Appliances That Trip Your Circuit Breaker

We’ve all been there: You’re blow-drying your hair in the bathroom and suddenly everything shuts down. You just switch on your microwave, and suddenly electricity is cut off. Certain appliance keeps tripping the circuit breaker every time you turn it on tripped a circuit breaker.

In Singapore, every home with electricity supply will definitely has a circuit breaker. A circuit breaker is an important safety device that works by cutting off the flow of electricity through a circuit whenever it gets too high. When the demand or load on the circuit is too high, it will result in overloaded circuit breaker. The breaker will continue to trip until the problem is resolved, therefore we need to identify the main culprit instead of keep flipping up the breaker if it trips repeatedly.

Depending on the circumstance, anything you use could trip your circuit breakers. There are several common appliances which use high current and tend cause power trip. Let’s learn which ones they are and how to minimize an appliance short circuit in your home.

1. Irons

We all know that appliances that uses heat will draw high current in short time. Irons create a lot of heat very quickly. Many people will iron in rooms that aren’t designed to handle the kind of power needed to get an iron heated up fast. Therefore, you create a greater chance of causing a power surge plug the iron into an outlet with shared circuit, such as outlet in a bedroom. For bathrooms, there may be multiple circuits for each outlet. Another alternative it to switch your location to the kitchen, which is wired to handle major appliances as it helps reduce the chances of blowing a fuse or tripping your breaker. As long as the circuit is nor overload, it is safe to use the iron.

2. Hair Dryers

Hair dryers, curling irons, and flat irons are common appliances that trip breakers. These appliances draw a significant amount of electricity in a short period of time because of the heat that has to be created. As significant amount of electricity is utilized, circuit tend trip if multiple people are using hair dryers at one time due to overloading. You should plug this appliance to the outlet which is on its own circuit, and normally installed in bathrooms.

3. Power Strips & Extension Cords

Don’t worry, an extension cord will not trip your circuit breaker but using multiple extension cords and power strips throughout the house will increase your chances. The more cords plugged into a power strip, and the more extensions you have, the higher the risk of power trip. Try to use only one extension cord per circuited area of your home. Some people may plug in extension cords into other due to lack of outlets or other reasons. Be aware that this action is asking for an electrical overload. In a lot of cases, unplugging one or more appliances will reduce the load on the power strip. A powerful surge is more than capable of destroying your power strip and all the appliances attached, particularly if the power strip lacks surge protection.

4.Old Refrigerators

Energy efficiency is one of the main things looked at when people buy new appliances. Older appliances, especially bigger ones like refrigerators, use more electricity than you could even imagine. As many of these appliances last more than a decade, older models are still being used in some homes. However, these power-hungry fridges can easily start drawing too much power if a home’s temperature rises. When it comes to consistent circuit tripping, it is always advisable to replace a new one, for the sake of home safety and money saving in terms of electricity consumption.

5.Vacuum Cleaners

Vacuums contain motors, which can trip something in circuit breakers known as the “nuisance breaker,” an interior mechanism designed to prevent electric overloads. Vacuums sometimes cause “nuisance tripping” because vacuums produce a small amount of sparking as they run.

Above are some electrical appliances which tend to trip your circuit breakers due to different reasons. However, working out why your circuit keeps tripping can be tricky. If the circuit has way too many things plugged into the circuit, you may want to unplug a few appliances and see if this fixes the problem. If it is just one appliance that is causing the issue, plug a different appliance in and see if the circuit trips. If it doesn’t, then you know that the appliance is likely the problem, it means it is either time to replace that particular appliance or get a dedicated circuit installed!

Please understand that any electrical is absolutely important to address thoroughly and efficiently. A house fire or electrocution is NOT what we want! If you do attempt any type of inspection or repair on your house wiring, circuit breaker, or an electrical outlet, please be safe and ensure that the power supply is cut OFF before beginning. You may also look for Winway Home Services at +65 9734 1593 for further enquiry. Check out our services here!