Electrical overloads are a common problem during the holiday season as a result of people plugging in lights and decorations and generally using more power than normal. Overloads can do major damage to your home and your belongings along with various parts of your electrical system. That’s why it’s important that you know what causes them and what steps to take to avoid overloading individual circuits and your entire electrical system.
What Causes Electrical Overloads?
Overloads occur from trying to draw more power from a circuit than it was designed to supply. Most circuits in a house are 120 volt and either 15 or 20 amp. The voltage and amperage of a circuit determine how many total watts it can safely supply without getting overloaded.
You can also overload your entire electrical system if the total amperage draw of your appliances, electronic devices and lighting exceeds the amperage of the main electrical supply panel. This type of overload happens more rarely, but it can occur if an AC, heat pump or electric furnace is running when many of the house’s other major appliances are on. It can also happen if your electrical panel is undersized and not able to meet your home’s power needs.
The Dangers of Overloading Your Electrical System
The biggest concern with electrical overloads is that they can result in a fire. When electricity flows through wiring, it always results in the copper wires heating up. This heat isn’t an issue under normal circumstances. This is partly because the copper doesn’t get all that hot and also because the wiring is insulated to keep the heat from radiating off the wire.
When an overload occurs, it results in the wiring quickly becoming much hotter. A major overload can cause the wiring to get so hot that the insulation or sheathing around the copper wires begins to melt. The heat radiating off the wires can then result in building materials igniting and starting a fire.
The sheathing around wiring keeps the live, neutral and ground wires isolated so that they can’t come into contact with each other. If it melts and the wires touch, they’ll start producing sparks that can also lead to a fire. Another concern if the live wire and ground wire touch is that it results in the electrical current flowing unimpeded. This can lead to a major spike in voltage that can cause significant damage to everything on that circuit.
Even if a fire doesn’t start, overloads can damage wiring, outlets and switches. This can result in expensive repairs, especially if you need to have much of a circuit’s wiring replaced.
Signs of an Electrical Overload
The most obvious sign that you’ve overloaded a circuit is when the breaker trips. Circuit breakers are essential safety mechanisms that reduce the risk of an overload causing an electrical fire. Most circuit breakers have two different mechanisms that can cause them to trip under circuit conditions. One is a bimetallic strip, which is what detects overloads. When an overload occurs, the excess heat causes this strip to bend, activating a trigger that trips the breaker. The second mechanism is an electromagnet, which causes the breaker to trip if there’s a sudden surge in current, such as from a short circuit.
Whenever a breaker trips, you should make sure to unplug most of the things on that circuit before resetting the breaker. If it trips again, it usually means that you’re dealing with a short circuit from a damaged or loose wire and not an overload. You might keep tripping the breaker when plugging in and turning on a specific item or device, such as a holiday decoration. If so, it means that item is causing the short circuit and is not safe to use.
If you keep having different breakers trip, it’s usually a sign that you’re overloading your electrical system or that there’s an issue with your electrical panel. In either case, the only solution is an electrical panel upgrade.
Other signs of an overload to watch out for are flickering lights, buzzing noises, sluggish appliances and outlets or switches that feel warm to the touch. Your lights could flicker when certain high-power appliances come on or when you’re using lots of power throughout the house. If so, it indicates that your electrical panel doesn’t supply enough amps to meet your needs and should be replaced.
Even though circuit breakers are designed to trip if an overload occurs, they can break or get stuck and not work when they should. If this happens when there’s a major overload, it will often result in outlets on that circuit beginning to smoke. In case of a minor overload, outlets and switches can start to feel warm, but not get hot enough to start melting and smoking.
Tips for Preventing Overloads
The first step in preventing overloads from holiday decorations or anything else is to make sure that you know which circuit all of your outlets, lights and appliances are on. This is especially important when plugging in lights and decorations outside. In many houses, outdoor outlets share the same circuit with the indoor outlets along the same wall. This can make it easy to overload the circuit if you have multiple things plugged into the indoor and outdoor outlets at the same time.
Most electrical panels are clearly labeled to show you which room, part of the house or appliance each breaker corresponds to. If your panel isn’t labeled, it’s a good idea to test and determine which circuit each breaker controls and then label them all. The easiest way to do this is to turn on all of your lights and then turn off the breakers one by one to see which lights go out when you shut off each breaker. The only thing to note is that there is likely a dedicated circuit for appliances like your microwave, stove/oven and refrigerator. There is also usually one circuit that only supplies power to the small appliance outlets along your kitchen counters.
You also want to make sure that you know which circuits are 15 amp and which are 20 amp. Luckily, this is easy, as each breaker has the amperage of the circuit listed right on it. A 15-amp circuit is technically rated to handle a maximum of 1,800 watts, and a 20-amp circuit is rated to handle 2,400 watts. However, it’s recommended to never exceed 80% of a circuit’s maximum rating. That’s mainly because electronic devices can sometimes draw more power than their watt rating, which can lead to an overload if the circuit is already close to full capacity.
Once you know which circuit is which and how much power each one can safely supply, it’s easy to prevent overloads by checking the wattage rating of everything before you plug it in. Let’s say that you have a TV plugged in and you want to plug decorations into outdoor outlets on the same circuit. The label on the back of the TV and the tag or label on the decorations will show you their wattages. You can then just add up all of the wattages to see how many of the decorations you can plug in without overloading the circuit. However, you need to make sure to take into account the wattage of all of the lights on that circuit as well.
If you use incandescent light strings and decorations, replacing them with LEDs will also greatly decrease the chances of overloads due to how much less power LEDs use. Upgrading to LEDs will cut down on your electricity bill as well.
Installing a whole-home surge protector is another good option for avoiding electrical hazards. Whole-home surge protection won’t prevent overloads, but it will protect your electrical system, appliances and electronics should a short circuit cause a major power surge.
For first-class electrical services in Sterling, VA, look to Absolute Electric. We’ve been in business for nearly 20 years and are dedicated to helping homeowners ensure their electrical system is safe and works correctly. From electrical panel upgrades to whole-home surge protection, our expert team can handle all of your needs. To schedule an electrical safety inspection or a service appointment, contact us today.
