I do think the "final" in the ring description is rather important as it is only with ring finals that the ring is maintained. With a ring with other installations there is a completely different idea in that any part of the ring can be taken out of service for work to be completed. The main ring around a factory is so different to the ring main used in a house hence why called ring final. However we can argue where fused connection units are used to supply a number of sockets on a spur the ring is not the final circuit. However it is a circuit supplying direct to appliances as well as to spur so it is a ring final, but not a ring final circuit!
I really think it should not matter what things are called. However since Part P names have become a lot more important. Before Part P did not matter if called fuse box, distribution unit, or consumer unit.
I always called a fused spur a radial, but then noted BS7671 now calls it a fused spur. I still think that is wrong, call a fused spur a radial and then there is no confusion where saying you can't spur off a spur.
But the lighting industry must be the worst for names.
Transformer or Electronic Transformer
Ballast or Electronic Ballast
Driver is really bad as we have both voltage and current regulated devices being called drivers, I had always considered voltage regulated was a power supply and current regulated was a driver, it seems that's no longer true.
Switched Mode Power supply - Pulse width modulated Are these not the same beast?
ELCB-c, RCCB, RCB, RCD, GFCI, GFI, ALCI, Plus the extra A, AC, or B and G or S. As to what to call it when you have a MCB with an attachment which turns it into a RCBO I don't know? The attachment does not break the current flow the MCB does that.
Residual is what is left over or in maths the error so I suppose since it does not have to go to earth or ground dropping the ELCB or GFCI names makes sense. Where current is allowed to go to a storage device or to ground to remove spikes on the supply it is also clearly not a fault it is by design, also it's not leaking so any reference to fault, earth, ground, or leaking is incorrect. Also since some devices only detect the current and another device does the breaking of the current then for a one name fits all don't really want breaker in the name unless it has the breaker built in.
So we have three names left. RCD covers all, RCCB (Some do miss out the extra C so call it a RCB) is where the breaker is integral to the device and when an overload sensing is also added we add O so we have RCBO.
