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All electrical devices are supposed to be positioned to turn on in the up position. It is a safety precaution. If a device accidentally gets bumped or hit it will turn off due to the effect of gravity pulling on objects with a downward force. If the devices were off in the up position they could inadvertently get bumped or hit into the on position.

There are times when this does not hold true. If a combination panel or a load center is mounted horizontal one side of the board will be opposite to the rule. This is permitted because the panels have closeable doors that protect the breaker handles from getting accidental moved.

Answer

This is an interesting question, as the above answer only applies in North America as far as it applies to other types of 'switch'. Elsewhere in the world, it is the norm for light- and power-switches to be 'on' when placed in the 'down' position -i.e. opposite to that in North America. The argument that, by using the 'up' position for 'on' prevents a switch from accidentally bumped into the 'on' position when 'off', seems odd -as, surely, bumping a switch could just as easily move an 'up' switch 'down' as vice-versa!

However, for whatever reason, it does seem to be the standard internationally that MCBs are closed, or 'on', when the lever is placed in the 'up' position -regardless of the rule that applies to all other electrical switches.

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