Recently, we had a customer who asked us about the best method for identifying and labeling their circuit breaker with illegible, old labels. We felt this would be a perfect opportunity to review this topic with all of you! Having knowledge of which each individual circuit breaker services areas of the home is crucial for all homeowners; you never know when an emergency might require power to be quickly turned off to an area of the house. If opening your electrical panel door leaves you confused, read on to learn our straightforward method for labeling circuit breakers correctly.
Circuit Breaker – Identification and Labeling Method
Some emergencies require quick thinking to ensure power is not being supplied to a potentially dangerous area of the home. If, for example, a large appliance catches fire, flipping the circuit breaker that controls that area is much safer than unplugging the device. Labeling your circuit breakers also reduces general confusion anytime something trips and you need to return power to an otherwise functional home.
- Find A Partner To Help
Finding a family member or friend to aid in the process will drastically cut down on the amount of time it takes to finish the job. While one person identifies which areas of the house are being powered by each switch, the other person can stay by the panel and begin the labeling process. - Turn Off All Power Except For The Main Switch
Your control power will have a larger switch that controls the electricity being fed into the home; this is not something you want to touch. Every other switch should be turned off, turning off all the lights in the home and un-powering all devices. - Flip Each Switch One By One and Identify Its Location
Starting from one side, go down the row and flip each switch while your partner relays the information regarding where the power was restored. By labeling as you go, you can keep track of which areas of the home have already had their circuit breaker identified, and your partner can easily know which parts of the house might be left to check on. This is extremely helpful for larger homes or homes that have multiple floors.If a switch is flipped and no lights or devices power on, power might have been restored to something like a fridge, washing machine, or other appliance that does not immediately flash or light up. You also may have powered on a circuit with no devices connected, such as in a hallway that does not have overheard lights installed. Identifying these can be tricky, and you can leave them to the end to ensure you know the potential areas you need to look in. Consider carrying around small handheld devices or lamps to check areas on the go.Appliances such as washing machines, ovens, or water heaters sometimes require double breakers because of the large amount of power needed to operate. In this case, two breakers may be connected or previously labeled together.
By the end of the process, you should have a good idea of which circuit breakers power in which areas. If a breaker doesn’t seem functional, improper wiring or a broken circuit breaker could be the problem. Contact your local electrician if you suspect your electrical panel or circuit breakers are dysfunctional.
Promise Electric is the Sarasota area’s premier master electrician, specializing in commercial and residential electrical service and repairs.
