What Happens When Too Many Things Are Plugged In?
An overloaded circuit can be one of the most concerning home electrical problems. At best, an overload can become an annoyance with tripped circuit breakers, flickering lights, or underpowered appliances. At worst, an overloaded circuit can be a fire hazard.
How fixable is an overloaded electrical circuit, though? In many cases, the answer is that repairs are entirely possible. Here is a look at some common situations involving circuit overloads and how repairable they are.
Degraded Circuit Breaker
Every circuit breaker in your home’s electrical panel has an amperage rating. Typical circuits are rated for 15 or 20 amps. Some circuits with high-draw systems on them may go as high as 50 or even 60 amps. These circuits typically support HVACs, refrigerators, freezer chests, washers, dryers, or dishwashers. EV charging circuits are also becoming increasingly common.
When a circuit exceeds its breaker’s rating, it counts as an overload. The problem is that aging circuit breakers can suffer degradation that lowers their effective rating. This is particularly common if a circuit breaker has tripped a lot over its lifetime. Other factors like vibration, heat stress, and corrosion can also degrade a circuit breaker’s performance.
The upside is that this scenario often calls for an easy fix. The solution may be as simple as having our electricians put in a new circuit breaker. We will test the circuit to confirm there aren’t any other problems, particularly wiring issues.
Too Much Demand
People often don’t think about the load on a circuit until a breaker trips. If too many high-draw devices are running on a circuit, that is enough to overload it. A common problem happens when people use electric heaters or fireplaces in spaces like bedrooms or living rooms. These are generally low-demand circuits that often run on 15 or 20 amps of maximum load. One or two electric heaters can overload typical circuits.
Once more, coping with too much demand tends to be an easy problem to address. You may be able to just move the load to a different circuit. It also is usually possible to add a circuit for the additional load, especially if you know the device in question will stay in one location.
Homeowners often make a major DIY mistake in these situations, though. Many people think all they need to do is swap the circuit breaker for one that supports higher amperage. However, the wiring on the circuit should match the circuit breaker. For example, a 20-amp circuit breaker probably also connects to wiring that only supports a maximum of 20 amps. If you swap in a 30-amp breaker, the overloaded circuit could heat the wire to the point the insulation melts. At that point, it is a fire hazard.
Insufficient Wiring
If the wiring between the circuit breaker and the target space isn’t up to the job, that is fixable. However, rewiring is necessary and potentially involved. The important thing to remember, though, is that the cost of rewiring overloaded wires is going to be cheaper than the potential risk that accompanies the problem. Insufficient wiring can shock people, destroy appliances and electronics, or start a fire.
Service or Panel Overload
One of the more complicated scenarios occurs when the panel or even the overall electrical service is overloaded. Generally, this is a more advanced problem than overloading a single circuit. Instead, the whole house needs extra capacity.
Replacing an electrical panel to provide extra capacity may take several hours. Many panels in older homes aren’t up to the job. For example, they might only offer 100 amps of power. We recommend a 200-amp panel or higher for modern needs. This ensures that your house can run multiple high-load systems like HVAC, laundry, and EV charging at the same time.
Overloaded service is a trickier issue. It is extremely rare, however, for a residence to use more amperage than the electric company can deliver. If it does happen, you will need to work with the electric company to upgrade your service, a solution that can readily cost tens of thousands of dollars. Your will also have to upgrade the electrical panel to a model that’s compatible with a more advanced level of service. Alternatively, you could scale back your demands on the system.
Mister Sparky offers 24-hour availability throughout the week to tackle your electrical needs in or near Ocala, FL. If you’re worried that a circuit is overloaded, contact Mister Sparky right away.
