Attribute Schema Library
Attribute schemaelectrical distribution

Circuit Breaker Attributes and Specifications

Circuit breakers interrupt overload and fault current in branch circuits, feeders and service equipment. Distributors sell them to contractors replacing a failed device, panel builders and OEMs buying to a bill of materials, MRO buyers stocking spares, and engineers who already picked a frame off a one-line.

The data is hard for three reasons. The important numbers are conditional: a breaker has an interrupting rating at every voltage it is listed for, and a single AIC column throws that away. Two standards families describe the same device in different words, with UL 489 catalogs using frame, trip amperes and AIC while IEC 60947-2 and 60898-1 datasheets use In, Icu, Ics and B/C/D curves. And one product line explodes across amps, poles, mounting and protection function, published as a matrix in a PDF rather than as rows.

Much of what buyers need never reaches the spec table. Lug wire range and torque sit in the instruction sheet, series combination ratings in a separate tabulation, and 100%-rated versions are a different catalog number that looks like the same product.

Core

Every SKU needs these. Without them the record is not a product, it is a row.

Manufacturer Part Number
identifier
HGL36150

The catalog number encodes frame, poles, trip and voltage. It is the only thing a contractor reads off the failed breaker.

Brand
enum
Square D

Breakers are not cross-brand interchangeable in a listed panelboard. Brand is the first cut on every search.

Breaker Family / Construction Type
enum
Molded case circuit breaker (MCCB)

Separates miniature, molded case, insulated case and power air breakers. Drives interrupting range and mounting.

Number of Poles
enum
3

Determines the circuit it can protect: 1P for 120V, 2P for 240V, 3P for three-phase. Filtered on almost every search.

Amperage (Trip) Rating
number · A
150

The continuous current rating the breaker trips against, calibrated at 40 °C. This is the number on the handle.

Voltage Rating (AC)
enum · V AC
600V AC

The maximum system voltage the breaker is listed for. A 240V-only device on a 480V system is a rejected submittal.

Interrupting Rating (AIC) by Voltage
text · kA rms sym
65 kA @ 240V; 35 kA @ 480V; 18 kA @ 600V

Must exceed available fault current at the point of installation. The rating falls as voltage rises, so one number is not enough.

Frame Designation / Frame Amperes
enum · A
HG frame, 150 A

Sets physical envelope, mounting hardware and the trip range the frame accepts. Engineers spec the frame before the trip.

Mounting / Connection Method
enum
Bolt-on

Bolt-on, plug-on and 35 mm DIN rail are not substitutable. Wrong mounting means the part goes back on the truck.

Differentiating

What buyers actually compare on. This is where catalogs win or lose the filter.

Trip Unit Type
enum
Thermal-magnetic, fixed

Thermal-magnetic, magnetic-only and electronic trip units behave differently, and only electronic units are adjustable.

Trip Curve / Instantaneous Pickup
text
C curve (5-10 x In)

Governs inrush tolerance. A C curve nuisance-trips on a transformer that a D curve handles. The core coordination filter.

Continuous Current Rating Basis
enum
80% rated

80%-rated breakers must be upsized for loads running 3 hours or more. 100%-rated parts are a separate catalog number.

Protection Function
enum
Dual function (CAFCI + Class A GFCI, 5 mA)

Standard, GFCI Class A (5 mA), CAFCI, dual-function and GFEP (30 mA) are code-driven choices, not preferences.

Terminal Wire Range
text · AWG / kcmil
(1) #14-1/0 AWG Cu/Al

Decides whether the feeder lands on the breaker or needs a lug kit. Usually only in the instruction sheet.

Compliance & identifiers

Standards, regulatory data, and the identifiers channels reject you for missing.

Safety Standard / Listing
enum
UL 489 Listed; CSA C22.2 No. 5

UL 489 is a branch-circuit breaker; UL 1077 is a supplementary protector and cannot replace one. They look identical.

SWD / HID Marking
enum
SWD

Breakers switching 120V or 277V fluorescent lighting must be marked SWD or HID. Inspectors check the marking.

GTIN / UPC
identifier
00785901234563

Required for IDW syndication, marketplace listings and barcode receiving. Missing GTIN blocks channel publication.

Country of Origin
identifier
Mexico

Drives duty classification, Buy American / BABA project eligibility and federal bid qualification.

The fields that aren't in the schema at all

What most circuit breakers catalogs are missing.

The table above is the schema most catalogs already have. These are the attributes that usually aren't in it — each one surfaced by a signal from the live market rather than by an audit of what's already there. This is what Anglera's Schema Foundry does on a real catalog, in this category.

Supplier signal
+ Interrupting Rating (AIC) by Voltage

Manufacturer datasheets publish an AIC table with a row per voltage; distributor catalogs collapse it to one 'Interrupt Rating' field, usually the 240V number because it is the largest.

Buyer filters 65 kA, gets a breaker that is 18 kA at 600V, and the submittal is rejected on fault-current review. Restock plus a lost spec position.

Search signal
+ Continuous Current Rating Basis (80% / 100% rated)

Buyers search '100% rated 400 amp breaker' and get the whole 400 A shelf back, because nothing in the record separates 100%-rated catalog numbers from standard ones.

Wrong part on a continuous load, or the contractor upsizes breaker and feeder needlessly. Either way the higher-value 100%-rated SKU never sells.

Marketplace signal
+ Listing Standard (UL 489 vs UL 1077)

UL 1077 supplementary protectors sit in the same 'circuit breakers' category on most distributor sites; the page says 'miniature circuit breaker' with no field naming the standard.

A supplementary protector gets installed as branch protection and fails inspection. The distributor eats the return and the callback.

Review signal
+ Load Center / Panelboard Compatibility

Buyers ask 'will this fit a QO plug-on neutral panel' in questions and reviews. Catalogs carry brand and mounting type but no field naming the panel series or plug-on-neutral fitment.

Dual-function plug-on-neutral breakers shipped for pigtail panels come straight back. High-value SKU, high return rate, no filter to prevent it.

Supplier signal
+ Terminal Wire Range and Torque

Wire range and lb-in torque are printed on the breaker label and in the instruction sheet PDF, not in the spec table any distributor scraped from the catalog.

Feeder does not land, and the job stops for a lug kit that should have been on the same order. Attach-rate revenue lost at the counter.

How Schema Foundry finds these

Messy in, governed out.

The same value, spelled every way electrical distribution suppliers spell it. A filter only works once they agree.

Interrupting Rating (AIC)
65kA65,000 AIC65 kAIC @240V65KA/240V65K65,000A IR
65 kA @ 240 V AC (rms sym)

A bare kA number is not a spec. The same breaker can be 65 kA at 240V and 18 kA at 600V; the voltage has to travel with it.

Number of Poles
3P3-PoleTHREE POLETP3 Pole (3P frame)3-P
3

Filter rails need an integer. Six spellings split one facet into six buckets and the 3-pole count on the page reads wrong.

Mounting / Connection Method
Bolt OnBOLT-ONBolt-inPlug InSnap-in35mm DIN
Bolt-on | Plug-on | DIN rail (35 mm)

Bolt-on and plug-on are not interchangeable in a listed panelboard. A hyphen variant hides half the valid results.

Trip Curve
CC-CurveCurve CType C5-10x InInst. 10X
C (5-10 x In, IEC 60898-1)

IEC curve letters and US instantaneous multiples describe the same behavior. Unify them or IEC and UL parts cannot be compared.

What buyers ask

Every one of these should be answerable from the attributes above. If it isn't, that's a gap.

  • What's the AIC at 480V, not just the 240V number on the front page?
  • Is this a UL 489 branch breaker or a UL 1077 supplementary protector?
  • Is it 100% rated, or do I have to upsize for a continuous load?
  • Will this fit a Square D QO plug-on neutral load center?
  • What wire size do the lugs take, and what's the torque spec?
  • Is the trip unit interchangeable, or do I buy the whole frame?
  • Is it marked SWD? I'm switching 277V lighting with it.
  • Bolt-on or plug-on? The panelboard label doesn't say.

What channels require

The same SKU, different mandatory fields per destination.

IDEA Industry Data Warehouse (IDW)
Brand and Manufacturer Part NumberGTIN/UPCUNSPSC codeCountry of OriginElectrical Attribute Schema attributesSpec sheet and image assets
Distributor faceted search / eCommerce site
Number of PolesAmperage (Trip) RatingVoltage Rating (AC)Interrupting Rating by VoltageMounting / Connection MethodProtection Function
Amazon Business
GTIN/UPCBrandManufacturer Part NumberAmperage (Trip) RatingVoltage Rating (AC)Number of Poles
Engineered submittal / RFQ package
Frame DesignationInterrupting Rating by VoltageTrip Unit TypeContinuous Current Rating BasisSafety Standard / ListingSeries combination rating reference

Circuit Breakers data, in practice

Why does one breaker have several interrupting ratings?

Interrupting capacity is a function of the voltage being interrupted. A UL 489 MCCB listed to 600V AC is tested and marked separately at 240V, 480V and 600V, and the rating drops as voltage rises: 65/35/18 kA is a common progression on a 150 A frame. Publishing only the highest number implies a capability the breaker does not have on a 480V system. Store AIC as a set of voltage-qualified values, not a scalar. Under NEC 240.86 a breaker can also be applied above its marked rating as part of a tested series combination with a specific upstream device, which is a separate, referenced fact and not a property of the breaker alone.

How do you tell a UL 489 breaker from a UL 1077 supplementary protector in the data?

Not from the description, and usually not from the photo. UL 1077 supplementary protectors are physically similar DIN-rail devices in the same shape and color, and both get called 'miniature circuit breaker' in supplier feeds. The distinction is the listing mark on the device and in the datasheet, and it is absolute: a supplementary protector provides secondary protection inside equipment and cannot be used for branch-circuit protection. Interrupting range is a decent tell, since UL 1077 devices typically top out around 10 kA, but it is a heuristic. Carry Safety Standard / Listing as its own governed field and never infer it.

Should frame and trip amperes be one attribute or two?

Two. Frame is the switching element and physical envelope; trip is the current at which it opens. A 250 A frame accepts trip units at 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225 and 250 A. Engineers spec the frame on the one-line and choose the trip later, and a change in circuit ampacity can mean a new trip unit rather than a new breaker. If the two are merged into one 'Amps' field, you cannot answer 'what trips does this frame take', and you cannot serve the aftermarket cross-reference traffic for obsolete frames, which is a real share of breaker searches.

Does HACR still need its own attribute?

Not as a live filter. With the 11th edition of UL 489, HACR suitability was extended to all UL 489 molded-case breakers, so a separate HACR marking is no longer a differentiator on current product. It still matters in the data for two reasons: legacy and aftermarket records carry 'HACR Type' as a marked attribute, and buyers replacing older equipment still search the term. Keep it as a legacy alias mapped to the listing standard rather than as a facet on the rail. SWD and HID are the opposite case: those markings are still meaningful, limited to specific ampere ranges, and worth filtering on.

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