Have you ever walked into a room and tried to flip the light on only to find there is nothing happening? Maybe you have plugged in a cord and there is no power being generated. These are all things that can and over the course of life will happen to someone. There are many reasons this could happen and the most common one is that you have a breaker that has been tripped. If you notice that there is an area of the house that is not getting the power that it normally does, it is often for your own safety and should be addressed. It is important to know what you need to do about it if you find yourself in this situation. Peterkin Electric outlines how to deal with a tripped breaker.
What Does a Tripped Breaker Look Like?
When you are wondering if you have a tripped breaker there are some ways to confirm it. The first thing that you can check is if there is an outlet or fixture that is not working. Before you get too carried away you also want to check other areas of the house to see if they are still functioning. If the whole house is not being powered it can still be a problem at the circuit but it could be something bigger like a problem with the transformer or Power Company. A single area is something that is likely due to a tripped breaker and can be fixed quite easily.
What Can Cause a Partial Power Outage?
The house is set up with electricity that all runs through a circuit board. It is split up so that there is a certain area and amount of voltage being ran through an area. That is why you will notice that only a single area is not working at a time. The circuit that is sending power to that area has been tripped and that means that there is a break and the connection that is needed is not there. You can have more than one area affected at a time but often it is just one.
How to Fix a Breaker that Keeps Tripping
Once you have determined that the circuit is likely the cause of the power outage in the area of your house you want to be able to fix it. The great thing is that you can take care of this as long as you can locate your breaker box. The box is located either in the garage or on the outside of the house. When you open the panel you want to look for the labels that are often next to each of the switches. This will help you know which one needs your attention. The other thing that you can look for is the switch that is not fully pushed over. This can be fixed by switching it back over and finishing the circuit. Then go in and check to see if the outlets and fixtures are working. If there is still a problem you may need to call out an electrician to replace the breaker of look for an alternate problem.
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