Have you ever been sitting at home, all going well, when all of a sudden part or all of your power goes out? If you have, you’re not alone, and if you haven’t, don’t panic if it should happen in the future – blown fuses are not uncommon.

Before we can get into what causes a blown fuse, let’s quickly go over what exactly a blown fuse is. Essentially, your home is protected by either a circuit breaker or a fuse, which can support a certain number of amps. The purpose of having a fuse is to protect your home from damage that would result from too high of a current running through your electrical system.

So what causes a blown fuse?

Most of the time, blown fuses occur as a result of an overloaded circuit – in other words, if a circuit is trying to support more amps than it was designed to, the fuse will blow so that the electrical wires do not burn or break down.

Another common cause of blown fuses is electrical shorts – electrical shorts occur when a hot wire touches another hot wire or a neutral wire. Additionally, electrical shorts can happen if there is a break in a wire within a circuit or when a hot wire touches a ground wire or the side of a metal outlet box. Regardless of which event happens in your home, the fuse will open and turn off the circuit in question.

What should you do if you experience a blown fuse?

The answer to this question is simple! If you’re located in Suffolk County, New York, just call the team at TFC Electric Inc. We are a full service electrician serving all of Suffolk County and can perform a number of electrical repairs to ensure that your home is safe and equipped with electricity that works.

For more information about our electrical repair services or to make an appointment with one of our electricians, please call (631) 589-2800.