Tips to Help You Reduce How Often Circuit Breakers Trip

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Have you ever plugged in an electrical device only to be shocked that all the lights went off? Here are some tips that will help you to limit how often circuit breakers trip in your home.

Unplug Appliances

Many people think that an electrical appliance does not receive any current once that appliance is switched off. Current will still run to that appliance as long as its power cable is in a power outlet. Thus, the switched off appliance will reduce how much current the additional appliance can draw before the limit of the circuit breaker is reached. It is therefore advisable to unplug all the appliances that you are not using. This will prevent the circuit breaker from tripping once you plug in an appliance that you would like to use.

Spread Out Appliances

Some appliances (such as space heaters) consume more power than others (such as computers) do. Some homeowners make the mistake of using an extension cable to supply power to several gadgets that consume a lot of power. This combined consumption can easily exceed the limit of the power outlet into which the extension cable was plugged, causing the circuit breaker to trip. Develop a habit of placing appliances in several locations so that they do not draw power from the same outlet. For example, iron clothes from one room as another person is using a space heater in another room. In this way, no single outlet will be overloaded to the extent of tripping a circuit breaker. You can also check the power rating of each appliance in your home. Avoid placing appliances that need a lot of power on the same circuit or outlet.

Check Appliance Cords Regularly

Circuit breakers may also trip because frayed appliance cables have shorted. The best way to prevent such causes of tripped breakers is to check the condition of appliance cords before you plug any appliance into an outlet. Look out for frayed, cut or melted sections of power cords. Do not plug in any appliance whose cord has visible signs of damage. Fix that damage first, or hire someone to do it.

It is not advisable to flip a breaker switch back on before identifying what caused it to trip in the first place. This is because the defect may be in the wiring of the house and a fire may break out if that problem is not fixed before the breaker is turned back on. You may need to contact an electrician for help in case you cannot immediately establish the defect that has caused the breaker to trip.


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