Although the electricity companies go to great lengths to provide earthing, it is in fact your responsibility as a consumer. This is often done by installing an RCCB (Residual Current Circuit Breaker) into the house circuitry. Under normal conditions, the current that flows out through the neutral conductor is exactly the same as the one flowing in through the live conductor. If there is an imbalance between the two caused by an earth leakage, the RCCB will detect it and isolate the system. An RCCB can be installed as a separate unit or it can be incorporated into the consumer unit with the main isolating switch.
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