Are you tired of dealing with breakers tripping in your home? Don’t worry! Here at Cathey Electric we deal with circuit breakers tripping on a daily basis, and we know exactly what to do. Follow along and find out the five biggest things that cause trips.
Ever wondered exactly what’s going on when your breaker trips? Breakers are designed to monitor a specific circuit or set of circuits in your home, and essentially, they regulate the current flowing into these circuits and prevent electrical fires.
When an overload or short-circuit occurs the current exceeds its capacity and the breaker trips, cutting off electricity flow to that area of the home. This is why when a breaker trips you usually lose power to a section of your home all at once.
There are lots of things that can cause this issue, but these five are the ones our electricians deal with most often:
Excessive appliance use
Each breaker is set to administer a specific amount of electrical current, which is measured in amps. When the number of amps is exceeded, the breaker will always trip (unless you’ve got a faulty breaker). This tends to happen when folks get new appliances, like a large plasma TV, and try to plug it into a circuit that is already near or at maximum capacity.
High-draw appliances
Certain appliances draw a shockingly huge amount of power. This includes vacuums, microwaves, hair dryers, and portable heaters most commonly. Things of this nature should be operated on a dedicated high-draw circuit, and never just plugged in anywhere.
Worn out or damaged breakers
It’s also possible that your current breakers have simply worn out! Just like any other appliance or tool breakers have a shelf-life and will eventually give way to aging. When this happens, they can often start tripping arbitrarily or even refusing to operate at all. Luckily enough, though, circuit breaker replacement is a fast and simple job in the hands of a certified pro.
Storms and lightning strikes
Though not the most common cause of circuit breaker tripping, storms can certainly do it. We recommend looking into whole-home surge protection systems to prevent this, as well as to protect vital and high-cost home appliances.
Bad wiring
When wiring begins to wear out or gets damaged it opens your home and circuits to short circuiting, which not only will cause circuit breaker tripping but is also very dangerous. This is why home wiring should be inspected routinely and updated after a home renovation or remodel.
