The circuit breaker panel (a.k.a. the electrical panel) is the central “switching station” for electricity in your house. Its breakers are designed to trip and cut off electrical flow to individual circuits in situations where there is excessive voltage. This protects the electrical system from damage, and in turn helps keep your home safer.
An occasional tripped circuit breaker is a minor inconvenience. But when you find yourself making regular trips outside to reset tripped breakers, you have a more serious issue. In most cases, you’ll need to have a licensed, professional electrician in Brentwood, CA discover the source of the electrical trouble so it can be fixed correctly and safely.
So why is this happening? Here are the three most common reasons:
Is the constantly tripped circuit breaker happening after an appliance in your home turns on? The most common culprits are the refrigerator, the air conditioner, the heater, or laundry machines. These are appliances that put immense strain on circuits, and if they place too much, it will overload the circuit and trip the breaker. Often, this is a sign of an appliance that’s overheating. If this hasn’t happened before, the appliance is probably malfunctioning. If the appliance is new, it may be too powerful for the circuitry.
There is a short circuit in the house
A short circuit occurs when a “hot” wire either touches another hot wire or a “neutral” wire in an outlet. This allows for an enormous amount of current to flow at once, which is enough to trip a breaker. The short circuit can be due to poor wiring and old outlets. Short circuits have the potential to create electrical fires, so make sure to have the outlets replaced and any necessary rewiring done.
The electrical panel is worn down
The trouble may be with the circuit breakers themselves. If the panel is more than a decade old, the wear and tear on it may be allowing the breakers to trip easily. In these cases, we recommend having an electrician upgrade the panel to a new one. If you still have an old fuse box rather than a breaker panel, then you absolutely need an upgrade! Fuse boxes aren’t designed to handle the demands that modern homes place on them, and putting in larger and larger fuses creates a significant fire hazard.
An important reminder: don’t go poking around the electrical panel on your own trying to determine what’s wrong with it. This could result in a dangerous high voltage shock. Leave the work to licensed electricians and stay safe.
Our electricians can find out what’s causing your breaker panel problem. We replace panels and can also upgrade your outlets and handle extensive rewiring. To help prevent surges from affecting the breaker panel, we can equip it with whole-house surge protection. We’re also AC and heating experts and can assist you if these appliances are causing the electrical overload.
Kilowatt Heating, Air Conditioning and Electrical can handle any electrical service you need in the Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley areas. Call our friendly technicians 24/7 for exceptional customer service!