FIGURE 4.10 Underhung mounted disconnect switch.

FIGURE 4.11 Vertical break disconnect switch.

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

FIGURE 4.12 Double end break (double side break) disconnect switch.

FIGURE 4.13 Double end break ‘‘Vee’’ (double side break ‘‘Vee’’) disconnect switch.

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

FIGURE 4.14 Center break disconnect switch.

FIGURE 4.15 Center break ‘‘Vee’’ disconnect switch.

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

FIGURE 4.16 Single side break disconnect switch.

. Single side break (see Fig. 4.16)

. Vertical reach (also sometimes called pantograph, semipantograph, or knee-type switches) (see
Fig. 4.17)
. Grounding (see Fig. 4.18)
. Hookstick (see Fig. 4.19)

Each of these switch types has specific features that lend themselves to certain types of applications.
Vertical break switches are the most widely used disconnect switch design, are the most versatile
disconnect switch design, can be installed on minimum phase spacing, are excellent for applications in
ice environments due to their rotating blade design, and are excellent for installations in high fault
current locations due to their contact design (see Fig. 4.20).
Double end break switches can be installed on minimum phase spacing—the same phase spacing as
for vertical break switches (due to the disconnect switch blades being disconnected from both the source

FIGURE 4.17 Vertical reach (pantograph) disconnect switch.

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

FIGURE 4.18 Grounding switch.

FIGURE 4.19 Hookstick operated disconnect switch.

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

FIGURE 4.20 Contact design of vertical break disconnect switch.

and the load when in the open position (see Fig. 4.21), can be installed in minimum overhead clearance
locations (something that vertical break switch designs cannot do), do not require a counterbalance for
the blades as the blades do not have to be lifted during operation (many vertical break switches utilize a
counterbalance spring to control the blade movement during opening and closing operations and to
reduce the operating effort required), are excellent for applications in ice environments due to their
rotating blade design (even better, in fact, than vertical break switches are for this application due to the

FIGURE 4.21 Double end break disconnect switch in open position.

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

FIGURE 4.22 Double end break ‘‘Vee’’ disconnect switch on single horizontal member, two column structure.

contact configuration of the double end break switch versus the vertical break switch), are excellent for
installations in high fault current locations due to their contact design, and have the advantage of being
able to interrupt significantly more line charging current or magnetizing current than any single break
type switch can due to their two break per phase design.
Double end break ‘‘Vee’’ switches share all of the same characteristics as the conventional double end
break switches but with the additional feature advantage of consuming the smallest amount of substa-
tion space of any three-phase switch type as they can be installed on a single horizontal beam structure
with one, two (see Fig. 4.22), or three vertical columns (the quantity of which is determined by the
kilovolt (kV) rating of the switch and other site-specific conditions such as seismic considerations).
Center break switches can be installed in minimum overhead clearance locations but require greater
phase spacing than vertical break, double end break, or double end break ‘‘Vee’’ switches do (as center
break switches have one of the two blades per phase energized when in the open position); require only six
insulators per three-phase switch (versus the nine insulators per three-phase switch required for vertical
break, double end break, and double end break ‘‘Vee’’ switches); do not require a counterbalance for the
blades as the blades do not have to be lifted during operation; and are the best available three-phase switch
design for vertical mounting (see Fig. 4.23) as the two blades per phase self-counterbalance each other
during opening and closing operations via the synchronizing pipe linkage.
Center break ‘‘Vee’’ switches share all of the same characteristics as the conventional center break
switches but with the additional feature advantage of consuming a smaller amount of substation space as
they can be installed on a single horizontal beam structure with one, two, or three vertical columns (the
quantity of which is determined by the kV rating of the switch and other site-specific conditions such as
seismic considerations).
Single side break switches can be installed in minimum overhead clearance locations but may require
greater phase spacing than vertical break, double end break, or double end break ‘‘Vee’’ switches do;
require only six insulators per three-phase switch (versus the nine insulators per three-phase switch
required for vertical break, double end break, and double end break ‘‘Vee’’ switches); and do not require
a counterbalance for the blades as the blades do not have to be lifted during operation.
Vertical reach switches are used most commonly in extra high-voltage (EHV) applications, typically
for 345, 500, and 765 kV installations. The U.S. utility industry uses few of the vertical reach switches,
but this switch design is fairly common in Europe and in other parts of the world.
Grounding switches can be furnished as an integral attachment to any of the previously mentioned
disconnect switch types (see Fig. 4.24), or can be furnished as a stand-alone device (i.e., not attached as

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

FIGURE 4.23 Vertically mounted center break disconnect switch.

an integral component of a disconnect switch) (see Fig. 4.18). Grounding switches are commonly
applied to perform safety grounding of disconnect switches, buses, and capacitor banks. As previously
mentioned, when grounding switches are used, there is an interlocking scheme of some type normally
employed to assure proper sequence of operations.

FIGURE 4.24 Grounding switch integrally attached to vertical break disconnect switch.

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

 Hookstick switches are single-phase devices that provide isolation, bypassing (typically of a regulator,
a recloser, or a current transformer), transferring (i.e., feeding a load from an alternate source), or
grounding.
For all types of disconnect switches previously mentioned, phase spacing is usually adjusted to satisfy
the spacing of the bus system installed in the substation. In order to attain proper electrical performance,
the standards establish minimum metal-to-metal clearances to be maintained for a given switch type
and kV rating.
Prior to about 1970 almost all switches had copper live part construction and met a standard that
allows a 308C temperature rise when the switch is energized and carrying its full nameplate current
value. Subsequent to 1970, many switch designs of aluminum live part construction were created and a
new governing standard that allows a 538C temperature rise when the switch is energized and carrying its
full nameplate current value came into existence. International standards allow a 658C temperature rise
when switches are energized and carrying their full nameplate current value. When it comes to the
temperature rise capability of a switch, cooler is better as it means the switch has more inherent built-in
current carrying capability; so a 308C rise switch is more capable than a 538C rise switch or a 658C rise
switch, and a 538C rise switch is more capable than a 658C rise switch.

4.4 Load Break Switches

A load break switch is a disconnect switch that has been equipped to provide breaking and making of
specified currents. This is accomplished by the addition of equipment that changes what the last points
of metal-to-metal contact upon opening and the first points of metal-to-metal contact upon closing are,
that increases the speed at which the last points of metal-to-metal contact part in air, or that confine the
arcing to a chamber which contains a dielectric medium capable of interrupting the arc safely and
reliably.
Arcing horns (see Fig. 4.25) are the equipment added to disconnect switches to allow them
to interrupt very small amounts of charging or magnetizing current. The capability of arcing horns to

FIGURE 4.25 Arcing horns on a vertical break switch.

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.