You can’t talk about current and voltage without mentioning the electrical shunt. The job growth for electricians is about 85,000 openings a year. That growth means more workers will need to learn how to work with the electric shunts.
What is an electrical shunt, and why is it needed? Read on to learn more about these devices and what they do!
What Is an Electrical Shunt?
An electrical shunt purpose is to make a path for a current. The devices let the current flow around a different point in a circuit. It can redirect the current so that a circuit box doesn’t get overloaded.
Electricians use these shunts to divert a current to a specific destination. It also moves energy away from points of a circuit. The path that gets used is low-resistant so that it doesn’t create a blockage for the current.
How It Works
An electrical shunt uses precision to protect a controller from pulling excess current. It can limit how fast the current flows through the line. It works by generating a voltage drop as the energy passes through the electrical shunt.
It also provides voltage measurements. That will let you see how high or low the current flow is. That is crucial in case some adjustments need to get made.
Electrical Shunt Advantages
Since an electrical shunt can get used for current measurement, it is critical for safety. It is a damage control device. It may extend the life of the circuit because it keeps surge frequencies down.
You can get different types of electrical shunts. When you need various measurements, Riedon Shunts has a complete selection available.
Many electrical shunts also redirect high-level noises. An electrical shunt has a capacitor that quiets the noise before it gets to the circuit elements.
Using an electrical shunt is cost-effective. Since these electric shunts don’t cost much, they are routine for circuit measurement.
Calculating Current
To get the right electrical shunt, you will need to calculate the current. That gets calculated using the Ohm equation. The formula for this is V = I * R. Current multiplied by resistance will equal voltage.
Electricity gets measured in volts and amps. To get the power needed, you will use the amount of current flowing and multiply it by the shunt resistance. Then, you will swap the current and voltage.
You will divide the sum of that equation by 100. That will give you the resistance value you need for the electrical shunt. Once you get that calculation, you can choose from several shunts that fit that range.
Wiring the Electrical Shunt
When wiring an electrical shunt, you must know the capacity value needed. It will have to handle the current supplied by the line. If the capacity is not precise, the circuit can get overloaded.
Since the wiring process also involves connecting a battery pack, this job is better left to a pro. For precise measurements, a reading gets taken after the install.
Wiring an electrical shunt is not hard, but it takes specific knowledge and skill to get the job done right. Check out the rest of our site for more technology options!