HOW TO RESET YOUR BREAKER PANEL: 4 SIMPLE STEPS
If an electrician or a technician is called to your unit to reset the breakers, there may be a cost to you. Learn how to reset your breaker panel in 4 easy steps.
An electrical circuit breaker panel is the main distribution point for electrical circuits in your home. If a circuit overloads or shorts, the breaker will trip and cut power to prevent fire and possible electrocution. Resetting a breaker is simple, if you know how, and will restore power to the room or rooms affected if there isn’t an outage. Resetting your circuit breaker is safe and easy if you follow the proper steps.
Please Note, if an electrician or a technician is called to your unit and they reset the breakers, there may be a cost to you.
Most circuit breaker panels have two vertical rows of breakers. Above (or sometimes below) the rows is a large breaker called the main breaker. This breaker controls the power to all of the other breakers. If you switch off the main breaker, you turn off all the circuits in the house at once. Follow these steps to help you to reset your breaker.
- Light Switches and appliances: Turn off light switches and unplug appliances in all rooms that have lost power.
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Locate the Circuit Breaker: Find your circuit breaker box and open the cover. - Locate the Tripped Breaker: Circuit breakers are small, usually horizontal switches and may be labeled (e.g., “kitchen,” “bathroom” etc.).The tripped circuit breaker will be in the “off” position or in a middle position between “on” and “off.”
- Reset the Breaker: Move the breaker to the full “off” position and then back to “on.” That should clear an overload and return power to the room.
- Breaker Re-trips: If the breaker re-trips, it could be for a number of reasons: too many lamps and appliances plugged into the circuit; a damaged cord or plug; a short circuit in a receptacle, switch or fixture; or faulty wiring.
- Troubleshooting: Identify and fix problems before finally resetting the breaker.
HOW TO TROUBLESHOOT BREAKER RE-TRIPS
- Check for a short by switching on each light. If the breaker stays on, carefully plug in each device. If the circuit breaker trips when you plug something in, you found the source of the problem. Unplug the device and reset the breaker. You can verify a suspected short by examining the power cord for melted insulation. Also, check the plug and outlet for a burnt smell or charring.
- Check for an overload by plugging everything in and switching everything on. If the breaker trips, either switch off some power guzzlers, like the air conditioner or heaters, or plug them into an outlet on different circuit
- If it appears the break is being tripped due to faulty wiring or another issue in your home, please call 587-390-1200 and report it to maintenance.
Please Note, if an electrician or a technician is called to your unit and they reset the breakers, there may be a cost to you.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Never remove the dead front cover (the flat metal panel you see when you open the door) or go poking around inside a circuit breaker panel.
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