House Circuit Breakers: All You Need to Know, In One Place (2024)

Your house circuit breaker must function safely andproperly. Unfortunately, circuit breakers canfail toperform dueto multiple reasons. Common circuit breaker failure causes include acircuit breaker that isnot properly reset, ashort circuit, oran overloaded circuit. Detecting abad breaker early isbeneficial foryou asfixing itmay notbe asexpensive. Circuit breakers protect from fires andelectrical faults; hence, it’s important toknow howto tell ifa circuit breaker isbad. Call your electrical contractor toprevent anyfatal accidents.

Steps toCheck aBad Circuit Breaker

Here aresome steps youcan take tocheck ifyour circuit breaker isbad:

• Identify thecircuit that theparticular breaker isprotecting
• Open your electrical panel box
• Find thelabel forthe house circuit breaker that isn’t functioning properly
• Ensure accurate label matching correct circuit
• Turn offthe breaker
• Unplug allelectrical devices linked with that circuit breaker
• Reset thecircuit breaker
• Ifthe breaker trips, itmeans ashort circuit oroverload
• Replace abroken circuit breaker

Usea multimeter tocheck thetotal voltage capacity ofthe circuit breaker, ifthe voltage reading iszero itmeans youshould urgently replace theaffected house circuit breaker.

WhyYour Home Circuit Breaker IsSo Important

Acircuit breaker controls everything. Itis inside anelectrical panel ofyour home. Your entire power supply including appliances, light fixtures, lamps, ismanaged bythese breakers. Knowing thefunctioning ofa breaker andhow tochange acircuit breaker isessential toavoid catastrophic accidents happening inyour home. Your fail-safe systems must always function properly; Ifa faulty house circuit breaker cannot effectively perform itsduty, youshould immediately fixthese problems. Areyou wondering cana circuit breaker fail without tripping? Well, theanswer isyes; itneeds tobe replaced. After resetting thecircuit breaker ifthe circuit breaker doesn’t trip again itusually means anoverloaded circuit. Youcan move plugs toother circuits andreset your house circuit breaker. Ifit trips again, itmeans abad breaker ora short circuit.

Learn About Common BadCircuit Breaker Symptoms:

Apart from directly testing each circuit breaker todetermine thefault, certain signs indicate abad circuit breaker. Look outfor thefollowing symptoms; andif youexperience anyof them, gethelp from anexperienced electrician toreplace orfix your badcircuit breaker.

Doesn’t Stay in“Reset”:

Your breaker could beshort-circuiting; youwill beneeding theservices ofa professional electrician tocheck your electrical panel boxand house circuit breaker. Itis important tolet your electrician completely check theinside ofthe unit. They tend tolook more closely atthe walls andelectrical panel toensure noserious electrical issues aregoing on. Experienced professionals know howto tell ifa circuit breaker isbad byjust looking atthe signs.

Smell:

Among other badcircuit breaker symptoms, abad smell iseasier tocatch. Ifyou experience aburning smell coming from your circuit breakers, itmeans something iswrong with your house circuit breaker. When aburnt smell isoriginating from your electrical panel box, youshould immediately shut themain power tothe house. Call anelectrician foremergency services tocheck your electrical wiring. Your electrician will resolve allyour queries regarding howto change acircuit breaker. Ifleft, thedamage cancause adevastating fire.

HotTemperature:

Ifthe electrical panel boxor house circuit breaker ishot tothe touch, call aprofessional electrician foremergency service. Youshould immediately turn offthe power supply toyour house. Your dimmer switch canalso gethot. Inthis situation check thewattage. Youshould look atthe amount ofwattage plugged inand theamount that canbe held. This isone ofthe badcircuit breaker symptoms. Usually when thecircuit isoverloaded heat isproduced.

Visibly Damaged:

When younotice evident marks near appliances, outlets, orthe electrical box, shut thepower toyour house since itmeans awire just melted andyour home could beon fire. Abad circuit breaker cancause serious damages toyour property. Prevent further escalation ofthe electrical problems bycalling your electrician right away. Byusing thermal imaging, theheat source canbe identified. Your electrician canuse aninfrared camera toinspect theissue aswell. Theheat produced dueto abad circuit breaker maycause external damage, youshould always check thehouse circuit breaker andelectrical panel box.

Frequent Trips:

Whenever youturn ona switch andyour breaker turns off, itcould mean abad circuit breaker. Experiencing frequent trips could beeither because your circuitry isbad oryou have afaulty breaker. Getting intouch with your electrician isa smart idea todiagnose theaccurate problem.

Long-Time Use:

Youmay need toreplace andupgrade your circuit breakers ifyour house orthe circuit breakers aretoo old. Ifyou arethinking about howto change acircuit breaker, wehave anexpert electrician todiagnose theage andissue ofyour circuit breaker. Theoperational condition ofold circuit breakers iscompromised. Anolder house circuit breaker ismore prone tofaulty trips; youcan avoid electrical hazards andreplace your oldbreakers immediately.

Hire aProfessional Electrician

Call anexperienced electrician from McCarrick Electric ifyou experience circuit breaker problems. Your badcircuit breaker will bereplaced with anew oneto make your space safe andcomfortable foryou andyour loved ones. McCarrick Electric offers electrical services inthe following areas:

Call usright away forany emergency services.