What device monitors current balance and trips on imbalance to protect people from shock?

What device monitors current balance and trips on imbalance to protect people from shock?

• A. Grounding
• B. GFCI
• C. Hazard
• D. Insulator

Answer: (B)

A GFCI, or ground-fault circuit interrupter, is designed to protect people by watching the current balance between the hot and neutral conductors. If some current leaks away—such as through a hand to a person or into the ground—the current in the hot and neutral paths becomes unbalanced. The GFCI detects that small difference, often only a few milliamps, and quickly shuts off the power to prevent shock. This isn’t the same as grounding, which provides a path for fault currents but doesn’t sense leakage to trip a circuit. An insulator simply resists current flow and doesn’t interrupt a circuit, and a hazard isn’t a device. GFCIs are commonly used in wet or damp locations to enhance safety by interrupting the circuit when a leakage current is detected.

A GFCI, or ground-fault circuit interrupter, is designed to protect people by watching the current balance between the hot and neutral conductors. If some current leaks away—such as through a hand to a person or into the ground—the current in the hot and neutral paths becomes unbalanced. The GFCI detects that small difference, often only a few milliamps, and quickly shuts off the power to prevent shock.

This isn’t the same as grounding, which provides a path for fault currents but doesn’t sense leakage to trip a circuit. An insulator simply resists current flow and doesn’t interrupt a circuit, and a hazard isn’t a device. GFCIs are commonly used in wet or damp locations to enhance safety by interrupting the circuit when a leakage current is detected.