Circuit Breakers and Fuses

Circuit Breakers and Fuses
Circuit breakers are common in newer homes. Older homes typically have fuse boxes. Circuit breakers and fuses have the same job, but function a little differently. Circuit breakers protect the electrical system by cutting off electricity as soon as the load gets to be too much. Fuses will blow if the maximum electrical load is exceeded.
The main advantage to circuit breakers is that they can be reset and circuit breaker replacement is almost never necessary. A fuse has to be replaced each time it blows because of the way fuses are designed. In a fuse, electrical current runs across a soft metal wire. The fuse wire is designed so that any load over the maximum will cause it to overheat and melt. When the wire melts, electricity can no longer run across it and the circuit is broken. Fuses will not fail you as long as they are sized correctly for the circuit.
Today fuses are becoming obsolete and being replaced with circuit breakers, but if you move into a house with a fuse box don’t be alarmed; you are still in good hands with the circuit protection of the fuse.