Understanding Short Circuits | David Gray Electrical Services

Short circuiting is when an electric current flows down the wrong or unintended path with little to no electrical resistance. It can cause serious damage, ... backtoblog WhatDoesShortCircuitMeanAndHowDoIKnowifIHaveOne? Shortcircuitingiswhenanelectriccurrentflowsdownthe wrongorunintendedpathwithlittletonoelectricalresistance. Itcancauseseriousdamage,fire,andevensmall-scaleexplosions. Infact,shortcircuitsareoneoftheleadingcausesofstructural firesaroundtheworld.Ifyou'veeverseensparksinyour electricalpanel,itmostlikelywasashortcircuitcausing them. WhatCausesAShortCircuit? Therearenumberoffactorsthatcanleadtoashortcircuit. Herearesomeofthemostcommoncauses. Thewiringencounterswaterorsomeotherliquid. Faultyinsulationorlooseconnectionscanresultinthelive andneutralwirescomingincontactwitheachother. Nailandscrewpuncturesthatcausethewirecasingsto deteriorate. Anabnormalbuild-upofelectricalcurrentswithinyourhome's electricalwiringsystem. Commonpestslikerats,mice,andsquirrels, chewthe wires. Oldormalfunctioningapplianceswithdamagedplugsorpower cordscanalsocauseashortcircuit.That'sbecausewhenan applianceispluggedintoawalloutletitswiring essentially becomesanextensionofthecircuit. ProtectionAgainstShortCircuits Shortcircuitsposeadangerofshockandfire.Fortunately, yourhome'swiringsystemhasvariousmeansinplacetosafeguard againstthesedangers. Circuit breakersorfusesuseaninternalsystemofspringsor compressedairtodetectchangesinelectricalcurrentflow.They aredesignedtobreakthecircuitconnectionwhenanyirregularity occurs. Ground-faultcircuitinterrupters,orGFCIsasthey'recommonly known,provideasimilarfunctiontocircuitbreakers.Theytoo sensechangesincurrentflow,butaremuchmoresensitivethan breakers,automaticallyshuttingoffthecurrent'sflowatthe slightestsenseoffluctuation. Arc-faultcircuitinterrupters(AFCIs)protectagainstarcing, aphenomenonthatoccursatlooseelectricalconnectionsandcauses electricitytojump betweenmetalcontacts.Thesedevices anticipateshortcircuitsandshutthepoweroffbeforeitcan reachashortcircuitcondition.WhereGFCIsprotectagainstshock, AFCIsareabettersolutionforpreventingfirescausedby arcing. HowtoDealwithaShortCircuit It'sajobbestlefttoaprofessional,buttherearesomethings youcancheckonyourown.Forexample,ifacircuitbreaker regularlytripsimmediatelyafterbeingreset,youprobablyhavea wiringproblemsomeplace alongthecircuitorinanappliance thatisconnectedtoit.Takeagoodlookat allthepower cordspluggedintooutletsalongthetrippedcircuit.Ifyounotice damageoritlooksliketheplasticinsulationhasdisintegrated, unplugtheappliance,andthenswitchthecircuitbreakerbackon. Ifthecircuitnowremainsactive,youcanbefairlycertainthe appliancewastheproblem. Repairingacircuitwiringproblemshouldtypicallybedonebya professionalelectrician.Therepairinvolvesshuttingoffthe circuit,openingupoutletandswitchboxestoinspectwiresand connections,andmakinganynecessaryrepairs.Youmayalsoneedchangestoyour home's electricalpanel.Thisisdefinitelynotajobfor mostDIYers! Ifyoususpectyouhaveashortcircuitprobleminyour Jacksonville,FLhome,ourteamofhighlytrainedelectriciansare heretohelp.ContactDavidGrayElectrical Servicesonlinetoday orcallusat(904)724-7211tolearn more. SCHEDULESERVICE WithOurProfessionals ScheduleService Name*Phone*Email**SelectServiceAirConditioning&HeatingPlumbingElectricalOtherWhatcanwehelpyouwith?SCHEDULESERVICE ServingFlorida’sFirstCoast! OURSERVICEAREAS PLUMBINGSERVICEAREA HVACSERVICEAREA ELECTRICALSERVICEAREA Disclaimer Theinformationonthiswebsiteisforinformationalpurposesonly;itisdeemedaccuratebutnotguaranteed.Itdoesnotconstituteprofessionaladvice.Allinformationissubjecttochangeatanytimewithoutnotice.Contactusforcompletedetails.