The Purpose of Circuit Breakers
Many people know that their homes have a circuit breaker but aren’t familiar with what they do or why they are important. All of the electrical power that is supplied to your home is controlled by your homes circuit breaker. They are used to control the flow of electricity throughout your home. This one unit can turn the electrical power on and off within the home. If you are experiencing an electrical surge, your homes circuit breaker will automatically cut the power supply to ensure that no major damage occurs. This is referred to as tripping the breaker. This can occur throughout the entire home or in just areas where a surge is experienced.
If the wires in your electrical system are unable to carry the load of electricity properly a surge has occurred. When this happens the breaker is unable to perform properly and shuts down. The breaker will then need to be reset. The breaker will keep tripping if the circuit continues to be over capacity. If this occurs often your circuit breaker is not meeting the electrical capacity you require. This signals to you, the homeowner, that it is time to upgrade your circuit breaker.
Often times the system can be upgraded by improving the capacity of the circuit breaker by adding an additional panel to the main panel. You first must check all of the electrical components and wiring to isolate and identify the area that is not being sufficiently powered. If it is found that there are power supply issues throughout the board it may be time to upgrade all together. This is a common issue found in many older homes.
Electrical appliances both small and large have changed a great deal throughout the years in regards to how much electricity they require. With this change many older homes are finding that an additional panel added on to the current circuit breaker is only a temporary fix to a much larger problem that exists. Sometimes it is possible to get by in these situations by decreasing the amount of electricity needed throughout the home at any given time. For instance, if the television is on in the living room and dinner is going in the oven it may trip the breaker if you decide you also want to blow dry your hair in the bathroom.
Larger homes require more electricity as well. When you are considering any major home improvement upgrades such as an addition, upgraded kitchen or bathroom it is important to check the capacity on your current circuit breaker to ensure that you will not be taxing the supply of power. If you find that you are switching from gas appliances to electrical appliances you may find the current circuit unable to power them without upgrading.
The circuit breaker in your home plays a huge role in protecting your family. Without this electrical component shutting down overloaded circuits we would find an increase in electrical fires. Overloaded systems will overheat which will cause wires to split and fires to occur. This is why it is so important to have a basic understanding of what your homes circuit breaker does for you and to recognize the signs that it is not functioning properly.
All homeowners should know where their circuit breaker box is located, how to cut the power to not only the entire home at once but also to specific locations as well as how to change fuses contained within. These are the basics that homeowners can handle without calling in an electrician. It is however recommended that a certified electrician manage any additions or upgrades if you do find that the homes electrical demand is overloading the current circuits supply.
J&P Electrical is a full service electrical equipment company. At J&P, we supply contractors, end users and supply houses with new surplus, quality reconditioned and obsolete electrical equipment. Contact us today at https://jpelectricalcompany.com for all of your bus plug, circuit breaker, switchboard, fuses, disconnects and more.
