Independent automatic shedding branch circuit breaker

A method of automatically shedding a load coupled to a power source, comprising:

• automatically disconnecting a branch circuit breaker from said power source in response to a disconnection command from a controller;
• detecting the presence or absence of said power source;
• determining, using said controller, whether said power source is present or absent;
• automatically detecting the classification of said power source from among a plurality of classifications;
• and
• executing on said controller a classification program that determines when to cause said automatically disconnecting based on said determining and said automatically detecting.

A branch circuit breaker that is programmed to shed its load automatically from a power source, comprising:

• a sensor coupled to a line contact in said branch circuit breaker;
• disconnection means for reclosably disconnecting said load from said power source;
• selection means for selecting among a plurality of power states of said branch circuit breaker when a utility power source is not available;
• and
• a controller coupled to said sensor, said disconnection means, and said selection means, said controller being programmed to
• cause said disconnection means to disconnect said load from said power source when said sensor detects an absence of said power source,
• determine a classification of a power source available to said branch circuit breaker based on at least one classification parameter,
• detect which one of said plurality of power states was selected by said selection means, and
• cause said disconnection means to reclose when said sensor detects a power source other than a utility power source and said one of said plurality of power states is an ON state.