The Different Types Of Circuit Breakers Your Electrical Services Provider Can Install In Your Home | Myrtle Beach, SC

10/2/2022

According to the Department of Energy, electricity flows through several conversion steps before it gets to the consumer. The electrical system requires protection by a circuit breaker installed by a qualified electrician to prevent dangerous disruptions and failures that arise from the abrupt rise of current and voltages.

Many circuit breaker manufacturers design fast-acting circuit breakers that protect the grid from electrical mishaps by making them more efficient in protecting homes, industries, and businesses.

The circuit breakers are switches an electrical service provider installs in the breaker box to safeguard electrical components from starting a fire or overheating, come in different types with diverse purposes. Below are some of the most common circuit breakers found in homes.

Standard Circuit Breakers

Electricians providing exceptional electrical services such as installation, repairs, and consultation can connect fuses and circuit breakers within the service switch box in your electric service panel. A home can have standard circuit breakers operating with a simple mechanism of tripping the switch to break a circuit that can be dangerous to your family, electronics, valuables, or properties.

An electrician can reset the breaker after checking the system for potential dangers and repairing them. Standard circuit breakers can either be single or double-pole breakers. It is sharp-witted to seek consultative electrical services to know more about the two types of conventional breakers before installation in your home.

A Single-Pole Breaker

Contractors specializing in electrical services can install single-pole circuit breakers in the electrical system to protect a single circuit. It might be for protecting your lighting system, bathroom receptacles, or kitchen outlets from electrical hazards in cases of arc faults, surges, overloading circuits or overheating.

They protect circuits with a 15 to 20-ampere for small appliances, power tools, lights, televisions, computers, and vacuum cleaners. The single circuit breaker a technician with expertise in electrical services installs in your electrical system stays open, allowing the circuit to flow until it senses issues such as a circuit overload and trips to stop the flow of the dangerous electric current.

After the trip, you should get an electrician from a licensed company in Myrtle Beach, SC, to do the resetting after resolving the problem behind the trip. The hired electrician can investigate and fix the issues if the circuit continues tripping.

Double-pole Circuit Breaker

Unlike single-pole breakers, double-pole circuit breakers protect more than one circuit that powers larger electronics. They work for HVAC units, dryers, washing machines, heat pumps, electric cookers, or water heaters. The appliances have an ampere ranging from 30 to 40 and use more than one hot wire to operate efficiently, providing comfort and simplifying complex tasks.

An electrician with intensive experience in electrical services understands the need to protect the hot wires from overcurrent. Since they are large compared to the single-pole breakers and allow two wires, they use more space in the electrical panel. When the double-pole circuit breaker trips, an electrician resets it simultaneously after fixing the underlying electric problem that made it trip in the first place.

The standard single-pole and double-pole circuit breakers shield the circuit from electrical overloads and other issues such as arc faults.

Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) Breaker

Another circuit breaker expert in electrical services installed in homes is the arc fault circuit interrupter that protects against arc faults. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) AFCI Protection Forum held in 2003 described the circuit breaker as a device that mitigates the dangerous effects of arcing faults by de-energizing the circuit after detecting the arc fault.

AFCI circuit breaker underwent research and standards development by several organizations such as Underwriters Laboratories Inc (UL), NEMA, Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA), and the CPSC before implementation in the National Electrical Code in 1999.

The 2002 NEC codes explain that the device should protect dwelling units, especially bedrooms, from arc faults, which are more predominant in bedrooms by 15 percent, accounting for 25 percent of deaths.

The circuit-breaking device was essential in preventing fires that were the cause of more than 73,000 residential electrical fires, 591 deaths, and destruction of property worth more than $ 1 billion by 2003.

Qualified electricians with skills and expertise in electrical services install the AFCI circuit breaker in bedroom receptacles to detect circuit arcs that result from miswiring and other wiring problems. The breakers offer protection against wiring faults and parallel arcing in cords and appliances and reduce the impact of glowing connections.

Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) Breakers

Technicians offering skilled electrical services in Myrtle Beach, SC, can also install ground fault circuit interrupters in homes. The device protects families from electrocution in damp areas, such as laundry, kitchens, basements, yards, and bathrooms. It is an electrical device installed in the electrical system or built into power cords.

In addition to preventing shocks and electrocutions, the circuit breaker can prevent fires by stopping the flow of high electric current from current overload and protecting wiring, outlets, lighting fixtures, and appliances. It works faster than a blink of an eye or a heartbeat after detecting ground fault risks, making them highly efficient.

The NCI GFCI implementation has been in several phases, starting with the installation of underwater pool lighting in 1968, outdoor in 1973, bathrooms in 1975, kitchens in 1987, and laundry and utility sinks in 2005. NEC recommends that only qualified electricians can make the installation of the GFCIs. They test the functionality and efficiency of the device after installation, power failures, and at least once monthly.

In Need of Professional Services?

When installing an electrical system in your new Myrtle Beach, SC, home, the hired electrician will help select the best circuit breakers to protect you and your family, properties, and appliances. In addition to having the appropriate circuit-breaking devices, finding the right installer for the process is also crucial.

For that reason, you should call Mister Sparky of Myrtle Beach for quality and exceptional electrical services. Our qualified, skilled, and experienced electricians meet clients’ electrical needs for maximum customer satisfaction.

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