What to do When Your Home’s Electrical Circuit Breaker Trips
Your home’s circuit breaker just tripped and you probably already know the culprit, such as the power tool being used at the same time as the microwave, blow dryer and vacuum. We all love the convenience of electricity, but are often intimidated when the circuit breaker trips in the home’s electrical panel and aren’t sure what to do next. It turns out it’s a simple task that is easy to do and not intimidating at all. All that is needed is to open up the home’s electrical panel, find the breaker that tripped and flip it back to the “ON” position.
Find Your Home’s Electrical Panel
The first order of business is to locate your home’s electrical panel. It is located most of the time in the garage, basement or a closet near the garage. If the home has a utility room it might just be located there.
Locate the Tripped Circuit Breaker
These days we have smartphones. If it’s night time, turn on your smartphone and slide open the panel to the phone flashlight and tap it on. It’s a good idea to leave and old fashioned flash light next to our electrical panel, in case your smartphone is hard to find. Located the tripped circuit breaker that’s now in the off or mostly off position
Flip the Circuit Breakers or Circuit Breaker to the Off Position
Once you have located the popped circuit breaker, turn it to the completely off position. Give it a minute before your proceed to take any other action.
Flipping the Circuit Breaker Switch On
Before proceeding to turning on the circuit breaker, unplug the appliances that overloaded the circuit that caused the breaker to overload and turn off. The appliances that need to be turned off are located in the area of the home written on the label of the circuit breaker that tripped off.
Becoming knowledgeable about your home’s electrical panel location and how the its circuit breakers protect your home from overloaded circuits because of too much electricity is a vital skill for a home owner. Learning where your home’s electrical panel is located is just as important as know where the hot water heater is or where the furnace is located.
Labeling Circuit Breakers
Most electrical contractors wiring a new or existing home will label each circuit breaker properly inside the electrical panel to the left of right of the breaker switch. When you find your home’s electrical box, update the labels with an indelible black or red marker so the name of each location is easy to read. If your lights go out from a tripped electrical circuit, you’ll easily be able to see what part of the home caused the circuit breaker to trip.
With circuit breakers and overloaded circuits in a home being today’s subject, it makes perfect sense to invest in a surge protector to protect your entire home to improve it’s overall safety. To find out about it and learn more click here!