Inline negative logo

What to do when your switchboard keeps tripping

A circuit that keeps tripping can be unbelievably frustrating. If your switchboard keeps tripping, it means something connected to the board is overloaded and triggering the safety switch to prevent damage, there are a few reasons this can occur. Luckily, there are steps you can take to diagnose the issue before you have an electrician check it out.

First, you’ll need to find the switch that has tripped. Locate your electrical box found somewhere attached to your house and look for the switch that is in the “off” position or has moved to the middle position. Once you’ve found the switch that has from the “on” position, be sure to switch it off completely before attempting to switch it back on. If it trips again, there may be an underlying issue that needs to be addressed.

A common cause of a switch tripping is an overload somewhere in the circuit. This can be caused by too many things using the same circuit at once, or by a faulty appliance that is drawing too much power. To help prevent overloads, try minimizing devices plugged into the same points and spreading them out over different circuits. Additionally, make sure your appliances are in good working order and not drawing more power than they should be.

Fun fact, your kettle uses a lot more power than you would expect as it takes 4.19 joules to heat 1ml of water by 1 degree, if you have 1L of water it takes a little over 318 kilojoules to boil it from standard room temperature.

This comes to about 88-Watt hours, or in terms of money, in Australia it costs about 35 cents per 1kwh which is about 3c every time you boil some water (Kitchen & Wang, International Electricity Prices: How does Australia compare? 2022), it may not seem like much, but it becomes rather costly if you leave multiple appliances unchecked for long periods of time.

To put it into perspective, if you boil water twice a day that comes to about 6c per day and $0.06*365 days is costing you $21.90 per year from a single appliance, this is not factoring the water requiring more power to heat during the winter months.

If you’re experiencing frequent trips, it may be a sign that your electrical system needs an upgrade. An outdated system may not be equipped to handle the demands modern technology and appliances require, putting your home at risk of electrical fires and other hazards. A licensed electrician can evaluate your system and recommend upgrades if necessary.