Home Garden
# Home & Garden >> Home Repair & Maintenance >> Electrical Repairs

How to Add a Bigger Breaker for a Living Room

Electricians usually plan the electrical circuits in a house so that each is protected by a circuit breaker with a rating large enough to handle the expected load on that circuit. A breaker with a rating too small for the load, such as on a living room circuit with several lights and frequently used power outlets, will trip frequently and shut off power to the circuit. You can usually rectify the situation by replacing the breaker with one that has a larger rating, as long as you can verify that the circuit wires are thick enough to handle the extra current.

Things You'll Need

  • Screwdriver
  • Insulated pliers
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Locate the electrical panel and open the door. Shut off the main breaker, usually located at the bottom of the panel, and unscrew the panel cover with a screwdriver. Remove the cover.

    • 2

      Identify the breaker that controls the living room circuit. This task probably won't be difficult, since it is the one that keeps tripping, but you should double-check by noting the breaker legend on the inside of the panel door or on the sides of the panel cover.

    • 3

      Turn off the breaker and note its rating, denoted by a number on the tip of the rocker arm. If it reads "10," which means 10 amps, you can replace it with a 15-amp breaker. If it reads "15," you can only replace it with a 20-amp breaker if the entire circuit is wired with 12-gauge cable.

    • 4

      Follow the wire attached to a 15-amp breaker until you come to the point where the sheathing has been cut away, then follow the sheathing until you can read the wire gauge imprinted on it. It is safe to replace the breaker only if the sheathing bears the numbers 12/2, which signifies that the cable contains 12-gauge wire. Do not change the breaker if the numbers on the sheathing are 14/2, signifying that the cable contains 14-gauge wire, which is thinner.

    • 5

      Remove the breaker, if it is safe to replace it, by gripping the rocker arm firmly with a pair of insulated pliers and pulling it sharply toward you. The breaker will unsnap from the panel bus bar. Once it does, unhook the other end from the panel. Loosen the lug holding the black wire with a screwdriver and remove the wire.

    • 6

      Insert the wire into the analogous slot on a replacement breaker and tighten the lug with the screwdriver. Hook the end of the breaker holding the wire into the slot from which you removed the old breaker, then push the other end of the new breaker firmly until it snaps into place on the bus bar.

    • 7

      Replace the panel cover and tighten the screws to hold it. Turn on the breaker you just replaced, then turn on the main breaker and close the panel door.

Previous:

Next:

Electrical Repairs
  1. How to Care for Italian Leather Living Room Furniture
  2. How to Add a Table Area to a Living Room
  3. How to Build Wooden Panels for a Room Divider
  4. How to Add Character to Your Living Room
  5. How to Add a Dividing Wall in a Living Room
  6. How to Add Light to a Dark Living Room
  7. Repurposing a Living Room
  8. How to Add Track Lighting to Living Room
  9. How to Choose an Area Rug for a Living Room
  10. How to Level the Breaker Box
  11. How to Add Plants to a Window in Your Living Room
  12. How to Add a Power Circuit Breaker

Home Garden © https://www.98905.com