Checking Your Circuit Breaker
What do you do when you've lost electricity to an area/room of your home?
What do you do when you've lost electricity to an area/room of your home?
Items you may need: flashlight
Go to your breaker box and open the door. Read through the labels to try to find one labeled for the area you have lost power. Once located, grip the breaker switch handle with your left hand and while looking away from the panel, flip it to the off position and then back on again. If it will not stay in the on position, do not attempt to reset it again--call a qualified electrician. Check to see if electricity has been restored to the area that was out. If not, call a qualified electrician to look at your problem.
NOTE: If your circuit breaker box is not labeled, you need to get it labeled. Not only will it be more difficult for you to find the correct breaker to check in this situation, but code requires that it be labeled for your safety and the safety of emergency personnel in a situation such as a fire, electrical shock/electrocution, or natural disaster.
If your circuit breaker panel is not labeled, then look at each breaker starting at the top and working your way down to see if one of them appears to be in a different position. Circuit breakers either have 2 positions (on and off/tripped) or 3 positions (on, off, and tripped--or center). If you find one that appears to be in a different position, then flip it to the off position and back to the on position as described above. Check to see if electricity has been restored to the area that was out. If it is restored, then write in the area of your home that this circuit breaker feeds. If this did not restore your electricity or if you cannot see any one circuit breaker that appears to be in a different position, then you can try to reset all of the breakers in your panel one at a time following the same procedure described in the paragraph above. Once you try to reset all of the breakers, check to see if electricity was restored. If not, call a qualified electrician to look at your problem.
If a circuit breaker continues to trip, you may be overloading the circuit with more appliances/electrical items than it can handle, or you may have a more serious electrical problem that could pose a fire, shock, or electrocution hazard in your home, so have a qualified electrician evaluate the situation.
Upcoming Topics to watch for:
Go to your breaker box and open the door. Read through the labels to try to find one labeled for the area you have lost power. Once located, grip the breaker switch handle with your left hand and while looking away from the panel, flip it to the off position and then back on again. If it will not stay in the on position, do not attempt to reset it again--call a qualified electrician. Check to see if electricity has been restored to the area that was out. If not, call a qualified electrician to look at your problem.
NOTE: If your circuit breaker box is not labeled, you need to get it labeled. Not only will it be more difficult for you to find the correct breaker to check in this situation, but code requires that it be labeled for your safety and the safety of emergency personnel in a situation such as a fire, electrical shock/electrocution, or natural disaster.
If your circuit breaker panel is not labeled, then look at each breaker starting at the top and working your way down to see if one of them appears to be in a different position. Circuit breakers either have 2 positions (on and off/tripped) or 3 positions (on, off, and tripped--or center). If you find one that appears to be in a different position, then flip it to the off position and back to the on position as described above. Check to see if electricity has been restored to the area that was out. If it is restored, then write in the area of your home that this circuit breaker feeds. If this did not restore your electricity or if you cannot see any one circuit breaker that appears to be in a different position, then you can try to reset all of the breakers in your panel one at a time following the same procedure described in the paragraph above. Once you try to reset all of the breakers, check to see if electricity was restored. If not, call a qualified electrician to look at your problem.
If a circuit breaker continues to trip, you may be overloading the circuit with more appliances/electrical items than it can handle, or you may have a more serious electrical problem that could pose a fire, shock, or electrocution hazard in your home, so have a qualified electrician evaluate the situation.
Upcoming Topics to watch for:
- Have an old circuit breaker or fuse box? How can you tell that it's safe?
- Tips for choosing a qualified electrical repair company/electrician
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- Aluminum Wiring: What you need to know.
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- AFCI Breakers: What are they and why do I need them?
