Having a well-functioning electrical system during the winter months is an absolute must. Not only does this help to run your heating system and hot water heater, but it’s also necessary for providing all your entertainment devices with power. This will ensure your family can stay happy and safe throughout the coldest season of the year. Unfortunately, with such a high demand for your electrical system during the winter months, you can run into problems, like overloading your electrical circuit.
What Does Overloading an Electrical Circuit Mean?
All electrical circuits are designed to handle a specific amount of power safely. An overload happens whenever too much electricity passes through that specific circuit and exceeds its safety limit. The circuit limit is going to be dependent on a couple of different factors including, the wire’s gauge, electrical panel capacity, and the circuit breaker’s rating.
The Most Obvious Signs of an Overloaded Circuit
There are many different indicators that can let you know that you’re trying to draw too much power from your electrical circuit. One of the most common things that you may experience is flickering or dimming of your overhead lights. This happens because your lighting circuit can’t get enough electricity because too much of the electricity is spread to different appliances. Another key indicator of an overloaded electrical circuit is that your outlets or light switches feel very hot to touch. You may hear buzzing or cracking noises coming from these areas.
It isn’t uncommon to experience an odor like burning plastic or melting wires at a light switch or outlet. You may be able to see a discoloration on the cover plate, or the outlet may have scorch marks on it. You may even notice that some of your appliances on that circuit seem to be underperforming. For example, your refrigerator isn’t getting cold enough. You’ll also likely experience circuit breakers that trip and need to be constantly reset.
The Dangers of Overloading an Electrical Circuit
As you can imagine, your electrical wiring and circuits are given a specific rating to help guide safe operating practices. Whenever you exceed that safe level, there are going to be unsafe consequences. One of the most obvious is going to be an electrical fire. The wire is only rated up to a certain amount. When too much power passes through the circuit, it can heat up. This can cause the wire to melt and even catch fire.
An overloaded circuit can cause excessive heat generation in your electrical devices and appliances. This can deteriorate their insulation and other materials, resulting in permanent damage to the device or appliance. An overloaded circuit can even be dangerous when it comes to interacting with it. You may also experience an electrical shock due to short circuits or arcing that can cause severe burns or even have fatal consequences.
Spread Out the Load
One of the basic principles you’ll want to use to prevent overloading your electrical circuits is to ensure that you’re spreading out the load over multiple circuits. All appliances and electrical devices will pull different amounts of power depending on their specific needs.
If you plug too many appliances or devices that have a very high electrical demand into the same circuit, you’re going to experience an overload. Instead, opt for plugging in your larger devices and appliances on different electrical circuits. You can refer to the electrical label on your panel box to determine what outlets are on what circuit.
Use a Whole-Home Surge Protector
One of the most important investments that you can make for your home’s electrical system is a whole-home surge protector. Most people are familiar with power strip surge protectors, where you can plug in multiple electrical devices to protect them from power surges. A whole-home surge protector will work to protect your entire electrical system and everything plugged into it, like your electronic devices and appliances. It makes more sense to invest in one device to handle all your home’s electrical components than to purchase multiple smaller power strips to handle different areas of your home’s electrical system.
Invest in Energy-Efficient Devices
Another thing to keep in mind is that you need to be more particular about the electrical items that you purchase for your home. Purchase devices that are energy efficient, as they will use much less energy and can allow you to plug in more devices on one electrical circuit. If you currently have any very inefficient appliances or electronics, you may want to consider upgrading them to a more efficient model.
Understand Basic Electrical Load Capacity
It can be very helpful for you to understand the basic electrical load capacity of each electrical circuit in your home. You can discover this information by going to your panel box and looking at the actual circuit breaker for that electrical circuit. You’ll find that most average electrical circuits will have between 15 and 20 amps of power.
However, there are some circuits that may have more. By understanding the basic load capacity of the electrical circuit, you can calculate the electrical demand of each item you’re plugging into that circuit to ensure that it does not exceed the recommended electrical load capacity.
Unplug Devices Not in Use
There’s no reason to be powering electrical devices that you’re not using. They can just contribute to the overall electrical demand that you put on your circuit and cause it to overload. It’s a good rule of thumb to go ahead and unplug any items that you’re not using to help reduce your electrical demand. If you don’t want to go through the physical process of unplugging items every time you’re done using them, you may want to consider getting smart outlets.
These outlets are controlled via your smartphone, and they allow you to kill power completely from everything that’s plugged into it. It’s crucial to make a distinction that turning an item off that’s still plugged into a traditional wall outlet does not stop power from flowing to that device. Many devices will have a standby mode when they’re turned off where they still draw phantom power from the outlet. When you invest in a smart outlet, it will kill that phantom power to ensure that no energy is leaving the outlet.
Consider Upgrading Your Incoming Power Supply
If you try to implement the tips that we went over above and keep overloading your circuits, you may not have enough power to meet your demands. This is common for homeowners who have older homes that were built before the 1980s, as they didn’t have as much power to go to them as modern-day homes do. Fortunately, you can upgrade to have more power coming into your home so that you can safely run all your appliances and electrical devices without overloading any of your electrical circuits.
Exceptional Electrical Repair Service
Pioneer Valley Environmental offers an exceptional electrical repair service for the Belchertown, MA area. We can also help with all your electrical installation, maintenance, and emergency repair needs. Simply call our office today to get the top-tier service that you need for your home.
