Circuit Breaker Testing and Exercising

Circuit breakers that sit untouched for years can stick, drift out of calibration or fail to trip when they are needed. Cooper Electric tests and exercises breakers for commercial and industrial facilities across Greater Cincinnati, so you know your protection will work.

Why Test Breakers Every Year

ANSI standards (Section 9.5.1) recommend that all circuit breakers be tested and exercised once a year. Exercising confirms each breaker operates freely to its full on and off positions, and any adjustment, cleaning or lubrication is done at the same time.

What Our Testing Includes

• Exercising each breaker through its full on and off travel
• Cleaning, lubrication and adjustment as needed
• Injecting current into each phase to verify proper trip settings
• Applying a ground fault to verify ground fault protection operates correctly
• Documenting results, so you have test records on file

Ground Fault Breakers

Ground fault breakers should be tested at least once a year. If there are no records of their trip settings, testing should be performed and the results kept on file. See National Electrical Code 230.95 for ground-fault protection of equipment requirements.

An Example from Our Reports

For one high-rise client, our thermographer inspected the main electrical equipment, UPS room, electrical rooms on 26 floors, mechanical rooms and penthouse, including all panels, disconnects, main distribution equipment, motors and overhead bus duct. The report listed National Electrical Code violations and good-practice recommendations, including annual testing and exercising of every breaker at the main service, the bolted pressure switch, and all ground fault breakers, plus inspection of bus duct that showed discoloration.

Breaker testing pairs well with thermographic inspections and electrical gear cleaning. See everything our Cooper Power Services team offers.