Tripping Circuit Breakers In Your Home Will Have You Searching For An Electrician Near Me In | Southlake, TX

9/15/2022

When the circuit breaker in your house trips, you might wonder what the reason behind it is if you are conversant with electrical systems. Since it is installed in the electrical system to prevent electrical hazards that can be catastrophic, it implies the issue is electrical and requires inspection, evaluation, and possible repairs before resetting.

Before resetting the circuit breaker, you should wait for an electrician near me in Texas to check and identify the cause of the tripping to stop it from flipping over and over and causing electrical accidents.

What Is a Circuit Breaker?

A circuit breaker is a switching device installed in the fuse panel of an electrical system for cutting off power when it senses an abnormal current in the electrical circuits. The circuit breakers include standard pole breakers, ground fault circuit interrupters, arc fault circuit interrupter breakers, and dual function breakers (GFCI and AFCI). They protect lives, appliances, properties, and valuables from electrical fires that can be fatal without timely intervention from a fire fighting department.

The switch device can also prevent electrical accidents such as shocks and electrocution. When they detect an overheating circuit or abnormal excessive load in the outlets, the switching device automatically trips the circuit by stopping the high electric flow.

The circuit breakers require an electrician near me in the city to stand at a safe distance and wear protective gloves when resetting.

In this masterpiece, the focus will be on the causes of the tripping circuit breaker in households, which include:

Power Surges That Cause Arc Faults

A power surge is an electrical problem that makes a circuit breaker trip if it overheats and melts wire insulation. A powerful spike in voltage increases the risk of electrical accidents that vary from mild to severe, as identified by an electrician near me in Southlake using signs of a burning odor from an appliance or flashing lights.

Power surges are dangerous because they lead to appliance damage or failure and electrical accidents. They lead to overheating circuits that can lead to an electrical fire after melting the cable insulation and creating an arc fault.

If your arc fault circuit interrupter breaker is functioning optimally, it can sense the heat in the wires and trip immediately, saving your appliances and preventing electrical hazards. In addition to the circuit breaking device, you can have a qualified electrician near me in Southlake, TX, install a whole house surge protector to protect against power surges.

The surge protector will shield your appliances from damage, and the circuit breaker will prevent the wiring system from causing a fire.

Overloaded Circuit

If the lights in your home keep flickering and the circuit breaker continues to trip even after several resetting times, the underlying cause is an overloading circuit. It occurs when you plug in many appliances, especially heavy electronics such as air conditioners, heaters, and refrigerators, in the same outlet.

The current load of each electric piece of equipment adds up to excess electricity flow that a single circuit cannot hold, leading to a tripping circuit breaker to block an electrical fire occurrence.

An electrician near me in town can help you calculate the circuit load of each outlet and those of your appliances and advise you to avoid using heavy electronics in one circuit. The professional can teach you how to redistribute the electronics to prevent a circuit overload.

Short Circuits

Another reason behind a tripping circuit breaker is a short circuit. Short circuits happen when current flows in a path of least resistance. In simple terms, it occurs when a hot wire meets a neutral wire in an outlet, leading to overheating circuits that trip a circuit breaker; hence, the need for an electrician near me in the city to reset it and find the root cause.

The expert can identify several triggers of a short circuit in homes, including faulty wiring during installation or repairs, loose wiring or connections, and damaged electric wires.

Short-circuiting can also happen in appliances with old or damaged wiring systems. In this case, you will perceive a burning smell from the affected electrical equipment, see sparks from outlets, or hear buzzing and popping noises, signs to switch off your electronics and call for professional repairs from an electrician near me in Southlake, TX, to identify the source of the issue.

Ground Faults

A ground fault also leads to the tripping of a circuit breaker in homes. It occurs when an electric current takes an unintended path flowing to the ground. Ground faults are more lethal in wet areas of the house, including laundry areas, kitchens, or bathrooms, because they can lead to the electrocution of individuals in damp spots as the electric current gets to a wet ground wire.

The circuit breaker installed by an experienced electrician near me in the neighborhood can detect ground faults in the electrical system and turn off the power immediately, saving people standing in wet places from death through electrocution.

One of the common causes of ground faults in homes is a poor installation of the wiring system that causes a reverse in polarity between a live and neutral wire. National Electrical Code recommends the installation of Ground fault circuit interrupters in kitchens, garages, crawl spaces, wet bar sinks, bathrooms, and outdoors.

Need Quality Electrical Services!

It is without a doubt that circuit breakers are essential in stopping catastrophic electrical hazards in homes. An experienced electrician near me in Texas can inspect your electric wiring system to identify and fix any issues. This can include frayed and naked wires due to melted cable insulation or excess load in one circuit that causes trip circuit breakers.

Buffalo Electric is among the best electrical companies in Southlake, TX, offering exceptional services. We have qualified, experienced, licensed, and insured electricians that are a call away for emergency repairs or installations. Call us to book an appointment for electrical system inspection, evaluation, or repairs.

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