Avoid Overloading Electrical Circuits

This is the time of year when many electrical fires are caused simply because homeowners find outlets at a premium when it comes to plugging in holiday lights and decorations. The scenarios of circuit overload range from dimming of other lights in the house, to the tripping of the breakers or, at the worst case, a fire.

An electrical circuit overload occurs when more amperage is drawn than the electrical wire or circuit can handle. As an example, an appliance with a #15 wire can safely accommodate 15 amps; plugging an electric device of more than 15 amps means you are sending a higher current flow through a wire that was designed for only 15 amps and that can lead to overload or fire.

Receptacle overload leads to the breaker being tripped or a fuse being blown. If a fuse blows or a breaker trips, trace it back to the source:

• Do you have too many items plugged into one outlet?
• Are the wires damaged?
• Has moisture seeped into the breaker box?

The immediate fix to a tripped breaker is to unplug some of the devices on that circuit and move them to a different general-purpose circuit before flipping the breaker back on.

Each home or office has dedicated circuits to accommodate those items that have a large electrical draw including those for refrigerators, stoves, washers and dryers, swimming pools, microwaves, or dishwashers, etc. Homes are also wired with general-purpose circuits, those that are used to plug in a television, lamps, or hair dryers, etc.

Most receptacle circuits in a home are rated for 15 to 20 amps and the rule of thumb is not to load a circuit to more than 80% of its capacity. If you find you need more outlets in your home, remember an extension cord is not the answer; it should be used as a temporary measure only. You will need to contact a qualified electrician that can either rewire your home or add more general-purpose outlets to accommodate the additional items.

The circuit breakers, or fuses, in your home’s panel limit the levels your wiring system can handle before shutting itself down. Turning on too many items and exceeding the limit of the breaker will cause it to close down. The tripping of the breaker provides the homeowner a visible notice that you have overloaded the circuits. This is a sign that should not be ignored and a constantly tripped breaker should be an indicator that you need to make a call to an electrician.