Ah, there it goes again! All you\u2019re trying to do is to heat up your Hot Pockets for lunch, and everything was going great until you pressed the \u201cstart\u201d button on the microwave. All of a sudden, the lights to everything went out \u2013 your circuit breaker tripped. When this happens once, it\u2019s a mild annoyance. All it takes is a quick trip to the breaker box to flip the switch, and you\u2019re back in business. But when it happens again and again and again, you might have a problem with your hands.<\/p>\n
Tripping a circuit breaker never fails to be incredibly irritating, but there\u2019s a silver lining to it: all you have to do is push the level back, so the circuit breaker is doing its job! Without it, the factors that keep causing your breaker to trip could have led to a much more serious problem such as sparking, which could eventually become something as dangerous as a fire. Let Home Service Heroes guide you through the most common reasons your circuit breaker is tripping, and what you can do to make sure it doesn\u2019t keep happening.<\/p>\n
This one is arguably the most common culprit behind a tripped breaker. When a circuit has too many devices or appliances plugged into it \u2013 and thus has an influx of power that it isn\u2019t equipped to handle \u2013 it overloads, and the breaker trips. The wires holding the current start channeling too much heat, and the breaker does what it has to do to prevent them from overheating and causing a disaster.<\/p>\n
The solution here is pretty simple. If possible, find a way to re-arrange your devices in a way that lessens the burden on specific outlets or power strips. Divvy up the load, and the overload problem stands a better shot of going away.<\/p>\n
When a hot wire gets loose and creates a circuit with something else \u2013 like a metal box \u2013 then it produces a ground fault. The current finds a quicker way than intended to complete the circuit, and the wires can\u2019t handle that sudden influx of power, and the breaker trips.<\/p>\n
A culprit here could be because some of the wires \u2013 or the outlet \u2013 might be loose or improperly installed. If you\u2019re electrically inclined, you can attempt to check the wiring yourself, but that makes for a dangerous task. An electrician will be able to diagnose the problem.<\/p>\n
A short circuit is essentially what a ground fault is, except that these short circuits happen in an isolated environment. If hot wire jars lose and connect with another wire, the circuit gets turned on itself. If your outlets are charred or burned, you\u2019re seeing telltale signs a short circuit has shown up.<\/p>\n
Again, like with a ground fault, we don\u2019t advise you to try and tackle this problem yourself except in very rare cases. Let a trained professional handle it.<\/p>\n