Quite a few homeowners experience a tripped circuit breaker. When it trips, the power is cut off to a certain area or the whole house. Though the solution is sometimes to replace the circuit breaker, you can reset a tripped circuit fairly easy enough, although if it keeps tripping, this indicates a more serious problem where you should definitely call out a licensed electrician. and we at Simon Electric would like to take the opportunity to share how to take care of the circuit breaker tripping.
How to Reset a Tripped Circuit Breaker
When a surge of energy overloads a circuit, for example a heavily stressed outlet drawing too much current or from a lightning strike, the breaker switch will shutoff as a failsafe. When this happens, apply the steps below to restore the power supply.
1) The power needs to be shutoff by the switch or unplugged after the breaker is tripped. Be sure to turn off the light switches and hard switches to appliances are turned off. If the TV, for instance, doesn’t have the manual switch, be sure to unplug it. There can damage to any electronics drawing electricity after the breaker is reset.
2) When the breaker trips, the switch is usually left in the middle and before turning it back on, be sure to push the switch fully in the off position. Many breakers will visibly show a red or orange color to help identify when a breaker switch is off.
3) The now off position can be switched to the on position. You can switch on the lights and appliances and plug everything back in only after you have properly restored the tripped breaker switch. Where it usually doesn’t raise concern for isolated incidents, if the circuit breaker continues to trip, you need to call a licensed electrician to find out the problem.
What Would Cause a Breaker to Keep Tripping?
Likely requiring a replacement, a circuit breaker that continues to trip, a serious issue can be the cause from common and normal wear and tear. The causes of a constant circuit breaker tripping are many, but the most common include the list below.
1) Short Circuit: Though short circuits can be common; they can still be dangerous. In an electrical outlet, a “hot wire” that is contacting a neutral wire creates heat and an overload of current to flow through the circuit. As a safety measure and to prevent electrical fires in these situations, the circuit breaker automatically shuts off.
2) Overloaded Circuit: Overloaded circuits, which can could lead to damaged electronics or electrical fires, are somewhat commonplace. When an electrical system or certain circuits can’t handle the amps coming through the circuit, it is known as an overloaded circuit.
3) Ground Fault: A ground fault is the affect of a hot wire and bare ground wire are both touching in the metal box housing. The outlet often burns out because a chain reaction is set off that pushes more electricity through the circuit than it’s supposed to hold, causing the breaker to trip repeatedly.
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Contact Simon Electric if your circuit breaker continues to trip or it is experiencing issues. Our qualified members will find the root of the problem and ensure the necessary steps are taken to restore the efficiency.
