page_title: Protective relay
hierarchical_section_title: Protective relay
caption_attribution_description: English: Electromechanical Protective relays in surface-mounted round glass cases at Manitoba Hydro Pointe du Bois Generating Station, taken February 19, 2002. These are generator over-current protection relays. Also visible are rectangular test blocks for isolating the relays for testing.
context_page_description: In electrical engineering, a protective relay is a relay device designed to trip a circuit breaker when a fault is detected. The first protective relays were electromagnetic devices, relying on coils operating on moving parts to provide detection of abnormal operating conditions such as over-current, over-voltage, reverse power flow, over-frequency, and under-frequency.
  Microprocessor-based digital protection relays now emulate the original devices, as well as providing types of protection and supervision impractical with electromechanical relays. Electromechanical relays provide only rudimentary indication of the location and origin of a fault. In many cases a single microprocessor relay provides functions that would take two or more electromechanical devices. By combining several functions in one case, numerical relays also save capital cost and maintenance cost over electromechanical relays. However, due to their very long life span, tens of thousands of these "silent sentinels" are still protecting transmission lines and electrical apparatus all over the world.
context_section_description: In electrical engineering, a protective relay is a relay device designed to trip a circuit breaker when a fault is detected. The first protective relays were electromagnetic devices, relying on coils operating on moving parts to provide detection of abnormal operating conditions such as over-current, over-voltage, reverse power flow, over-frequency, and under-frequency.
  Microprocessor-based digital protection relays now emulate the original devices, as well as providing types of protection and supervision impractical with electromechanical relays. Electromechanical relays provide only rudimentary indication of the location and origin of a fault. In many cases a single microprocessor relay provides functions that would take two or more electromechanical devices. By combining several functions in one case, numerical relays also save capital cost and maintenance cost over electromechanical relays. However, due to their very long life span, tens of thousands of these "silent sentinels" are still protecting transmission lines and electrical apparatus all over the world. Important transmission lines and generators have cubicles dedicated to protection, with many individual electromechanical devices, or one or two microprocessor relays.
  The theory and application of these protective devices is an important part of the education of a power engineer who specializes in power system protection. The need to act quickly to protect circuits and equipment often requires protective relays to respond and trip a breaker within a few thousandths of a second. In some instances these clearance times are prescribed in legislation or operating rules. A maintenance or testing program is used to determine the performance and availability of protection systems.
  Based on the end application and applicable legislation, various standards such as ANSI C37.90, IEC255-4, IEC60255-3, and IAC govern the response time of the relay to the fault conditions that may occur.
caption: Electromechanical protective relays at a hydroelectric generating plant. The relays are in round glass cases. The rectangular devices are test connection blocks, used for testing and isolation of instrument transformer circuits.
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