Are you frustrated because your circuit breaker trips when you use certain electrical appliances? A circuit breaker is a switch that helps to protect your home’s electrical power system. It also protects all electrical devices connected to it. A circuit breaker usually trips if it cannot handle current passing through it. It trips to protect your electrical circuit from overheating, a factor that could lead to extensive damage including a fire outbreak. Although circuit breakers operate in good faith, sometimes they can be very frustrating especially if they keep tripping all the time. Below are common reasons why your circuit breaker keeps tripping.
1. Circuit overload
A circuit overload occurs when the electrical circuit receives more current that what it can comfortably handle. It can also occur is there is a loose connection or if the wires in the circuit are corroded. Circuit overload is among the top reasons why circuit breakers trip. When you are operating heavy electrical equipment that consumes a lot of power, then the load can become too much for the circuit breaker to handle causing it to trip. For instance, if your circuit breaker is rated 20 amps and your electrical devices are consuming 25 amps worth of electricity, then the circuit breaker will automatically trip to prevent the circuit from overheating. To prevent your circuit breaker from tripping because of an electrical overload, you need to reduce devices that are running through the breaker circuit. You can distribute devices that are consuming more power to other circuit breakers to avoid overloading one circuit breaker.
2. Short circuit
Another reason that causes a circuit breaker to trip is short circuit. A short circuit occurs when a section of the live wire gets in contact with a neutral wire in the circuit. When a live wire in the circuit comes into contact with a neutral wire, huge amounts of current flows, creating more heat than what the circuit breaker can handle. As a result, the circuit breaker trips to prevent fire outbreak. A short circuit is among the top causes of damage on electrical devices. A short circuit can also lead to a fire outbreak that can cause massive loss of property and even life. Circuit breakers play a crucial role in preventing such things from happening. Common causes of the short circuit include faulty electrical installation, loose connections, old or broken electrical appliance and interference from pets. If your circuit breaker trips because of a short circuit, then you are advised to call a reputable electrical service immediately. Handling this issue on your own is dangerous especially if you know nothing about the electrical repair.
3. Ground fault
A ground fault is almost similar to a short circuit. The only difference is that it occurs when the live wire within the circuit comes in contact with the ground wire. When the live wire comes into contact ground wire, a large amount of current is forced to pass through the circuit breaker causing it to trip. The circuit breaker trips to protect your electrical appliances from getting damaged. It also protects your home from a fire outbreak. The ground fault usually occurs when an electrical appliance is faulty or damaged.
Matters dealing with electricity (whether big or small) are very dangerous and should only be handled by an experienced electrician. If your circuit breaker trips all the time and you can’t seem to find where the problem is, give us a call. We will send our highly experienced electrical repair team to come and fix the problem ASAP. Quick Spark is available every day to pick your call, Call us now on 1300 265 751
