Ekip vs Micrologic vs ETU: MCCB Electronic Trip Units Compared
What separates Ekip, Micrologic, and ETU trip units? All three are electronic overcurrent relays built into MCCBs that replace a fixed thermal-magnetic curve with adjustable long-time, short-time, and instantaneous protection (LSI), extendable to ground-fault protection (LSIG) per IEC 60947-2 Annex F. The choice between them changes how a panel gets commissioned, how a maintenance electrician swaps a faulted unit in the field, and whether the breaker reports load data to a PLC without a bolt-on module. This article compares ABB Ekip (Tmax XT), Schneider Micrologic (ComPact NSX), and Siemens ETU (Sentron 3VA) across protection functions, setting method, metering, communication protocols, field-swappability, and day-to-day ergonomics.
Protection functions: how far does each range go?
ABB's Ekip family splits into two tiers on Tmax XT. Ekip Dip covers long-time, short-time, and instantaneous protection (LSI) set by physical dip-switches, with no display and no ground-fault stage on the base variant. Ekip Touch and Ekip Hi-Touch step up to full LSIG, adding earth-fault protection through an internal or external CT, plus the metering and communication capability covered further down.
Schneider's Micrologic range is numbered by function: Micrologic 2 gives long-time and instantaneous only (LI, no short-time band), Micrologic 5 adds the short-time stage for full LSI, Micrologic 6 adds earth-fault (LSIG), and Micrologic 7 adds earth-leakage protection at much lower sensitivity, typically via a Vigi add-on rather than built into the trip unit. An "E" suffix (5.2 E, 6.2 E) layers energy metering onto the same protection tier.
Siemens draws the same line at frame level rather than a suffix. 3VA1 breakers carry thermal-magnetic (TM) trip units only, with no LSIG option — a project needing ground-fault protection has to move to 3VA2. On 3VA2, the ETU range runs from ETU320 (basic LSI) up through ETU350, then ETU5xx/7xx/850, with LSIG and communication appearing as the model number climbs.
Not always a straight upgrade path. On ABB, going from Ekip Dip to Ekip Touch means changing the trip unit, not just a setting. On Schneider, the same breaker body accepts a higher Micrologic tier later — the frame does not gate the protection functions the way it does on Siemens 3VA1 vs 3VA2.
Setting method: dip-switches, dials, or a display
Ekip Dip settings are read directly off the trip unit face — four dip-switch banks for L (long-time), S (short-time), I (instantaneous), and where fitted, G (ground-fault). A tamper-evident seal covers the switches once configured. There is no battery and no display, so the settings stay physically visible and correct whether or not the panel is energized.
Micrologic uses rotary dials for the core LSI(G) settings on every tier, which is consistent across the range — the difference between a 5.2 and a 6.2 A is mainly the added dial for ground-fault pickup and an LCD screen on the "A" (advanced) variants that echoes the dial position digitally and shows load current.
ETU320/350 use rotary dial settings similar in principle to Micrologic's base tier. ETU5xx and above move to a numeric keypad plus LCD, and ETU850 carries a full graphic display with menu navigation, event log, and waveform capture — the most information-dense interface of the three, but also the one most dependent on the display working to read back a setting.
how to set MCCB trip settings covers the Ir, Isd, and Ii pickup values in more depth than this comparison; the mechanics differ by brand but the underlying multipliers follow the same IEC 60947-2 logic.Formula: Short-Time Pickup from Long-Time Setting — Source: IEC 60947-2, Annex F
Isd = Ir × Ksd
| Symbol | Description | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| In | Trip unit rated current (frame/sensor rating) | A |
| Ir | Long-time pickup current, set as a multiplier of In (typ. 0.4–1.0×In) | A |
| Ksd | Short-time pickup multiplier, set on the dial/dip/display (typ. 1.5–10×Ir) | dimensionless |
| Isd | Short-time pickup current — start of the S-band or I²t ramp | A |
The formula is identical across all three brands; what differs is how Ksd gets entered — a dip-switch position, a dial mark, or a numeric field on a keypad — and how easily that value can be read back later during a discrimination and selectivity coordination study.
Metering: what the trip unit actually measures
Ekip Dip has no metering path — no display, no CT-derived readout beyond what trips the breaker. Ekip Touch adds true-RMS current, voltage (with a sensing module), power, and energy; Ekip Hi-Touch extends that to harmonics, power quality indices, waveform capture, and an event/trip-history log.
Micrologic follows its suffix logic: the base 2, 5, and 6 tiers give protection only, with current readout on LCD-equipped "A" variants but no power/energy data. The "E" suffix (5.2 E, 6.2 E, 7.2 E) adds power (kW, kVAR), power factor, and energy (kWh) — aimed at panels where the MCCB doubles as a sub-metering point.
ETU320/350 give current readout but not power metering. Power and energy appear on the higher ETU7xx/ETU850 tiers, alongside harmonics and waveform capture comparable to Ekip Hi-Touch — Siemens concentrates that capability at the top of the range rather than as a separate suffix.
Communication protocols and system integration
ABB's Ekip Com modules plug onto Ekip Touch/Hi-Touch trip units to add Modbus RTU or TCP, with Profibus, DeviceNet, and Ethernet/IP variants depending on the module ordered. Ekip Dip has no communication path — nothing on the unit to poll.
Schneider integrates Micrologic through IFE (Ethernet) or IFM (Modbus) interface modules clipped onto the trip unit, feeding into EcoStruxure Power Monitoring or a generic Modbus master. The interface module is a separate part number, ordered against the specific Micrologic tier.
Siemens uses a COM module (COM800 and related variants) on 3VA2 breakers carrying an ETU with communication capability, supporting Modbus TCP and, depending on the module, PROFINET or PROFIBUS — built for a SIMATIC or SICAM environment. As with the other two brands, communication is not available below a certain ETU tier.
What we see in the field: the communication module rarely gets specified until the SCADA integrator asks for a point list late in the project — checking trip-unit compatibility with the required protocol before the panel is built avoids a late swap.
Field-swappability: modular cassette vs fixed trip unit
Schneider's Micrologic trip units are documented as field-swappable modules on ComPact NSX — a Micrologic 5.2 can be pulled and replaced with a 6.2 A without changing the breaker body, because the trip unit is a self-contained cassette that seats into the same mechanical and electrical interface across the range. That lets a panel builder stock one breaker body per frame size and hold a smaller set of trip-unit cassettes to cover several protection classes.
ABB and Siemens both mount their electronic trip units as removable assemblies on the breaker body as well, but neither brand markets a stocked shelf-swap philosophy to the same degree as Schneider's cassette design — on Tmax XT and Sentron 3VA2, a trip-unit change is more commonly treated as a service-level replacement than a routine field upgrade path. Confirm with the specific breaker model before assuming either way; this varies by frame and distributor support.
Ergonomics: what a technician deals with at the panel
Dip-switch settings on Ekip Dip are quick to audit visually during a panel walk-down — no power, no login, no menu diving, just read the switch positions against the coordination study. The tradeoff is that changing a setting means physically flipping switches under a seal, which some site procedures treat as a more deliberate, logged action than turning a dial.
Micrologic's rotary dials plus optional digital confirmation give a middle ground: fast to read at a glance, familiar to technicians who already work with Schneider's PowerLogic ecosystem, and the "A" display removes ambiguity about which detent the dial landed on.
ETU850's graphic display carries the most information — event history, waveform, per-phase current on one screen — at the cost of needing the display powered and functional to read anything back, plus more menu depth during commissioning. Some engineers argue the graphic interface is worth the extra commissioning time because it surfaces trip-cause data no dial or dip-switch can show; in practice that holds up best on larger feeders where a nuisance-trip investigation benefits from an event log, less so on a feeder breaker whose settings rarely change after commissioning.
Trip unit comparison at a glance
| Criteria | ABB Ekip | Schneider Micrologic | Siemens ETU |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protection functions | Dip: LSI. Touch/Hi-Touch: full LSIG | 2: LI. 5: LSI. 6: LSIG. 7: earth-leakage (via Vigi) | 3VA1 (TM): fixed. 3VA2 ETU320+: LSI up to LSIG on higher models |
| Setting method | Dip-switches (Dip) or LCD/menu (Touch/Hi-Touch) | Rotary dials, digital confirmation on "A" variants | Rotary dial (ETU320/350), keypad + LCD (ETU5xx+), graphic LCD (ETU850) |
| Metering | None on Dip; RMS/power/energy/harmonics on Hi-Touch | None on base tiers; power/energy on "E" suffix | Current only on base ETU; power/energy/harmonics on top ETU7xx/850 |
| Communication | Ekip Com module (Modbus, Profibus, DeviceNet, Ethernet/IP) | IFE/IFM interface module (Modbus, Ethernet) into EcoStruxure | COM800-family module (Modbus TCP, PROFINET/PROFIBUS) |
| Field-swappability | Removable assembly; not marketed as a stocked shelf-swap cassette | Designed as an interchangeable cassette across protection tiers | Removable module; typically a service-level replacement |
| Ergonomics | Fast visual audit, no power needed to verify settings | Familiar dial-plus-display balance for PowerLogic-trained techs | Highest information density on ETU850, most menu depth to learn |
None of the three is the outright choice for every job. A feeder with settle-and-forget protection favors the trip unit fastest to verify without power — Ekip Dip. A panel shop juggling protection classes off one stocked breaker body favors Micrologic's cassette swap. A site already running SIMATIC and wanting the deepest single-screen event log leans toward the top-tier ETU. See the MCCB engineering guide for how trip-unit choice fits into the broader breaker selection process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a thermal-magnetic MCCB be upgraded to an electronic trip unit later?
On some frames, yes, if the breaker body was designed to accept both TM and electronic trip units — Schneider's ComPact NSX and ABB's mid-size Tmax XT frames generally support this. On Siemens, the split is frame-level: 3VA1 carries thermal-magnetic only, so an upgrade to electronic protection means moving to a 3VA2 breaker rather than swapping a module.
Does LSIG ground-fault protection need a separate CT?
Usually yes for the residual/vector-sum method, or the unit uses the four current sensors already built into the breaker to derive ground-fault current internally — the exact method depends on the trip unit tier and whether it's a 3-pole or 4-pole breaker. Check the specific trip unit's wiring diagram rather than assuming one method across a product line.
Which trip unit gives the best selectivity between upstream and downstream breakers?
Selectivity depends more on the settings and coordination study than the brand — any LSI(G) electronic trip unit from these three can achieve time-current selectivity if the Ir, Isd, and time-delay bands are set with enough margin between devices. See the discrimination and selectivity coordination article for the coordination method itself.
Do electronic trip units need external power to trip the breaker?
No — protection tripping (L, S, I, G functions) is self-powered from the current transformers built into the breaker, so the breaker still trips on overcurrent with no control power present. Display, metering, and communication functions do need auxiliary power or a battery, but those are separate from the trip mechanism.
Can I mix trip unit tiers within the same panel and still get selectivity?
Yes, mixing brands or tiers across a panel is common — a main breaker with a display/metering trip unit and downstream feeders on dip-switch or dial-only units, as long as each unit's Ir/Isd/Ii/Ig settings are coordinated against the others in the study. Metering and communication capability do not affect the protection coordination itself.
Conclusion
Ekip, Micrologic, and ETU all deliver the same core LSI(G) protection logic defined by IEC 60947-2 Annex F — the differences that matter in practice are setting method, whether metering and communication come bundled or added, and how the trip unit gets replaced in the field. Match the tier to the job: dip-switch simplicity for straightforward feeders, Micrologic's cassette swap for stocked panel-shop flexibility, and top-tier ETU or Ekip Hi-Touch where the panel needs to talk to a SCADA system. Browse current stock across all three ranges in the molded case circuit breakers collection, cross-referenced against the standards covered in the IEC 60947-2 standards article and the broader thermal-magnetic vs electronic trip unit comparison.
