Breakers and Fuses
One of the most frustrating things about being a homeowner is a circuit breaker that continually trips. Especially when you find yourself going to the basement or utility room to locate the electrical panel and reset the circuit breaker only to go back upstairs or to what you were doing when it first popped and have it trip again. There’s only so much of this a person can take and a point when it becomes necessary to identify the root cause of the problem.
Request Service Today
Circuit breakers are designed to trip and turn off the power when a circuit becomes overloaded, has a short or a ground fault. An overloaded circuit most often occurs when more current runs through the circuit than the circuit was intended to accommodate. While many homeowners are aware of what causes a tripped circuit, taking the steps necessary to prevent a circuit breaker from constantly tripping isn’t as widely known. If you’re tired of blowing a fuse every time you blow dry your hair or run the vacuum cleaner, it’s time to call the electricians at Exceptional Electric. Especially if your circuits are still tripping after you’ve moved power consuming devices like lamps, heaters, irons and hair dryers around to different circuits.
The root cause of a circuit that constantly trips could be a loose connection. Loose connections can occur with a loose wire on the outlet itself or when the hot wire that connects the circuit breaker to the electrical service panel in your home becomes loose.
In other cases, the situation is more serious with a breaker tripping because of a short circuit. There are several different ways a short circuit can occur. In some instances a short occurs when the hot (black) wire touches another hot wire or a neutral (white) wire. In other cases, a short occurs when there’s a break in a wire in the circuit. Because shorts are difficult to diagnose, St. Louis homeowners turn to the electricians at Exceptional Electric to determine if a short is due to the wiring in their homes or merely a defectively wired device plugged into an outlet.
The electricians at Exceptional Electric are also experts at identifying a tripped circuit caused by a ground fault condition, another type of short circuit. Such a condition happens when the hot (black) wire touches the ground (bare copper) wire or the metal on an outlet box. The ground wire is connected to the metal box.
Be sure you know the signs of bad circuits. Besides a circuit that constantly trips, look for power cords that appear damaged or have a melted appearance. Check outlets and plugs for brown or black discoloration and a burning smell. If you experience these signs, it’s time to call the electricians at Exceptional Electric.
When it comes to working with electricity you don’t want to “wing it” or “hope for the best” or “save money by doing it yourself” if you’ve never worked with electricity before. There’s a peace of mind that comes with knowing your breakers and fuses are functioning properly and your family is safe.
