Benefits Of Using Circuit Breakers
Circuit breaker helps in preventing overload of any electrical circuit. A single board of circuit breaker contains number of circuit breakers for different circuits. A circuit breaker can be used anytime and it works automatically. An added advantage if using a circuit breaker is that it can be switched back or reused. People who were using fuse earlier are now switching to circuit breaker.
The circuit breaker comes in different varieties of sizes and patterns, from the simple switch found in circuit breaker panels to the high voltage circuit breaker responsible for the electrical shut-off of an entire city. Circuit breakers, though are not all alike, all perform the same function. They open a circuit that stops the flow of electricity through a copper wire circuit. Differences in circuit breakers are in how they disrupt the circuit they are designed to protect. The three most common types of circuit breakers are described below.
A fuse box allows the flow of current through a filament. This filament is heated up by an overloaded circuit. To halt the electricity flow the filament is disintegrated. Downside of using this kind of circuit breaker is that we need to replace it as it can not be reset.
Magnetic circuit breaker allows the current to flow through a coil fixed near magnet operated switch. When current passes from the coil, it generates a magnetic field which then attracts that switch magnet and off this switch when current crosses a particular limit.
Bimetallic circuit breakers have two strips and these strips are made of a metal that has property to expand while electricity passes through it. But when the current exceeds a tolerant limit, the metal strips bend till it trips a switch.
Before the distribution of electricity inside your house, it passes through a circuit breaker. If circuit breaker finds it more than required, that can cause overheating in wires then it ceases the flow and don’t allow it to go further.
Copper wires that conduct electricity throughout the house sometimes get highly heated due to large amount of electrical current flowing through it. When this current is not reduced then due to overheating of copper wire, a fire could start. The safety device to reduce and stop this overheating is circuit breaker as they stop the flow of electricity.
One more advantage of using a circuit breaker is that a fault in any connection breaks down the connection of a single room only and does not affect the power supply of whole house. It also helps in catching the fault fast.