On Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:58:29 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

ELCB's are old technology. RCD's are the thing these days. An ELCB
won't protect you if you are unfortunate enough to contact a live wire
at the same time as providing a circuit directly to earth,

You need to define what type of ELCB you are refering to when using
that term. A Voltage Operated ELCB might not protect you (depends on
the earth path) but there is no difference between a Current Operated
ELCB and an RCD.

--
Cheers
Dave.