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Why Your Circuit Breaker Keeps Tripping in Melbourne

  • Home Why Your Circuit Breaker Keeps Tripping in Melbourne
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If you’re a Melbourne homeowner who’s been dealing with the frustration caused by a frequently tripping circuit breaker, you’re not alone. This common issue can be caused by a variety of factors. If you want to learn more about what a circuit breaker is, why they’re so important for your home, common reasons they trip, and how to reset them safely, keep reading!

What is a Circuit Breaker?

A circuit breaker is essentially a switch that automatically turns off the flow of electricity within a circuit when it detects a fault in an electrical circuit. This fault could be due to an overload, a short circuit, or a ground fault. It’s a fail-safe mechanism that prevents electrical fires and damage to the connected appliances.

So, how does a circuit breaker work? The circuit breaker constantly measures the flow of electricity through each of the circuits it manages. It uses both heat- and electromagnetic-sensitive components to detect when the circuit reaches an unsafe level of current. When this happens, the breaker will ‘trip’, interrupting the flow of electricity and safely stopping the current.

The reason that both heat and electricity are measured is that heat is generated when a circuit is overloaded, and the magnetic component checks for a sudden short circuit. This means that you are protected from the two most common issues – circuit overloads and short-circuiting.

Need help understanding your circuit breaker setup? Day & Night Electrical has expert electricians in Seddon who can test and label your circuit breaker box.

Why Are Circuit Breakers So Important?

Circuit breakers play a vital role in protecting your home’s circuitry and preventing fires, as well as keeping you safe from potentially fatal doses of electricity. Without a correctly-functioning circuit breaker, there is nothing to interrupt an overload or short circuit.

Overloaded circuits can cause fires, melting or scorching of power point casings and poor performance or damage to electrical appliances.

Short circuits are perhaps the most dangerous electrical fault, as they can cause you to be exposed to potentially lethal amounts of electricity from a nasty electric shock. Aside from the obvious risk to your well-being, they also pose a serious fire risk and can damage appliances beyond repair.

Essentially, a working circuit breaker keeps you, your home and your belongings safe, so it is important not to ignore any issues with this important device!

Worried about circuit breaker issues? Day & Night’s electricians offer Greensborough locals piece of mind with fast, effective and professional repairs and assessments.

Circuit Breakers

Common Causes of Circuit Breaker Trips

Circuit breakers can trip for a number of reasons, some more common than others. Here is an outline of a few of the common causes we see.

Overloaded Circuits

The most frequent culprit behind circuit breaker trips is an overloaded circuit. Essentially, when too many electrical appliances are running on the same circuit, it causes an electrical overload. This overload generates excess heat, which cannot be safely handled by the circuit’s wiring. The circuit breaker trips to prevent the wiring from overheating and causing a potential fire, as well as to protect the appliances.

Troubleshooting Overloaded Circuits

The first step involves unplugging all appliances and resetting the circuit breaker (we’ll provide detailed instructions below.) Now, the process of elimination begins. Start by plugging in one appliance at a time, waiting for a few minutes each time to check if the circuit breaker trips again. This process is time-consuming but necessary to identify the problem.

Once the circuit does trip, you’ve found the issue! We’ve noticed that overloaded circuits tend to be most common in the kitchen, where there are a lot of smaller electrical appliances on one circuit.

After identifying the problematic appliance, you need to understand why it’s causing an overload. Is it a faulty appliance, or does it naturally draw a lot of power? If it’s the former, you might need to repair or replace it. If it’s the latter, consider using it on a separate circuit that isn’t used as much.

If you suspect an overloaded circuit, Day & Night Electrical’s electricians in Taylors Hill can provide switchboard upgrades to solve the problem, fast!

Short Circuits

A short circuit is a more serious issue. It occurs when the active wire comes into contact with the neutral wire in one of your outlets or appliances. This situation results in more current flowing through wires than they are rated for, generating a lot of heat. The circuit breaker then trips to prevent fires, damage and electrocution risk.

Troubleshooting Short Circuits

Unlike overloaded circuits, which cause trips to prevent a dangerous buildup of electricity, short circuits cause breaker trips as a result of an already dangerous situation.

The usual cause of a short circuit is damaged wiring in your home’s circuits or inside of an appliance. This is often accompanied by a distinctive burning electrical smell, smoke, scorching on the outlet where the appliance is connected, or sparking.

If you notice any of these, it is important not to attempt to resolve the issue yourself, as you may be exposed to extremely high levels of electricity. Instead, leave the tripped breaker in the off position and call for an emergency electrician in Melbourne.

Not sure who to call? Day & Night Electrical has electricians in Rockbank and more, on call 24/7 to help with any electrical emergencies.

Short Circuits

Ground Faults

Similar to short circuits, ground faults are another significant cause of circuit breaker trips. A ground fault occurs when a hot wire touches the ground wire or the casing of an appliance. This causes a sudden loss of electricity in the circuit, as it is being redirected via the ground wire to the earth point, where the electricity can then safely disperse. This loss of current in the circuit is detected by an RCD (residual-current device), which trips and stops the flow of electricity.

Troubleshooting Ground Faults

Ground faults, similar to short circuits, are most likely to occur when wiring in your appliance or home is damaged, causing a contact between the active wire and the ground wire. This is also an issue which cannot be solved by simple testing or troubleshooting, and must be dealt with by a licensed electrician.

All homes built after 1992 are required to have at least two RCDs installed, so if your home was built prior to this, you may be at risk of not having adequate protection from ground faults. If you are concerned about this, Day & Night Electrical offers circuit breaker upgrades that can add RCDs.

Faulty Electrical Appliances

Damaged or old appliances can also cause your circuit breaker to trip. If an appliance has frayed wires, it can cause a malfunction in the electrical current, leading to a ground fault or short circuit.

Troubleshooting Faulty Appliances

If you’ve got a fridge, washing machine or blender that’s getting old, this may be the cause of the tripped breaker. You can test this by unplugging the suspect appliance/s and then plugging them back in. If the breaker trips again, the last appliance you added is likely the cause. Whether or not it is worth repairing the appliance or replacing it with a new model depends on the age, quality and the difficulty of the repair required.

Not sure whether it’s worth investing in appliance repairs? Day & Night Electrical has electricians in Sunshine who can provide an assessment, repairs or installation depending on your needs.

How To Reset Your Circuit Breaker

Thankfully, resetting a tripped circuit breaker is relatively easy. Here are the steps you’ll need to follow:

Before you begin:

Make sure to unplug any new appliances you added before the circuit tripped. If the appliance itself is faulty, then leaving it plugged in will cause the circuit breaker to trip again immediately. If you have an appliance producing odd smells, smoke or sparks, it is also important to unplug this and leave it unplugged until it can be inspected by a professional.

  1. Locate your switchboard: To start, you’ll need to find your switchboard, sometimes called the fuse box or circuit breaker box. This houses the switches responsible for controlling electricity to your whole house and individual circuits. It can be located inside (usually in the garage or a hallway) or outside (towards the front of the house on an exterior wall).
  2. Identify the tripped switch: Once you open the switchboard, you’ll see lots of small switches. Find the one that is flipped by looking for the switch pointing in the opposite direction, either towards a label reading OFF, or which has OFF on the body of the switch itself. This is your tripped switch.
  3. Flip the switch from the OFF position to the ON position: To reset the circuit and restore power, simply firmly push the switch towards the ON position until it cannot be pushed further. Confirm that it has worked by checking any appliances or outlets on that circuit for power.

Why Does My Circuit Breaker Keep Tripping?

If you’ve tried to reset your circuit breaker but it continues to trip, this is a sign of a bigger problem.

One issue could be the cumulative energy demand of your existing appliances on a single circuit. For instance, running your air conditioner, washing machine, and microwave concurrently might exceed the circuit’s capacity, causing the breaker to trip.

There are several steps you can take to fix this issue. Try to distribute your electricity usage more evenly. Avoid using multiple high-energy appliances simultaneously on a single circuit. If your circuit breaker continues to trip, or you don’t have any circuits available to supply the demand, it might be a sign that your electrical system can’t keep up with your home’s energy consumption.

In this case, consider consulting with a trusted Tarneit electrician from Day & Night Electrical to discuss possible solutions, such as upgrading your switchboard or adding more circuits to your home.

Circuit Breaker Keep Tripping

Circuit Breaker Repairs and Upgrades in Melbourne With Day & Night Electrical

While a tripping circuit breaker can be a nuisance, it’s also your home’s way of telling you that something’s wrong. By understanding why your circuit breaker trips, you can take steps to prevent future issues and keep your home safe.

If you’re experiencing issues like repeated trips, smoke or electrical smells, sparking or buzzing sounds, this is indicative of a serious issue. In this case, contact Day & Night Electrical. We offer fast, affordable and reliable repairs on your circuit breaker, as well as any appliances that may be causing tripped circuit breakers. Whatever time of day, our qualified electricians are here to solve the problem and keep you and your home safe.

For a quick and effective solution, call Day & Night Electrical now on 1300 138 332!

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