A home’s electrical system has many circuits running through the walls. Each circuit provides power to outlets and light switches. However, certain circuits are solely used for one outlet. These lines are called “dedicated circuits,” which provides power to a single large appliance. Certain appliances require an entire circuit’s power. If other appliances or electrical devices try to use the same circuit, the dedicated circuit line will frequently trip. Burley Electrical Services will share more about dedicated circuits and which appliances should never share their power.
What Appliances Need a Dedicated Circuit?
A dedicated circuit is a separate power line that is designed to power a single appliance. Certain appliances demand all of the power on the circuit line. Appliances such as washing machines and dryers have their own circuit. The HVAC system has often two dedicated circuits to provide stable power to the home’s cooling and heating system. Another appliance that should have its own dedicated circuit are dish washing machine, ovens, and refrigerators. When looking at the breaker box, it should have a circuit labeled with individual appliances. These circuits should never be used by any other device or appliance, such as coffee makers, or microwaves.
Dedicated Circuit Breaker Keeps Tripping
One of the common problems to manifest when other electrical devices are sharing a dedicated circuit is that the breaker will trip. Dedicated circuits should never have a power strip plugged into the outlet to power other devices. Yet, this often occurs when there simply isn’t enough outlets in the area. When power strips are used and more power is demanded from the circuit, it will cause the circuit to trip. Circuits are designed to trip when the circuit gets overloaded or overheated. This is your home’s electrical safety system. When a circuit overloads or overheats, essentially this is the perfect recipe for a fire. To prevent a dangerous fire, the circuit will trip.
How to Prevent Having an Overloaded Circuit
It is important to your home’s safety to never overload a dedicated circuit. When new heavy duty appliances, such as swamp cooler or sump pump is added to the home, often a new dedicated circuit will need to be installed to provide power. Older homes may find they require a total electrical upgrade if their home doesn’t have enough outlets or power for modern needs. If you attempted to add a power strip in your laundry room or kitchen, stop. You will overload the circuit. Instead, consider adding more circuits to the home, which can provide more outlets and more convenient light switches in the home.
Electrical Panel Inspection
To know if you need an electrical upgrade to your home’s electrical system, you can start with an electrical inspection. You can share how there isn’t enough power in certain areas of the home where you would like more power. Often this will require an electrical panel upgrade. However, each home will vary. When adding circuits to your home or upgrading your electrical system, make sure to use a licensed electrician to ensure safety and that the additions are up to code.
Electrical Inspections, Upgrades, Replacements & More in Imperial Point, Pompano Beach, Plantation, Deerfield Beach, Boca Raton, Davie, Lighthouse Point, Parkland, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
If you need more power in your home, and want to learn more about your home’s dedicated circuits, contact Burley Electrical Services and schedule our services today.
