Every home, office or property has pre-installed circuit breakers to safeguard us from the danger of an electrical fire breaking out. However, did you know that not all circuit breakers are the same? In fact, there are different circuit breaker systems on the market, each offering their own advantages or disadvantages.
It is important for you to understand how your home’s circuit breaker works as it will inform you how to handle a blackout or when the breaker trips. In particular, you can then inform your emergency electrical services Singapore company of your circuit breaker’s makeup, which empowers them to advice you correctly on how to proceed.
How do Circuit Breakers Work?
2 things need to take place in order for a circuit breaker to perform its purpose. Firstly, it requires a way of identifying if the amount of current goes beyond the safe levels of the circuit. Secondly, a part needs to exist to shut down electric flow once this occurs.
Exactly how do circuit breakers do these 2 features? The solution being it depends on the sort of breaker made use of in your house or workplace.
Fuse Based Circuit Breakers
The simplest kind of breaker that your home might have installed is the fuse. A fuse can be illustrated as a thin wire that is enclosed in a casing and is connected to the circuit. When the circuit’s button is turned on, all charge streams through the fuse, implying that it experiences the same current as the remainder of the circuit.
As a slim cable, the fuse will heat up and disintegrate when too much current travels through it. Once the cable is burned, the circuit ends up being broken which means that no electric power can go through it. This efficiently prevents the excess current from harming some other portion of your residence’s circuit electrical wiring.
The single drawback of fuses is that they are a non-reusable item, suggesting that they only function once. Once a fuse is blown, it must be replaced with a brand-new one.
Electromagnet Based Circuit Breakers
Electromagnet based circuit breakers perform the exact same purpose as fuses however can be utilized repeatedly. Basically a switch of sorts, this kind of breaker includes a hot wire which is connected to both ends of the switch and to an electromagnet. When in “on” position, the breaker enables electrical power to stream via the circuit.
Nevertheless, when the current in the circuit leaps to unsafe quantities, the electrical energy will sufficiently magnetize the electromagnet. Whereupon, the electromagnet will be powerful enough to pull down the switch, and removing its connection with the circuit. As soon as this is done, the circuit is broken, and no electrical energy will travel through it.