Circuit Breaker Repair and Replacement
Nowadays, a circuit breaker repair or replacement may be required as part of your home’s safety system maintanence. When a building’s electrical wiring is overloaded, the breakers interrupt the flow of power until the problem is resolved, and you can manage all of your home’s electricity from this one circuit breaker box, which is generally placed in the basement.
Without the circuit breaker, power would be rendered unusable owing to the risk of flames caused by simple wiring problems and failures.
Understanding what it is, why it is required, and how it works will assist you in diagnosing household electrical difficulties and avoiding potentially harmful situations.
As we will see, the electric circuit breaker is a trivial solution to a potentially fatal problem.
Circuit Breakers – How Do They Work?
A circuit breaker is a piece of equipment that is meant to automatically cut off an electric current if it gets excessively strong or dangerous.
It is a large switch that distributes electricity securely throughout your home. Additionally, the circuit breaker box houses several smaller sub switches that connect to certain parts of your home. Breakers are the technical term for these tiny switches that are responsible for maintaining electrical safety.
When this limit is reached, the act of tripping the breaker opens the circuit and prevents current from flowing to the specified electrical line or circuit, protecting your house and family from fire and electrical harm.
Why Is It Critical To Have A Circuit Breakers In Your Home?
The power that flows from your utility provider’s line travels through the metre and the main circuit breaker panel.
This exposes you and your family to electrical risks such as electric shocks, burns, and flames caused by your home appliances, HVAC system, electronic gadgets, and electrical shocks, burns, and fires.
The circuit breaker panel supplies power but also has safety mechanisms that protect the wire from overloading or excessive heat accumulation, as well as preventing electrical shock and fire.
The protective function of the circuit breaker panel safeguards your house and its people against the risks of faulty grounding, short circuits, voltage spikes, defective wiring, and damaged insulation.
Circuit Breakers are commonly tripped for the following reasons:
- Circuits that are overloaded are designed to handle a certain amount of force. When you generate more electricity than the circuit can handle, you might experience a circuit overload.
- When current travels back to the service panel via the created wiring circuit and through the utility wires, this is called a short circuit.
- A ground fault occurs when a hot wire, such as a metal electrical box, makes contact with the grounding wire or a grounded component of the device.
Restting A Tripped Circuit Breaker
As a homeowner, you only need to reach the main circuit breaker panel during power outages or while doing repairs or replacements.
If this is the case, the process of resetting the circuit breaker is straightforward after you identify your breaker box (usually located in the basement).
Process:
- Locate toggles by opening the breaker box’s door. (they resemble blocky light switches hung upside down). The majority of them should point in the direction of the screen’s centre, indicating the direction ON.
- Toggles pointing away from the panel’s centre are deactivated.
- The toggles inside and between locations are the one(s) that have tripped. You must turn off the breaker before turning it back on; otherwise, the breaker will not reset. If it trips again immediately, turn it off without resentment, shut the panel door, and contact a professional.
- The problem might be caused by a short circuit in the main panel, a broken main circuit breaker, or another more serious issue.
Reach out to an Electrician
Again, if the circuit breaker panel appears to be ancient or unusual, hiring a qualified electrician is the best course of action.
At The Electrician Guys, we pride ourselves on providing prompt, convenient service that will assist you in resolving electrical issues in your house. Contact Us for all your circuit breaker repairs and replacements.