Schweitzer Drive

Circuit Breakers: The First Responders of the Grid

In this episode of Schweitzer Drive, Dave Whitehead talks with Kylan Robinson, Engineering Director at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, about circuit breakers—the essential devices that isolate and clear faults in power systems. They explain how breakers work, from household bimetallic and magnetic trips to large‑scale air, vacuum, gas, and oil‑filled breakers, and how protective relays act as the “brain” that detects faults and commands breakers to open. The conversation also covers the physics of arc extinction, the challenges of clearing AC versus DC faults, and emerging opportunities for innovation such as magnetic actuators, reduced part counts, and faster fault‑clearing technologies.