An electrical circuit breaker plays an important in your home. It is a safety mechanism for preventing too much current from flowing throu an electrical circuit. Circuit breakers reside in m circuit breaker panels within your home. Main circuit breaker panels are usually found in basements, garages or utility rooms. How a Circuit Breaker Works When more current flows through a wire than w it is rated for it heats up. The wire can get so ho that it actually can cause a fire. unately the circuit breaker can prevent this ation from occurring, by shutting off the power he circuit when too much current begins to flow ough the circuit. advantage of a circuit breaker over its decessor, the fuse, is that it can be reset after it been shut off (or tripped). understand circuit breakers you first need to understand what a circuit is. A circuit is a loop that tains various loads and switches on it, such as lighting, stereo equipment, refrigerators, stoves, se loads are connected into the circuit via electrical outlets and are controlled by switches in so es. There are many electrical circuits within your home. As a matter of fact each circuit breaker in main circuit breaker panel represents a unique circuit. Circuit breakers are installed in series with a circuit. When too much current flows through the wire, due to either too many loads on the circuit, or a faulty load that causes a short circuit, the circuit breaker recognizes this increase of current and immediately is tripped. When it is tripped, the power is shut off to the circuit. When a circuit is tripped, it is important to figure out what caused it to trip. Usually it is associated with too many loads being turned on simultaneously, such as multiple power tools, or even hair dryers operating simultaneously. Sometimes, however it can be a faulty appliance. Once you have figured out the cause and eliminated it from the circuit, for example unplugging some of the loads, or the faulty load from the wall outlet, you can then reset the circuit breaker to restore power to the circuit. There are also ground fault circuit interrupter type circuit breakers (GFCI circuit breakers) for use in bathrooms, kitchens, garages and other areas where there might be water or high moisture levels. They are designed to trip under the slightest rapid current change to prevent serious or life threatening shock.
No comments:
Post a Comment