting a fatal electric shock if you touch something live, such as a bare wire. It can also provide some protection against electrical fires. RCDs offer a level of personal protection that ordinary fuses and circuit-breakers cannot provide. An RCD is a sensitive safety device that switches off electricity automatically if there is a fault. An RCD is designed to protect against the risks of electrocution and fire caused by earth faults.  For example, if you cut through the cable when mowing the lawn and accidentally touched the exposed live wires or a faulty appliance overheats causing electric current to flow to earth. An RCD constantly monitors the electric current flowing through one or more circuits it is used to protect. If it detects electricity flowing down an unintended path, such as through a person who has touched a live part, the RCD will switch the circuit off very quickly, significantly reducing the risk of death or serious injury.

RCDs can help protect you from electric shock in potentially dangerous areas like bathrooms and gardens, and there are various types of RCDs that can be used to make sure you are always as safe as possible.

Portable RCDs

These plug into any standard socket-outlet. An appliance can then be plugged into the RCD. They are useful when neither fixed nor socket-outlet RCDs are available but, as with socket-outlet RCDs, they provide protection only to the person in contact with the equipment, including its lead, plugged into the portable RCD.