Breakers and fuses are used to protect your electrical equipment from power overloads. They do this by interrupting the flow of electricity. They way each of them do this different though. A circuit breaker’s internal switch is tripped and just has to be reset, but a fuse has a piece of metal that melts and then must be replaced.
How Do Fuses Work?
Fuses come in all kinds of styles (for both residential and commercial use) but they’re typically made of glass or ceramic with a metal casing. This is then placed in a central fuse box where all the building’s wires pass through. It bridges different circuits by allowing the electricity to flow through it between them. When there’s an overload, however, the filament melts, stopping the electricity from flowing through and damaging the equipment. This is done quickly so it stops any power surge. The best types of fuses are ones rated for a current that’s slightly higher than the typical operating current, even though there are fuses available with lots of different voltage and ratings. Once the fuse is melted, you’ll need to get a new one to replace it with.
How Do Circuit Breakers Work?
All circuit breakers are similar but there are two different ways they work—with a electromagnetic (or solenoid) or bi-metal strip. Essentially, when this breaker is turned on, the electrical current runs from a bottom to upper terminal across a solenoid or strip. When the current is too strong, the magnetic force of the solenoid is strengthened. In result, a switch is thrown and the current is broken. The other way this is done uses a metal strip that bends, triggering the switch that breaks the connection. To reset the system back to normal, all you have to do is turn the switch back on. You can do this by finding your breaker box (a box filled with a bunch of individual switches). This makes working on an area of wiring easy because you can just turn off the switch for that location. Another place these can be used is in a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlet, which protects people from electric shock. It breaks the circuit if the current isn’t balanced and is simply reset by a button you push in. These are usually put in places where a source of water and electric appliances are used frequently and in close proximity to each other, such as a kitchen or bathroom. This helps lower the risk of electrocution.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Each
Each of these devices has its own advantages and disadvantages. We go over them below.
Fuses have a couple advantages—they are both cheaper (and easy to find) to purchase for replacement as well as very protective (because they do melt easily). However, this also leads to their disadvantage because if your circuit frequently (or regularly) blows fuses, you’ll have to replace them a lot. When this does happen, there are a couple problems that could occur. For one, you could easily grab a fuse with a higher voltage or current rating than you need, thus causing the circuit to overheat. Another issue is that a lot of the time the location of the fuse is in a dark room, which can make replacing it more challenging. In addition, some electrical connections in the fuse box may be exposed. This can be dangerous if you don’t follow the correct safety precautions.
Circuit breakers have lots of advantages. Not only are they fast to reset, but it’s also easy to find which one has tripped. They’re also a safer option because the connections are all hid in the breaker box and you don’t have to worry about getting a fuse with the correct rating. The cons of these are that they are more expensive to repair and install, are more sensitive to vibration and movement (which causes them to trip easier), and don’t react as fast as fuses do (which could cause the electronics on the circuit to be ruined by the electricity that gets through).
All that said though, fuses and circuit breakers are not interchangeable. An example of this is a GFCI. A fuse can’t be used in those situations, but a circuit breaker setup can. Consult your electrician about which type is best for a particular situation.
How to Tell If There’s an Issue With Your Breaker Box
Your breaker box is very important (whether it’s a fuse box or circuit breaker) because it keeps your electrical system safe. That said, you’ll understand why, if it’s not working properly, you’d have a much larger risk of an electrocution or fire. The first sign you should look for is if your box keeps breaking a circuit. This obviously means that you’re overloading it. A good way to find out if you’re box is really acting up or if you’re just using too much electricity is to lessen your power usage. If you aren’t using as much electrical current and it still is malfunctioning, something is probably wrong with the box itself. Contact an electrician if you have concerns about this.
Maintenance of Your Breaker Box
You should check your breaker box along with the entire electrical system about once every three years. During a maintenance appointment, the electrician should inspect the box to be sure that it’s monitoring the system properly and activating when it’s supposed to. If there are any issues discovered, that would be the time to get them fixed. Just doing a check making sure that there aren’t any big issues with the box should be enough. That said, don’t wait until the next appointment if you notice something unusual going on. Contact an electrician asap if you think it needs to be professionally repaired.
How To Fix a Blown Fuse or Reset a Tripped Circuit Breaker
- When the electricity shuts off, turn off the lights and unplug a few things in the area you were in. Think of the last thing you were using and unplug that. Chances are that was what was the problem (since the circuit was interrupted shortly after you started using it). The reason you turn everything off is because if you keep it all on (as before) and then restore power, you could easily just “blow it out” again.
- Find your electrical panel. Some good places to look are your basement or a utility room.
- Water and electricity don’t mix so be sure you’re standing on dry ground and that your hands aren’t wet when you’re working on the panel. Always be careful and don’t forget that if you aren’t comfortable doing this yourself, you can always call a professional.
- Circuit Breakers: Find a breaker that is no longer in the “on” position but rather is located in the “off” position, or is in between them. Take the breaker and move it fully to the “off” position and then over to the “on” position. This should fix it and the electricity should flow normally.
- Fuse Box: Check each fuse to see if the metal inside has melted or the glass window on the top is discolored (typically purple or brown). This is the one that just went out. Take it out and replace it with an identical (same size, type, amperage) new one. If you want to be sure you’re buying the right replacement, take the old one to the hardware store and compare them.
- Turn on one or two appliances to test the reset breaker or new fuse. If it still goes out, you may be using too much power for the breaker/fuse to handle. Move around some of the appliances. If that doesn’t solve the problem, there may be a bigger issue at hand and you should contact your electrician to take a look at it.