Part of home building code includes having a circuit breaker in the domicile. Whether it’s in your laundry room, basement or another part of the house, your circuit breaker’s purpose in life is to turn off the circuits in the event that there is an overload to avoid electrical fires.
It’s constantly monitoring for failures, and when failures meet a set threshold the circuit breaker will trip, causing all electric protocols to go unanswered–which means power is interrupted. Here are some of the issues that you can solve with something like a Square D 50 amp breaker.
Types of Circuit Breakers
There are a few different types of circuit breakers. Some are meant to detect extreme temperature anomalies, others detect current imbalance, while others are concerned with short circuiting. There are five types of circuit breakers, single pole, double pole, GFCI (ground-fault circuit interrupter) and AFCI (arc-fault circuit interrupter).
The GCFI is best for preventing electrical shocks, while the ACFI prevents electrical fires. Single and double pole circuit breakers are standard for most residences and only trip when temperatures get high to protect against overloads that can lead to electrical damages to appliances and equipment.
Avoid Electrical Fires
Should a circuit have a faulty arc, there is a chance that it can spark, flare or burn. None of these is a good thing. Since most homes are built with wood framing, a faulty arc can easily set off a chain of events that will likely lead to a house fire. Whether it’s a small fire or a major one, fire damage is a most unfortunate event to have to clean up and recover from. All it takes is a small spark and dry tinder to set you up for a 9-1-1 call to your local fire department. Faulty arcs can occur with rodent damage or punctures in electrical wire casing.
Avoid Damaged Appliances
The appliances and equipment in your home are expensive. The last thing you want is to have to replace them due to circuit overloads. Single and double pole circuit breakers can spare you this headache. These standard breakers can detect heat anomalies. These anomalies mean that there is an overload. An overload has the potential to fry the electrical wiring found in household appliances and electrical devices like televisions and desktop computers.
Avoid Electrocution
In wet areas like laundry rooms, bathrooms and kitchens, a GFCI breaker can limit issues of electrocution. Electricity is easily grounded by moisture and very easily results in an electric shock. GFCI circuit breakers can react in as little as a tenth of a second to shut down a potentially dangerous electrical current. This is very useful in both residential and certain commercial applications.
It is important to respect the power of electricity. Electricity can do some pretty amazing things and it can also do some pretty scary and destructive things. That’s why we have several kindness of circuit breakers to solve the unwanted issues that can arise from faults and anomalies in electrical systems.
