Types of current transformers

There are three basic types of current transformers: wound, toroidal, and bar.

Wound Current Transformer – The transformers primary winding is physically connected in series with the conductor that carries the measured current flowing in the circuit. The magnitude of the secondary current is dependent on the turns ratio of the transformer.

Toroidal Current Transformer – These do not contain a primary winding. Instead, the line that carries the current flowing in the network is threaded through a window or hole in the toroidal transformer. Some current transformers have a “split core” which allows it to be opened, installed, and closed, without disconnecting the circuit to which they are attached.

Bar-type Current Transformer – This type of current transformer uses the actual cable or bus-bar of the main circuit as the primary winding, which is equivalent to a single turn. They are fully insulated from the high operating voltage of the system and are usually bolted to the current-carrying device.

Current transformers can reduce or “step-down” current levels from thousands of amperes down to the standard output of a known ratio to either 5 Amps or 1 Amp for normal operation. Thus, small and accurate instruments and control devices can be used with CT’s because they are insulated away from any high-voltage power lines. There are a variety of metering applications and uses for current transformers such as with Wattmeter’s, power factor meters, watt-hour meters, protective relays, or as trip coils in magnetic circuit breakers, or MCB’s.