When you flip on your lights and hear a loud pop, it’s probably not a good thing. The sound of an electrical breaker tripping or fuse blowing can be scary, but it usually just means one thing: your home’s circuit was overloaded with electricity from too many devices plugged into the same outlet.
We at West Lake Village Electricians can help you with this kind of problem; we have Circuit Breakers Repair Installation services you can trust.
We’ve outlined the top five reasons why this happens below so you can stay safe in your home. If you have any other questions about what happened, feel free to reach out!
- Too many appliances plugged into one outlet
You may have noticed that circuit breakers trip for a variety of reasons. It’s normal to worry about whether or not there’s something wrong with your home, but in most cases, circuit breakers tend to overheat from too much use or from incidental contact with water—and they simply need a little time to cool down before they can be reset.
In some cases, however, an outlet may be experiencing an overload because too many appliances are plugged into it at once. Suppose you’re trying to save space by using extension cords and power strips around your house and you notice that your breaker trips every time you use some outlets in particular rooms (or even when you turn on certain lights). In that case, this could be one reason why: It might indicate that there are simply too many appliances plugged in at once at any given time.
In the case of fuses blowing out instead of circuit breakers tripping, each outlet has its own fuse—meaning if something has gone wrong with an outlet (for example, if someone accidentally left their curling iron unplugged), then only that outlet will stop working.
- Impending short circuits
Short circuits are a common hazard in homes. They occur when the flow of electricity through a wire exceeds the capacity of the wire or circuit to carry it. In other words, if there is too much current flowing through your home’s wiring system, it can result in damage to your electrical system and appliances if not quickly corrected.
A circuit breaker trips before a fuse blows because it senses an impending short circuit and protects you from that possible fire hazard by shutting off power to that part of the system until repairs can be made. Circuit breakers have different ratings based on what kind of load they’re designed to handle; fuses have low ratings for both amperage and voltage, which means they may not trip fast enough for all types of conditions—they may take longer than necessary before tripping due to their low design parameters (and therefore could potentially lead up to overheating).
- Circuit overload
When someone overloads an outlet with too many appliances plugged into it at once, there’s not enough current available for each appliance to operate properly—leading to all sorts of problems like blown fuses and short circuits!
If this happens at home while you’re doing laundry or cooking supper in the kitchen while watching TV in another room, it could cause serious damage if not dealt with immediately.
Don’t overload your circuit to avoid tripping.
- Faulty wiring
Faulty wiring can be the cause of a fuse blowing or a circuit breaker tripping. In addition to causing costly damage and inconvenience, faulty wiring can also lead to fires and injury or death.
If you suspect that your electrical system is faulty, contact a licensed electrical contractor right away. Do not attempt repairs yourself, as this could result in serious injury or death if you don’t know what you’re doing.
- High levels of electricity usage
If you’re using more than the recommended amount of electricity, your circuit breaker will trip. This can be caused by an appliance malfunctioning or a short circuit.
When there is an overload on a single wire where it enters into your home’s breaker panel (the place where all wires enter), fuses blow when there are high levels of electricity usage within your home’s circuits.
Solved! How to Deal With a Tripping Circuit Breaker
We all know how frustrating it is when you flip a switch and nothing happens. You try again, and once more, nothing. Your mind immediately jumps to the worst possible scenario: a fire!
Thankfully, tripping breakers are not always signs of imminent danger. Most often, they’re caused by simple mistakes that any homeowner can fix right away.
In this article, we’ll walk you through some common causes of tripping breakers, explain how they work, offer tips on what to do if yours keeps getting stuck in the “off” position—plus a few ideas for preventing these issues from happening again in the future!
- Don’t just reset the breaker.
As a homeowner, you may be tempted to just reset your tripping circuit breaker. But doing so might cause more harm than good.
Before resetting the breaker, you must identify the cause of the tripping in order to fix it properly and avoid future problems with your electrical system.
- Rule out causes before starting work.
If you don’t know what the problem is, you can’t fix it. Before attempting any repair work, there are a few things to keep in mind.
First of all, don’t waste time on things that aren’t likely to be the cause of your tripping circuit breaker (for example, a single light bulb burning out).
Also, make sure your power source is plugged into a working outlet and grounded properly.
Last, don’t forget to check all connections between fixtures and wiring for loose or damaged terminals (the screws that hold these components together). If necessary, replace them with new ones of the same size and type as those already present in your system.
- Use a simple process of elimination.
The first thing you need to do is turn off the power to the circuit. The next step is to turn on the power to the circuit and see if it trips again. If so, then you know that there’s something wrong with that particular circuit and all you need to do is keep repeating this process until you find out which one of your tripping circuits has an issue with it.
If you’re having problems with your electrical system, it’s important to get it checked out as soon as possible. By doing so, you can avoid potentially dangerous situations and prevent your house from being damaged by an electrical fire.
If a circuit breaker trips or fuse frequently blows in your home, call an electrician immediately!
We at West Lake Village Electricians can help, so call us now. We’ll ensure that all of your electrical problems are fixed in no time.