AbstractThis paper proposes the use of non‐superconducting DC reactor type fault current limiter (NSFCL) instead of superconducting fault current limiters (SFCLs) which has high cost and technology. Proposed FCL consists of three similar sets, each including a diode bridge and a single non‐superconducting DC reactor. The device is connected in series with distribution line and it has almost no effect on the normal system operation. It is not necessary to use a control circuit and it has a simple and cheap power circuit. Design characteristics, analytical analysis and overall transient and steady‐state performance of NSFCL in normal and fault conditions are presented in this paper. The comparison between experimental and simulation results indicate good agreements. The results confirm that the power loss of NSFCL is a very small percentage of distribution line power. Also, the system current and load voltage distortions due to using NSFCL is explained and simulated. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.