OVERCURRENT DIFFERENCES – OVERLOAD – SHORT CIRCUIT – EARTH FAULT – WHAT ARE THEY & HOW DO THEY WORK?

What is an overcurrent? What do we actually mean when we talk about overcurrents?

New starters in the trade, and even the occasional more experienced electrician, will get confused by the different terms and it is important that we use the correct terminology so that others understand just what type of fault condition we are describing. Knowing the type of fault will often help us to find the problem more quickly and more easily.

What is an overcurrent or an overload? How would you describe them, and what is the difference between a short circuit and an earth fault?

Why is it wrong to say that we have an “earth short”, or even “a short in the earth wire”?

And what do the Wiring Regulations say?

In this LearnElectrics video we will look at this topic.


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This is video No.186 on our YouTube channel where we have videos on a wide range of electrical topics.