Circuit Breaker Services in Delaware County

At JDV Electric, we offer comprehensive electrical services in Newtown Square and surrounding areas, including circuit breaker repairs, replacements, and upgrades. This includes upgrades for older homes moving from fuse boxes to circuit breakers, upgrades to a more robust or modern circuit breaker, and more.

There’s no need to put up with breakers that trip nonstop, overstuffed circuits where turning on one light dims another, or other headaches with JDV Electric on the job.

Circuit Breaker vs. Fuse Boxes

A circuit breaker refers to an electrical panel where each circuit feeds through a switch sensitive to dangerous conditions. If the current exceeds limitations, the switch opens, and the current gets cut off until you come and flip the switch back on.

In a fuse box, instead of a switch operating on electromechanical principles, you have a small piece of delicate metal that breaks apart under excessive load, breaking the circuit. To get the circuit back on, you need to buy a replacement fuse and install it in the place of the broken one.

Even old circuit breakers are safer and more convenient than fuse boxes, with modern circuit breakers implementing even more safety features to protect you and your home. Thus, it’s always advisable to replace fuse boxes where possible. 

Common Circuit Breaker Problems

Although circuit breakers and electrical panels are safer and more reliable than fuse boxes, they are still prone to problems now and again. Call a professional electrician for electrical panel replacement or repair if you notice any of the following issues:

• Lights that flicker on and off
• Frequently tripped circuits
• Buzzing or humming noises coming out of the panel
• Tripped circuits with specific appliances

These are common circuit breaker box problems that can be fixed easily when you call in a professional residential electrician. Call us for electrical panel repairs or upgrades to ensure the proper working of your electrical system and your family’s safety.

If you suspect you need circuit breaker help, don’t wait — contact us online or call 610-364-5099 to schedule a visit today.

How Your Circuit Breaker Works

Your standard circuit breaker is a rather ingenious but simple electromechanical device. Using principles of electromagnetism, a magnet attached to the switch grows stronger as the current grows stronger. If the current gets strong enough, the magnet gets strong enough to flip the switch — thus cutting off the power; other basic circuit breakers with using a bimetallic strip, a small piece of metal made up of two metals that react differently to the same amount of current. This makes the metal bend under current — with too much current, it bends away from the circuit and breaks the flow of electricity. 

GFCIs, ground fault circuit interrupters, are a particular type of breaker most often found inside of outlets in dangerous areas like kitchens and bathrooms, where rather than reacting to total current, the breaker instead trips if the current in the neutral wire and hot wire aren’t the same, because this indicates current is going where it shouldn’t be and might be shocking someone or something. 

AFCI Safety Breakers

In new modern homes and when updating older homes for safety and future compliance, we work with AFCI safety breakers, advanced “smart circuit breakers” which monitor for arc faults — situations in which current is arcing between two places it shouldn’t be, creating a fire and shock hazard. 

Signs You Need Circuit Breaker Repair and Replacement

Whether to repair or replace a circuit breaker will come down first to the nature of the problem — some issues will warrant a full replacement regardless of other considerations. You might also choose to replace a circuit breaker because of its age, wear caused by corrosion, or other issues or because you want to take advantage of the opportunity to change your circuits for something more natural or efficient. Here are some signs that you may need repair or circuit breaker replacement:

• Flickering lights
• Hot outlets, switches, or places on the wall with wires
• Smells of burning or other strange smells
• Constantly tripped breakers
• Unusual electricity usage
• Damaged electronics or appliances
• Areas where different electric devices affect one another in your home

Choose JDV Electric for Circuit Breaker Services in the Philadelphia Area

If you’re looking for reliable services for your circuit breaker panel or GFCI outlets in your home, don’t hesitate to contact the team at JDV Electric and get the quality of service you deserve. Our expert electricians arrive in fully stocked trucks with the knowledge and tools to assist with whatever is ailing your home electrical system.

Ready to schedule a visit for circuit breaker services? Call 610-364-5099 or reach out to us online now!