Did you know that in Australia every year on average there are 15 deaths caused by electrical shocks in the home with many injuries caused? In most cases the disturbing factor was that a simple circuit breaker would have saved the lives of many of these individuals and stopped countless others from being injured. This is why it’s important to care about circuit breakers this is how they work?
The circuit breaker is one of the most important safety devices in your home, the circuit breaker works by cutting the power to a particular appliance or socket as soon as it senses a power surge.
A/C current
As the main power grid delivers electricity to your home it enters a circuit breaker box where it’s split into a number of small circuits. One end of the circuit leads to the electricity flowing from the plant into your home (the live wire) and the other end (the neutral wire) leads to an electrically neutral source also known as the earth. Combined they create an electrical volt which moves around the circuit whenever the circuit is closed. This is known as alternating current or A/C simply because it moves from one direction to another.
The importance of resistance
The power grid delivers a constant supply of electricity usually between 220 and 240 A/C. However, the resistance (and therefore the current) varies in an individual home. Each appliance including light bulbs offer varying degrees of resistance and this is what makes each appliance function.
As an example, a light bulb has a certain resistance to a flowing charge and because of this the charge has to work harder to move along the circuit. This in turn heats up the filament thus causing it to glow.
On occasions the live and the neutral wire come into contact. For example, a fan heater might overheat and fuse the cabling causing the live and neutral wiring to come into contact with one another. When they do, because there is now no resistance to the circuit, a huge amount of electricity is pushed through causing a power surge. If left the wiring can overheat very quickly and cause a fire.
The job of a circuit breaker
With this in mind the job of the circuit breaker is to cut off the current the moment it jumps above a safe level. The circuit breaker consists of a simple switch which is in turn connected to an electromagnet. When the switch is in the ‘on’ position electricity can flow through the breaker normally. When increasing current is detected it boosts the electromagnets current force making it strong enough to reverse the position of the ‘on’ switch causing it to cut the power. This all happens within a fraction of a second.
The circuit breaker is a must for every home and can be placed in the main fuse box itself or on individual appliances or plug points. To give you that peace-of-mind why not talk to SGS Electrical to have an in home electrical safety survey. This will give you that confidence on how safe your home really is and we can make suggestions for you to make your home safer. For further information, contact us on 0420 705 482 and book yours today.
