Hi!

It seems as if the once so simple fuses in the fusebox aren't so simple anymore. First came the breaker with electromagnetic and thermal trip, then the ground fault circuit interrupter measuring current balance and now arc fault circuit interrupters with a microprocessor. Soon the "fuse box" will run Windows, crashing once a week... [Linked Image]

Here's my question/idea: Are fully electronic breakers the future? Instead of having a thermal trip, it measures the current, checks the waveform and possible imbalance between the two wires. It will still have to have a magnetic tripping mechanism, of course.

I can think of two advantages of such a design:

1.) The overload protection doesn't depend on the number and load of the breakers next to it. No derating --> no need to put oversize breakers to avoid nuisance trips--> less risk of fire.

2.) Breaker discrimination is facilitated, since you can program a real trip curve, not just "oh, it will trip somewhere between three and five times the rated current"

If the price is right we could have GFI and perhaps AFI proctection on all branch circuits --> less risk of people killed by things like broken switches and receptables or poor wiring.

Does such a thing exist? Any opinions?