BACK Fuses/Circuit Breakers Fuses and circuit breakers are safety devices located on your electrical panel to prevent over-loading and fires. They stop the electrical current if it exceeds the safe level for some portion of the home electrical system. Overloading means that the appliances and lighting in the home regularly demand more electrical current than the home electrical system can safely deliver. If the demand for electrical current exceeds the safety level, a fuse opens once and must be replaced to reconnect the circuit. A circuit breaker “trips” its switch to open the circuit, and the circuit is reconnected by closing the switch manually.

There are at least two different types of circuit breakers. One has a control handle that swings all the way to “OFF” when it is tripped. The other has an intermediate position, close to “ON” (sometimes it is difficult to see that it has tripped). Both types of circuit breakers must be reset with the hand control after the problem has been eliminated. The first type should simply be moved back to “ON”, the second moved first to “OFF” and then to “ON”. Q. If fuses are used, are they the correct size for the circuit? Yes   No Replacing a correct size fuse with a larger size fuse can present a serious fire hazard. If the fuse in the box is rated higher than that intended for the circuit, excessive current will be allowed to flow and possibly overload the outlet and house wiring to the point that a fire can begin. Be certain that correct-size fuses are used. (If you do not know the correct sizes, plan to have a qualified electrician identify and label the sizes to be used). NOTE: Most of the screw-based fuses used should be 15 amp. If all, or nearly all, fuses used are 30-amp, these fuses may be rated too high for the circuits. For more information about fuses and circuit breakers, contact us at Mr. Electric.