Your home electrical system is sensitive to surges and dips in the supply of electricity. Electrical surges and dips can be caused by anything from lightning strikes, to damage to power lines, to electrical provider faults, to faulty home wiring, to damaged appliances. If your household circuit breaker seemingly trips out of the blue, the cause is probably a surge from the mains power. If you turn an appliance on and your household circuit breaker trips, it’s a safe bet that the appliance is the cause of the trip. Alternatively, if you’re experiencing frequent trips, it is most likely coming from within the house. Below we outline a troubleshooting guide for finding a faulty appliance.
What Sort Of Appliances Commonly Become Faulty
While not necessarily the most likely appliances to become faulty, appliances that have a high power draw may only tolerate a small amount of wear and tear before they cause power surges. These include hair dryers, ovens, stovetops, microwave ovens, air conditioners, heaters, hot water systems and kettles.
As with all things, the most frequently used appliances with the most moving parts will develop wear and tear the fastest. These appliances tend to be the vacuum cleaner, dishwasher, washing machine & clothes dryer. As well as the television and adapters for charging devices, cables used for charging devices often become frayed due to heavy use leading to power surges. Regular maintenance on the above appliances can keep them in top working condition and ensure your power bill is kept to a minimum.
How Can They Affect Your Whole System?
Three types of damage can occur to your electrical appliances. These are surge damage, physical damage and fire damage. Any appliance using high wattage can trip circuit breakers due to their high power draw and load on your electrical system. Minor surge damage can accumulate over time across all your appliances leading to higher power draw and larger electrical bills. Your electrical consumption is the perfect gauge for assessing your home’s electrical health. If power consumption is increasing over time without a change in habits, it may be time to call in an electrician to assess your home wiring and test and tag your appliances.
Anything with a microchip, which with the growth in smart home technology, can be pretty much every appliance (including your lightbulbs), will be particularly susceptible as microprocessors are sensitive to small electrical fluctuations.
Steps To Take If An Appliance Affects Your Electrical System
If your circuit breaker has tripped, it is important to isolate the faulty appliance from the rest of your household appliances. This can be done by a process of elimination that involves:
- Ensuring your circuit breaker is off
- Turning all appliances in the house off at the wall and/or unplugging them
- Returning the circuit breaker to on
- Go around the house switching appliances on/plugging them in one by one
- Assess to see if reconnecting a particular appliance to your grid trips the breaker again
- Have the faulty appliance either repaired or replaced
Not Sure What To Do Next? Contact Dawson Electric
If you’re not successful in identifying the cause of the trips, it is best to seek help from an electrician who can assess your home wiring and ensure your home wiring is safe and in working order. At Dawson Electric we are experts at diagnosing your home electrical system. Call Us to book a guaranteed* appointment today!