What You Need To Know About Circuit Breakers
If you’re in need of electrical repair service near Frederick because your circuit breaker repeatedly trips, you should take the time to learn about how circuit breakers work. Most homes now have circuit breakers rather than plug fuses, and circuit breakers are much safer and easier for a home electrician to repair. Keep reading to learn more about circuit breakers before you call a residential electrician.
How Circuit Breakers Work
Circuit breakers immediately shut off your home’s power when one of its circuits becomes overloaded. Circuit breaker boxes are typically located in a closet or basement, and each individual breaker supplies power to wires for different rooms. An appliance that uses a large amount of energy, such as a water heater, might have an entire circuit of its own. Your home is divided into circuits, and each circuit has a separate circuit breaker that controls its power source and usage.
How to Reset a Circuit Breaker
A circuit breaker can become overloaded when too many appliances are drawing power in one circuit. If your power shuts off in one part of your house, it is usually because you began using an appliance that overloaded the circuit. You should first turn off all of the appliances that operate on that circuit. Then, go to your circuit breaker box and turn off the overloaded circuit completely by flipping the appropriate switch. Turn the circuit switch back on, and wait to see that it remains on. If it does, you can return to that part of your house and try turning light or appliance back on. If your circuit won’t remain on even when all appliances are off, you should call an electrician.
What You Shouldn’t do with Your Circuit Breakers
You should never use appliances or electronics that require more amps of power than any particular circuit that they’re using can provide. This will result in repeated circuit breaker trips and power losses. If you have a circuit breaker that repeatedly trips, you should contact a residential electrician as soon as possible.