Almost everyone has to trip a breaker once in a while. If you’re doing it a lot, however, your electrical panel may be overloading. Figuring out what’s causing the overload is essential to saving your wiring and preventing an electrical fire.
Signs of Strain
If your power outlets or plugs feel warm to the touch after they’ve been on for a while, you may have an overloaded panel. The same goes for visible burn marks on outlet panels or cords.
If you hear buzzing, crackling or hissing when you plug something in, that’s another sign of an overloaded panel. Most serious of all is the odor of burning coming from your outlets. If you smell that, shut off and unplug anything that’s using that outlet immediately.
Switch the Circuit Off
First and foremost, contact a professional electrician before doing anything else. Head to your main circuit breaker and switch off the circuit that’s acting up. Your circuits should be labeled, but if they’re not, let them alone until the electrician maps them for you. After that, go around your house and unplug everything that you know uses the circuit. If the circuit is sparking or overheated, however, don’t try to fix it yourself. Leave it to a professional electrician who has the right tools and experience.
Starting All Over Again
Once you’ve unplugged everything, reset the circuit. If it trips again, you have bigger problems that call for help from an expert electrician. If it stays, however, your next job is to check all your appliances for frayed or damaged wiring. These wires can draw unusually high levels of power to them. If you find a damaged appliance, don’t plug it back in.
Your next job is to plug everything else back into the circuit. If you can, plug and unplug things individually at first. Sometimes, there’s an unseen electrical fault inside an appliance that’s causing the power drain. Otherwise, try to spread out your power usage. Don’t put multiple high-wattage appliances back on the same circuit if you can avoid it. Reserving outlets for a single object or appliance is also a good idea.
If you aren’t sure that you can safely reset your breaker to follow the rest of these steps, then don’t take chances. Let a licensed electrician do the job. They can explain what’s going on and replace your electrical panel with a new one that should stand up to responsible use a little better. If you live in Salt Lake City, UT or a surrounding area and need electrical panel services, make your first call to Whipple Service Champions.
