The circuit breakers in your home play a critical role in your household’s daily routine. These 13 signs indicate that you need to replace your home’s circuit breakers.
Top Signs You Need Your Circuit Breaker Replaced
1. Frequent Tripping
When your home’s circuit breakers trip frequently, they may need replacing. You might have difficulties running two devices, such as your microwave and toaster, at the same time without the circuit for them tripping.
The problem could lie with faulty wiring or circuit overloading. You can minimize the frequency at which circuit breakers trip by replacing them.
2. Burning Smells
The smell of burning coming from your breaker box or circuit breakers should prompt you to replace the breakers immediately. This urgent problem can stem from old or frayed wiring.
It can also come from the insulation on the electrical wiring melting. You should hire an electrician to replace the circuit breakers to prevent the risk of an electrical fire.
3. Hot to the Touch
Circuit breakers generate a nominal amount of heat when they function normally. However, when they feel excessively hot to the touch, they could experience overloading or have poor-quality insulation. As with the smell of burning, hot circuit breakers should prompt you to hire an electrician to replace them.
4. Flickering Lights
Flickering lights can also indicate you have a bad circuit breaker in your home’s breaker box. The circuit breaker’s wiring might have aged past the point of usefulness.
It may also fail to accommodate the electrical power needed to keep your lights on steadily. An electrician can remove and replace the bad circuit breaker with one that functions better.
5. Crackling Noises
Under normal circumstances, your circuit breakers should not make any noise. When they make what sounds like crackling noises, you need to hire an electrician to replace them quickly.
Crackling noises can indicate your circuit breakers have become overloaded. Replacing them mitigates the risk of an electrical fire.
6. Physical Damage
Of course, when you see physical damage to your circuit breakers, you should have a licensed electrician replace them. Common damages can include a broken circuit breaker switch or exposed wiring.
Damage can impede the normal function of your circuit breakers. An electrician like one from Mister Sparky can replace them with new ones that look and function better.
7. Age
If your circuit breakers are more than a decade old or you are not entirely sure how old they are, you should consider replacing them. Old circuit breakers typically function slower and less safely. Replacing them will ensure your home has the power it needs without the risk of overheating or fires.
8. Appliance Overheating
Your appliances overheating can signal that they have bad circuit breakers. The circuit breakers attached to your appliances might fail to accommodate the electrical load from them.
This failure can cause your appliances to overheat and put them at risk of breaking down. You can protect your appliances from overheating by installing new circuit breakers.
9. Burnt or Discolored Wiring
Burnt or discolored circuit breaker wiring can indicate poor maintenance of your breaker box and breakers. It can also signal that your circuits experienced overloading or they have aged. This condition of your breaker wiring should convince you to have an electrician put new ones in for you promptly.
10. Sparks
Sparks coming from your circuit breaker can stem from problems like damaged wiring, insufficient flow of electricity, bent circuit contacts, a short circuit, or loose wiring. An electrician will know how to investigate and repair the cause of circuit breaker sparking. This contractor can likewise install new breakers that will not spark and minimize the risk of an electrical fire.
11. Code Compliance
Old and outdated circuit breakers often do not comply with local safety codes. To ensure your home can pass a code inspection, you need to replace them. Professional electricians know what these local codes are and can install new breakers that will pass an inspection, as well as function safely.
12. Inadequate Number of Circuit Breakers
When you install new appliances, lighting, or outlets in your home, you need a sufficient number of circuit breakers to accommodate them. An electrician can install new circuit breakers to power appliances, lights, and outlets that you add to your home.
13. Incompatibility with Modern Devices and Appliances
Older and outdated circuit breakers many times cannot accommodate the electrical loads of modern appliances and devices. You risk blowing a circuit or compromising the function of these new fixtures if you plug them into old circuit breakers. You can protect their function and also avoid tripping or blowing a circuit breaker by replacing old breakers with new ones.
These 13 signs can highlight the need for you to replace the circuit breakers in your home. To ensure they function safely, minimize the risk of fire and avoid damaging your devices and appliances, hire an experienced electrician to replace them for you.