Bender LIFEGUARD ground fault circuit interrupters protect The Sopranos and CSI from electrical hazards

(28/12/2009)

LIFEGUARD™ ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) from Bender Inc. protect the motion picture industry's personnel, equipment and facilities from potential electrical hazards that may lead to production downtime and increased liability.

A ground fault on a movie set can result in shock, fire, and even death of cast or crew members. For the movie “Titanic,” production crews used LIFEGUARD GFCIs to monitor the electricity powering underwater lights. During filming, a ground fault occurred while 136 people were in the water. The LIFEGUARD GFCIs instantly detected the ground fault and interrupted power before anyone was injured.

LIFEGUARD GFCIs are widely used in the electrical protection of lightning simulators, dimmers, water pumps, fountains, scrims, Ritter fans and cranes on movie sets. They are available in several configurations, including 100 Amp, three-phase 100 Amp, single or three-phase 250 Amp, and single or three-phase 400 Amp. Voltages on the 100 Amp and 250 Amp GFCIs are 120V and 208V/240V, and voltages on the 400 Amp GFCIs are switchable to 208V/240V/480V.

LIFEGUARD GFCIs extend the capability of standard GFCIs to the detection of ground leakage currents in power distribution equipment and all stages of power conversion. From simple rectifiers to sophisticated variable frequency drives and brushless DC motor controllers, LIFEGUARD GFCIs extend from pure DC into the low kHz range.

Most of Bender’s LIFEGUARD GFCIs are manufactured in accordance with UL943, the North American standard for personnel protection. These products employ advanced filtering characteristics, as well as standard specific time/current trip curves. Users of LIFEGUARD GFCIs benefit from less nuisance tripping, compatibility with more production equipment, higher accuracy and less risk.

Since “Titanic,” Bender has provided GFCI shock protection for more than 30 feature films, including “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Iron Man,” “Angels and Demons” and “Terminator Salvation.” Bender’s LIFEGUARD GFCIs also have protected cast and crew on the sets of various TV shows, including “The Sopranos,” “Entourage,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and “The Biggest Loser.”

Related categories:  Circuit breakers MCB, MCCB, ACB