Electrical arc faults pose a serious fire risk. Explore the technology behind arc fault protection, relevant safety standards and how SENTRON Arc Fault Detection Devices (AFDD) address the root cause of electrical fires by detecting dangerous arcs and interrupting current flow instantly.
An arc fault occurs when electrical current jumps through the air, creating a fire hazard by easily igniting nearby flammable materials.
There are several causes:
Series arc faults occur when there is a break in a single wire due to damaged insulation, pinched wires or loose contacts — often without overcurrent or fault current.
Parallel arc faults occur when adjacent conductors, such as phase and neutral, come into contact due to pinched cables.
In electrical installations, short circuits, residual currents and arc faults create multiple risks. For continuous cable protection, personal safety and preventive fire detection, you need several protective components that work together:
AFDDs from the SENTRON portfolio provide reliable detection of series and parallel arc faults. They immediately interrupt the current flow — even in situations where conventional protective devices fail.
In modern electrical installations, available space in main distribution boards, sub-distribution boards and switchgear assemblies is often limited due to the increasing demand for control, communication and safety technology. However, thanks to the compact design of Siemens’ AFDDs, you don’t have to sacrifice preventive fire protection due to lack of space.
Siemens has developed a special AFDD variant that is also ideally suited for retrofitting an arc fault detection device in existing installations: the SENTRON 5SV6 AVDD. It can simply replace the existing miniature circuit breaker, as it has an MCB already integrated. In addition, you can retain your existing pin busbar system.
The SENTRON 5SV6 combines AFDD and circuit protection in just one modular width (MW), ideal for both new installations and retrofitting. This means standards-compliant expansion is possible without requiring any additional space.
You can implement complete protection within just 2 MW using the SENTRON portfolio:
AFDD (SENTRON 5SM6) for fire protection
RCBO SENTRON 5SV1 for personal and cable protection
The RCD function is available with 30 mA or 300 mA, while the MCB function is available with B or C tripping characteristics.
The SENTRON 5SV6 is ideal for flexible use cases such as older residential buildings, kindergartens, care facilities or offices with high load distribution, which are particularly susceptible to electrical fires.
DIN VDE 0100-420:2019-10 defines fire protection requirements for electrical installations in buildings, including power distribution systems. It recommends using AFDD in final circuits in the following locations:
If an AFDD is not installed in these locations, the standard requires a documented risk and safety assessment, which can be complex and time-consuming. Using an AFDD from the SENTRON portfolio is a simpler and safer solution.
See how Siemens products can help you protect your electrical systems.
Detect all types of arc faults with AFDDs from the SENTRON portfolio. Learn more about why SENTRON AFDDs are essential to help protect your building against fires.
Easy to install and flexible for a wide range of applications, MCBs from the SENTRON portfolio can help protect your electrical system against overload and short circuits.
RCDs from the SENTRON portfolio are a compact solution for residual current and line protection, breaking the current immediately and safely in the event of an arc fault.
