What’s the difference between a breaker box and a fuse box? Let’s start by saying I’m not an electrician. Therefore, I’m not going to give you a detailed technical description of how these work. I’m a homeowner who can change a light fixture or move an outlet around. That’s it.
Each state is subject to its own state and local electrical code. North Carolina’s can be found here.
What Do They Do?
Firstly, we need to cover what these do. Both the breaker and fuse boxes exist to turn off power to an electrical circuit if that circuit draws too much power. That feature can save your appliances, your life, and your house as a whole. You don’t want the wires melting in the wall and starting a fire!
However, these boxes may not protect you from electrocution. The amount of amperage required to trip them is significantly higher than the amount that it takes to end your life. The moral there: still be careful! Electricity is one of the more dangerous things in your house.
In most cases, your electrical box brings in the power from the main line and separates it into many different circuits. Each circuit is on its own fuse or breaker so that it may be turned off separately. Additionally, if you were to trip a breaker in one room, other circuits won’t be affected.
Fuse Box
We’re starting with the old first. Fuse boxes are the first way to separate power throughout your house. Each circuit has its own fuse. The fuse was the safety device meant to burn out before the wires burned out.
If your house has a fuse box today, it will most likely have circular fuses that screw into place. They’ll have a little glass front where you’ll be able to see if the fuse itself is fine or burned out.
Having grown up with fuse boxes, I know they’re kind of a pain. Sometimes, you can’t easily tell if a fuse is burned out. Especially if you’re doing this in the dark with a flashlight!
Another pain is having to buy the right fuses for each circuit. If you have a 10, 15, 20, and 40 amp circuit in your box, you need 4 different types of fuses. If you’re out of the one that blew, you have to go to the store to buy new ones before the electricity starts working again.
Breaker Box
And then one day, someone invented breaker boxes. And the world rejoiced. A breaker box is the same as a fuse box except that each circuit is protected by a switch.
Instead of blowing fuses, if you overload a circuit, that breaker trips. This means the switch flips into the middle and no electricity enters that circuit until you turn it off and on again.
The advantages here are that you can easily see which circuit has tripped and you don’t have to buy or mess with fuses. Each breaker is either in on, off, or tripped position. This is much easier!
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