Core Balance Current Transformer: Working, Wiring & Selection
A core balance current transformer (CBCT) is a ring-type instrument transformer used to detect earth-leakage and ground-fault current. All live conductors of a circuit pass through one magnetic core. During normal operation, their instantaneous currents add to approximately zero, so the CBCT produces almost no secondary output. If current escapes to earth, the sum is no longer zero. The resulting residual magnetic flux produces a secondary signal for an earth-fault relay. Because it measures imbalance rather than load current, a correctly selected CBCT can detect much smaller ground faults than three conventional phase CTs connected residually.
