Circuit breaker integral temperature monitoring for advance detection of defective power conductor connections

1. A circuit breaker comprising:

a breaker enclosure containing internal components that include a trip unit;

a plurality of conductor connections for electrically coupling the trip unit to a plurality of power conductors;

a temperature sensor located to sense heat radiated by the conductor connections, the temperature sensor being positioned inside the enclosure and proximate to the plurality of conductor connections; and

a controller communicatively coupled to the temperature sensor, the controller being programmable to determine defective conditions of the conductor connection by distinguishing between a normal temperature increase due to higher load currents and an abnormal temperature increase characteristic of defective conductor connection.

2. The circuit breaker of claim 1 , wherein the temperature sensor is selected from a group consisting of an analog temperature sensor and a digital temperature sensor.

3. The circuit breaker of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of conductor connections is selected from a group consisting of a screw-type lug, a compression lug, and a plug-in connection.

4. The circuit breaker of claim 1 , further comprising another temperature sensor.

5. The circuit breaker of claim 1 , wherein the controller is communicatively coupled to the temperature sensor via an analog-to-digital channel.

6. The circuit breaker of claim 1 , further comprising a memory for storing temperature values, the memory being communicatively coupled to the controller.

7. The circuit breaker of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further programmable to send at least one of a trip instruction to the trip unit and a warning message to an end user.

8. A method of providing a circuit breaker for sensing temperature at a conductor connection, the method comprising:

enclosing internal components of a circuit breaker with a protective breaker enclosure, the internal components including a trip unit;

providing a plurality of conductor connections for electrically coupling the trip unit to a plurality of power conductors;

mounting the temperature sensor inside the protective breaker enclosure to sense heat radiated by the conductor connections; and

determining defective conditions by distinguishing between a normal temperature increase due to higher load currents and an abnormal temperature increase characteristic of a defective conductor connection.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising mounting a second temperature sensor inside the protective breaker enclosure to sense heat radiated by the conductor connections.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising communicatively coupling the temperature sensor to a controller.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising retrieving temperature values from a memory communicatively coupled to a controller.

12. The method of claim 8 , further comprising sending at least one of a trip instruction to the trip unit and a warning message to an end user.

13. An electrical system comprising:

an electrical distribution equipment system;

a server mounted in the electrical distribution equipment system and communicatively coupled to a customer network, the server including a processor programmable to determine defective conditions of at least one breaker lug by distinguishing between a normal temperature increase due to higher load currents and an abnormal temperature increase characteristic of a defective breaker lug connection; and

a plurality of circuit breakers mounted in the electrical distribution equipment system and communicatively coupled to the server, each of the plurality of circuit breakers being electrically coupled to a plurality of power conductors, at least one circuit breaker of the plurality of circuit breakers including

the at least one breaker lug for electrically coupling the at least one circuit breaker to a corresponding power conductor of the plurality of power conductors, and

the at least one temperature sensor being positioned inside the at least one circuit breaker and proximate to the at least one breaker lug.

14. The electrical system of claim 13 , wherein each of the plurality of circuit breakers is communicatively coupled to an adjacent one of the plurality of circuit breakers.

15. The electrical system of claim 13 , wherein the server includes a central communications processor, the processor including a memory for storing temperature values detected by the at least one temperature sensor.

16. The electrical system of claim 13 , wherein the electrical distribution equipment system includes at least one of a switchgear, a switchboard, a panelboard, a control panel, a busway, and a motor control center.