circuit breaker

Increasing demand from electronic equipment suppliers is boosting production of circuit breaker and heat protection components. In China, 2006 output is forecast to jump 21％ — to one-half of the global total. A circuit breaker is an automatically-operated electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overload or short circuit. Unlike a fuse, which operates once and then has to be replaced, a circuit breaker can be reset (either manually or automatically) to resume normal operation. Circuit breakers are made in varying sizes, from small devices that protect an individual household appliance up to large switchgear designed to protect high voltage circuits feeding an entire city.