Why does circuit breaker keep tripping? An analysis

A circuit breaker is found in every house which typically prevents any electrical damage. It shuts down the electrical flow to protect the circuit from the damage caused by overheating and a subsequent electrical fire caused by short circuit. When a circuit breaker overheated it always shows a red tripping alert. When it automatically shuts down you might feel very annoyed, but before resetting it, be sure to identify the main reason behind its tripping. Have you ever thought why does circuit breaker keep tripping?

Below are some reasons of your circuit breaker tripping in regular intervals-

Overloading of the circuit

This is a common reason of short-circuit tripping which indicates you are using heavy power appliances at the same time on the same circuit. Suppose if you are using your air conditioner, iron at the same time, consuming electricity more than the recommended level, then the circuit breaker will alert you by way of tripping.

An easy solution to this is the redistribution of power consuming devices to another general-purpose circuit. Simply switch off the power of some of the appliances to prevent overloading and short circuit. Sometimes an overheating appliance may also cause the circuit breaker to trip continuously when it consumes more AMPS than the standard level. For example, an overheating air conditioner may be the reason of circuit breaker tripping.

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Short circuit can happen anytime

A short circuit is a dangerous thing happen in any home because of an electrical negligence.

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This is a common reason of circuit breaker tripping. When a hot black wire comes in contact with another hot wire or a neutral wire then the circuit becomes overheat and causes a short circuit. As these two wires come in contact with each other, a large volume of heat produced out of that and makes the circle breaker to unable to handle the heat, and ultimately it shuts down. You can easily identify if there is a short circuit in your house by way of checking your electrical outlets and plugs once you sense some smell of burning.

Fault in ground wires causes circuit breaker tripping

This looks like a short circuit. When the hot wire meets the ground wire on the metal outlet box. Get an expert electrician who has years of experience in handling these things. Resetting the circuit breaker each time it shuts down will only be a temporary solution. Figuring out the underlying reasons of short circuit help you to fix the problem permanently.

How to decide which appliance has caused circuit breaker tripping

Usually, it is heavy appliances like ac, heater, iron etc causes overheating, leading to circuit breaker tripping.To identify which appliance causes the overheating, you have to observe closely the switches which one has tripped. When you see the power has gone off only a part of your house and not the entire building, then it is called tripped circuit breaker. In every house, there is an electrical panel or fuse box and it should be easily accessible from all sides and should not be covered by anything.

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Label each of the breaker assigned to a particular area for your knowledge.

Resetting a tripped circuit breaker

You can simply do it by turning off the breaker by moving the handle to the off and on position.

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Safety is necessary while you are handling this circuit breaker tripping problem. Always stand on the back side of the panel, it will save you from any spark that might come from the breaker when it is moved. It is better to wear safety goggles to protect your eyes. A flashlight and batteries should be kept ready nearby the electric panel to lighten up the area when the power is cut off. However, it is better to give some rest to the circuit breaker before you reset it. Now you unplug all the items on the circuit one by one to see which is causing the problem. If it is frequently giving you trouble, then just install a new age decent quality circuit outlet.

Conclusion

In fact, the circuit breaker tripping work as a danger alert for us. They send us a signal when an electrical malfunction occurs in your house to save you from any big danger. Acquiring knowledge on why does circuit breaker keep tripping give you the advantage to be aware of any emergency situations at home.