Every Millisecond Counts: GE Announces Arc Vault System to be Fastest Arc Flash Containment Technology in the Industry

Revolutionary System Will Retrofit Switchgear Installed 30 Years Ago
ANAHEIM, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
A breakthrough arc protection technology called Arc Vault, being developed by GE
Consumer & Industrial`s electrical distribution business for delivery in
mid-2010, will stop an arcing fault in less than eight milliseconds (ms) to
provide increased arc flash hazard mitigation with equipment doors open or
closed - the fastest arcing fault containment technology in the industry -
helping to reduce work-related injuries, fatalities and lost productivity.

The announcement about the Arc Vault system was made today in front of about
1,000 electrical experts meeting at the 2009 IEEE IAS (Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers` Industry Applications Society) Petroleum and Chemical
Industry Technical Conference, in Anaheim, California.

"We're ecstatic our outside-the-box thinking led to inside-the-box results for
the Arc Vault system," says Paul Foody, general manager, product management for
GE Consumer & Industrial`s electrical distribution business. "Safety-conscious
plant managers and consultants dealing with applications such as oil and gas,
industrial process, healthcare, and data centers, will welcome this arc
protection technology that specifically addresses the arc flash hazard
identified by the IEEE 1584 and NFPA 70E standards covering arc flash protection
in the workplace."

Electrical shock and burn were responsible for the deaths of 2,287 U.S. workers
and lost productivity from another 32,807 American employees during a seven-year
period beginning in 1992 - nearly one fatality every day of the year - according
to a study by the Department of Labor`s Bureau of Statistics. Non-fatal
injuries, 38 percent classified as electrical burns, caused an average of 13
days away from work.

"When you`re dealing with safety, every millisecond counts," says Foody. "With
containment times of 50ms to 100ms, other systems in the industry will seem slow
compared to the Arc Vault system."

To view a video that shows how the Arc Vault system works, visit
http://www.youtube.com/gearcflashinnovation

How the Arc Vault System Works

Developed over the past five years, the Arc Vault system started with a simple
idea: contain arc fault energy more quickly to reduce the impact of the arc
flash event on workers and equipment.

The Arc Vault system will contain an arc fault in less than eight milliseconds
with the circuit breaker compartment doors open during operation and
maintenance. The incident energy, in accordance with IEEE 1584 at 24 inches from
the arc event, will be less than 1.2 cal/cm² with the equipment doors open or
closed. This is equivalent to HRC0 for a 480V High Resistance Grounded system
with available fault currents up to 100 kA.

Traditional arc resistant switchgear provides protection as long as all circuit
breaker compartment doors are closed. If an arc flash event occurs, the energy
is exhausted away from the area by using a chimney or plenum. Traditional arc
resistant switchgear provides less protection when the circuit breaker doors are
open as they are during much routine maintenance.

Optimized specifically for low voltage applications, the GE Arc Vault protection
system will detect an arc flash by sensing both current and light to positively
indicate an arc event. When an arc flash event occurs, the system will send a
signal to the arc containment device. The arc is then diverted to the
containment system in less than one-half cycle or eight milliseconds. At the
same time the decision to divert the arc is made, the system will also make a
decision to open an upstream circuit breaker. This eliminates the fault
condition and will turn off the system in approximately three cycles, at which
point the fault will terminate.

The GE Arc Vault protection system will reduce the energy released by 63 percent
or more compared to a bolted fault that would occur with a crowbar system. The
energy reduction will lower the stress on other system components such as
transformers, circuit breakers, and equipment and improve the overall system
uptime when compared to traditional arc resistant switchgear.

If an arc flash incident occurs during normal operation and maintenance, in many
cases a contractor will be able to make the Arc Vault protection system
operational again within a working day since fewer replacement parts are
required, improving overall system uptime when compared to traditional arc
resistant switchgear.

The GE Arc Vault protection system will also reduce building construction costs,
compared to traditional arc resistant switchgear, because it does not require
exhaust chimneys or plenums to direct the arc flash energy outside of the
building.

Retrofit 30-year-old Switchgear

The GE Arc Vault protection system will be able to retrofit existing GE
switchgear models AKD-6, 8, 10 and 20 containing AKR, WavePro, and EntelliGuard
series circuit breakers - covering over thirty years of installations - without
having to replace existing low-voltage switchgear lineups.

A new piece of equipment containing the Arc Vault device can be located within
50 feet of the existing switchgear and the bus can be connected using cable. The
detection system is run within the existing switchgear and connected to the new
piece of equipment.

"Depending on site conditions, we estimate the retrofit installation would be
completed within a few days," says Foody.

No Stranger to Arc Flash Protection Breakthroughs

GE has always been ahead of the curve to address the needs of arc flash
protection. In 2005, GE launched the Entellisys Low Voltage Switchgear which has
many features that can help workers operate the switchgear from outside the arc
flash boundary, such as remote HMI, Reduced Energy Let Thru (RELT) mode, and
remote racking units. Entellisys switchgear also offers advanced protection
modes known as zone-based protection, which includes bus differential and
multi-source ground fault protection.

In 2008, GE launched the AKD-20 low-voltage switchgear with the industry leading
EntelliGuard G circuit breaker. The switchgear features breaker compartment
doors that have no ventilation openings, thus protecting operators from hot
ionized gases during circuit interruption. Integral to the EntelliGuard G line
are the new, state-of-the-art EntelliGuard TU Trip Units, which provide
excellent system protection without compromising either selectivity or arc flash
protection. With its Reduced Energy Let-through setting (RELT), the system
protects at HRC1 or 2 for available fault currents as high as 100kA.

Find out more about Arc Vault by visiting www.geelectrical.com/arcvault

GE Consumer & Industrial spans the globe as an industry leader in major
appliance, lighting and integrated industrial equipment, systems and services.
Providing solutions for commercial, industrial and residential use in more than
100 countries, GE Consumer & Industrial uses innovative technologies and
"ecomagination," a GE initiative to aggressively bring to market new
technologies that help customers and consumers meet pressing environmental
challenges, to deliver comfort, convenience and electrical protection and
control. General Electric (NYSE: GE) brings imagination to work, selling
products under the Monogram, Profile GE, Hotpoint, SmartWater Reveal, GE Edison
and Energy Smart consumer brands, and Entellisys industrial brand. For more
information, consumers may visit www.ge.com.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
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GE Consumer & Industrial
Kim Freeman, 502-452-7819
kim_freeman@ge.com

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