Circuit breakers (or their alternative, fuses) are an extremely important part of modern homes and of electrical systems. They’re easily one of the most important safety mechanisms that you can have in your Orlando home. Without them, simple wiring problems or equipment failures would very easily cause house fires, and electrical systems would be completely impractical.
At Solaris Electric & Plumbing, we know how important circuit breakers or fuses are to your home and electrical system, so we’ll always do whatever it takes to keep them in the best condition possible. We can install new breakers and fuses, replace them, or repair them as necessary, and we recommend you have any problems you notice with your breakers or fuses looked at by a professional electrician as soon as possible. Our electricians are available 24/7 for any emergency repairs you need, and we’ll always be on any job as quickly as possible.
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Electrical Fuses
Electrical services panels or boxes that were installed before 1965 are likely to use fuses to protect your electrical system. Early fuses were commonly used until the mid-60s, though there’s a very strong chance that if you still have them in your home, you’ll need to have this box upgraded or replaced. Today’s modern homes usually require up to 200 amps of electricity or more, depending on the size of the building, in order to provide the necessary amount of protection.
If you have a fuse box in your Orlando home, it’s almost guaranteed that it’s currently overloaded. You’re likely dealing with blown fuses and short circuits on a regular basis, and this can be more than irritating—often, it can be very dangerous. Call a professional electrician as soon as possible for an inspection of your electrical system.
Circuit Breakers
All newer homes are protected by circuit breakers. Unlike fuses, which need to be replaced when blown or burned out, circuit breakers simply “trip” or “short” and will only need to be readjusted in order to resume normal electrical operation.
Malfunctioning circuit breakers occur most frequently because the circuit is overloaded. This simply means that you’re asking a particular circuit to provide more electricity to your home than it has the capacity for, which is, in turn, causing the circuit to overheat.
If you’re running a computer and television through the same circuit, using 20 amps of electricity in a circuit that was meant to run 15 amps, the circuit breaker trips to prevent the circuit from possibly overheating and catching fire.
There are a couple of solutions to this problem. The first is to redistribute your devices and keep them off of the same circuits. You could also turn some of the devices off to reduce the electrical load.
If you continue to see problems, the source may be more complicated and could easily lead to a fire in your Orlando home if it’s not handled by an electrician as soon as possible.
Protect your appliances with professional whole home surge protection.
Common Reasons You Might Need Fuse or Breaker Repair
If you have an old fuse box, or even if you use a newer breaker, there may come a time when you experience a blown fuse or a tripped breaker. Here are some reasons you might be experiencing them in your home:
- Overloaded circuits caused by heavy use.
- Short circuits caused by an electrical fault.
- Ground faults where the electrical current touches a grounded part of your system.
- An arc fault.
- A problem with your circuit breaker or fuse box itself.
- Using the wrong fuses.
- Damaged or frayed wires.
- Damaged or old electrical outlets.
- You’re in need of an upgraded electrical service.