BREAKERS

I lost power to a whole room, what do I do?

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Most circuits in a home are allocated for multiple outlets and/or lights (with the exception of some kitchens, bathrooms and dedicated appliances). For example, a typical residential electrical layout may include a whole section of house lighting on a single circuit (breaker) or the lights and outlets of two bedrooms all be on the same circuit (breaker). So lets apply this to a common, real life situation;

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For one reason or another, you have lost all lighting in a section of the house. Or maybe you lost all power to a whole room's outlets. Instances like these are typically caused by power loss to an entire circuit (which is powered by a breaker).

 

The first step to take would be to go to your electrical panel. *Always be sure to keep the space in from of your electrical panel clear, you might need to access it quickly in an emergency.* All electrical panels will have a door that opens to expose the breakers. There are a number of different manufactures and they do have different methods of opening, some have a retractable clasp towards the middle, some have a tension clasp at the bottom. *Do NOT remove the panel cover, only OPEN the door*

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The next step is a visual inspection of the breakers. Modern breakers have three positions; On, Off, & 'Tripped'. The 'On' position is typically aimed towards the middle of the panel, and the 'Off' position is aimed away (this can vary per manufacturer). The 'Tripped' position will be towards the middle of the 'On' & 'Off' position and will sometimes have a colored window as an indicator. *A good way to tell if any if your breakers have 'Tripped' is to see if any of them are in a different position than the majority, which will be in the 'On' position.*

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If you do see that one of your breakers is 'Tripped', you can attempt to reset it and see if it fixes the issue. In order to do this, you need to bring the breaker's toggle switch all the way to the off position before you can reset it. The modern breaker will not allow you to go from the 'Tripped ' position, directly to the 'On' position. So, if you toggle the breaker to the 'Off' position, it will then allow you to switch it all the way to the 'On' position. By switching the breaker to the 'On' position, you will be feeding power to the devices/lighting that this particular wire feeds. This should fix the issue. *If the breaker IMMEDIATELY 'Trips' again, you have a short somewhere and should definitely call the professionals.*

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*This section is exclusively for informational purposes. If you don't feel comfortable going near your electrical panel, please call the professionals. ODINSON ELECTRIC is in no way responsible or liable for your independent actions.