0
How can use of a fuse or a circuit breaker prevent a fire in a building?
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
The wiring in a building, is designed to take the current to devices, when working properly. If a device develops a short circuit, the current is massive and unlimited.
Passing massive amounts of current through thin cables will make them heat up, just like the filament in a lamp. This will cause a fire.
A fuse is simply a thin wire, that is designed to burn up, when too much current flows through it. It is a controlled burn, inside a specially designed container, at a specific location. As the fuse is in the supply line, when it breaks, the power is also broken and everything returns to a safe situation.
A breaker uses a bi-metal strip or coil to monitor the current and tip a switch when too much current flows. Breakers however can be reset and not normally destroyed by a fault.
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoOn a circuit fault the devices will open the circuit and stop the current flow. This removes the source of a heat build up and therefore the cause of a fire.
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
Can you upgrade a 15 Amps circuit breaker for a 40 Amp for a 8.5 Watt shower?
Not unless you change the wiring for that circuit. The breaker protects the wiring and if you install a 40 amp breaker on a 15 amp wire circuit you will have a fire in your home.
How does a circuit breaker protect you?
A circuit breaker limits the amps that a circuit can carry. If the amperage draw on a circuit exceeds that limit, the circuit breaker turns off the circuit. If the current through a wire exceeds the rated amperage, the wire will overheat and eventually cause a fire, or at a minimum, destroy the wire behind inside the wall. Obviously, people don't want a house fire caused by an electrical overload, so circuit breakers are used to prevent damage and potential loss of life.
Function of a breaker?
The purpose of a circuit breaker is to open the circuit in the event of an overload. Wires/conductors are only rated for a specific Amperage. If this amperage is exceeded the conductor/wire begins to heat up and given enough time it becomes a fire hazard. For instance a 15 amp breaker will trip once the Amps drawn through that circuit exceed 15 amps. The short answer is to keep you safe.
Why would electricity go off if too many appliances are running?
Circuit breakers are in place to prevent an over-current condition. When too much current is passed through a wire, it overheats and can result in fire. The circuit breaker is just doing its job when it turns off a circuit in that kind of condition. Too many appliances running simply means too much current on a circuit.
What makes a circuit breaker go bad?
A circuit breaker can go bad from being tripped too many times. Many people don't understand that the tripping of a circuit breaker indicates a problem that needs to be corrected. They usually just reset the circuit breaker, leading to a very common second (or third, or fourth) trip. Circuit breakers tripping are for the prevention of fire due to excessive heat in the circuit. They're not supposed to be tripped repeatedly. This can wear the breaker out. Believe it or not, I've also seen circuit breakers fail to re-energize after being turned off. I speculate this was actually caused by the breaker never having been cycled (it was a main breaker), and the time elapsed since it was installed. Electrical equipment doesn't last forever. It's the same as anything else.
How a circuit breaker increases safety?
A circuit breaker limits the amps that a circuit can carry. If the amperage draw on a circuit exceeds that limit, the circuit breaker turns off the circuit. If the current through a wire exceeds the rated amperage, the wire will overheat and eventually cause a fire, or at a minimum, destroy the wire behind inside the wall. Obviously, people don't want a house fire caused by an electrical overload, so circuit breakers are used to prevent damage and potential loss of life.
What do I do if there is no circuit breaker for outdoor light?
If you have a light that is not being powered through a circuit breaker or fuse, you should call a qualified electrician to remove this circuit from the panel's bus and install a circuit breaker for it. Without an overcurrent protective device (circuit breaker or fuse) you have a potential fire hazard.
How does circuit breaker or fuse protect the house from fire?
The fuse is matched to the size wire in the circuit the breaker/fuse it is protecting. For instance, a 20 amp breaker/fuse is used in combination with AWG 12/2 wire. A 15 amp breaker/fuse would be used with AWG 14/2 wire. If there is too much current flow in the circuit caused by either overloading the circuit or by a short in the wires the wiring would overheat and catch fire if not for the breaker/fuse. The breaker/fuse is designed to detect this and to trip or blow and shut off all power flowing to that circuit and prevent a fire. This is why you should never install the wrong size fuse. Put a 20 amp fuse on a 15 amp circuit and it would not protect the circuit as it should.
Can circuit breakers help to prevent building fires?
Breakers limit the current on the conductor to a safe level, too many appliances plugged in. You trip a breaker, hopefully you then transfer load to another circuit. Breakers use two different methods to accomplish this, one uses a bimetallic strip and the current passes directly through, too high a current causes the strip to deflect. It acts on a mechanism much like the sear in a guns trigger, the deflection pulls the trigger causing a spring to open the contacts and turn off the circuit. Another type is thermal magnetic, current passing through the breaker causes a magnetic field to act on a coil tripping the breaker. When breakers are wired and work properly they prevent fires!Bending metal opens a switch
Where can you find a self resetting circuit breaker for 120vac 15amps?
If you are referring to circuit breakers used in residential or commercial building electrical systems, the answer is - you can't! What's more, you don't want to!Circuit breakers are a safety device. A 14 gauge wire can safely handle 15 amps. If there is a short circuit, or if an appliance or appliances are plugged in that uses more than 15 Amps, the wires would overheat and could start a fire. The circuit breaker trips to prevent this.The idea when a breaker trips is for you, the intelligent human, to go and look for the overload, and fix it before resetting the breaker. A mindless self-resetting breaker would just keep heating up the wire until a fire starts, defeating the purpose.If you have a breaker that continuously trips, don't just keep resetting it. Find out why it is tripping and fix it or have it fixed! This could save your life!
Will manually turning off a shunt trip breaker set off the fire alarm?
Manually turning off a shunt trip breaker should not set off the fire alarm. The only way that the breaker could set off the fire alarm when turned to the off position is if there is an auxiliary contact on the breaker connected to the fire alarm circuit. This is not usually done because the breaker should be able to be turned off when doing maintenance on the breakers circuit. If the breaker is a mandatory feed breaker to a piece of fire alarm equipment and shouldn't be left in the off position it might have a trouble circuit connected to the fire alarm panel. A trouble alarm on a fire alarm panel is different from an alarm circuit alarm.
Can you upgrade a 15 Amps circuit breaker for a 40 Amp for a 8.5 Watt shower?
Not unless you change the wiring for that circuit. The breaker protects the wiring and if you install a 40 amp breaker on a 15 amp wire circuit you will have a fire in your home.
What is the Function of circuit breaker?
The purpose of a circuit breaker is to open the circuit in the event of an overload. Wires/conductors are only rated for a specific Amperage. If this amperage is exceeded the conductor/wire begins to heat up and given enough time it becomes a fire hazard. For instance a 15 amp breaker will trip once the Amps drawn through that circuit exceed 15 amps. The short answer is to keep you safe.
Will a short circuit cause smoke detectors to beep after resetting the circuit breaker?
If your smoke detector is bleeping you have a serious risk of fire and the circuit breaker must not be reset until the fault that caused it to trip is investigated.
Can you replace a 20 amp circuit breaker with a 25 amp circuit breaker?
No. The breaker must protect the circuit components such as wiring, outlets and switches that are connected to the breaker. Therefore if you have a 30 amp circuit as dictated by its components you need to protect it with a 30 amp or less breaker.
Will an arc fault breaker prevent a person from getting a shock similar to a GFCI breaker?
Yes, it does the same thing as a GFI but also detects if there is an arc in the circuit, frayed wire, plug not in all the way, something that could possible cause a fire.
Circuit breaker trip cause smoke will homeowner insurance pay for it?
A circuit breaker does not "cause" smoke. A circuit breaker "breaks" a circuit when there is too much current, creating a hazardous condition for the wires that are connected to the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker PROTECTS you from electrical fire. Find the source of the smoke; what burned? If a circuit breaker tripped during the incident, it is usually caused by melting/burning wire insulation, either inside or outside of an appliance. If the insulation inside the walls of your house has burned/melted, it could be that the circuit breaker was too large for the wire or that the circuit breaker failed to shut off at the appropriate current load. If the circuit breaker failed, your insurance should help you. If an appliance overloaded the circuit, your insurance should help you. If someone connected an oversized circuit breaker, causing the wire to overheat, your insurance company may refuse to help you.
