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How To Change A Fuse/Work Circuit Breaker

Ever been home enjoying a good movie, nice wine, and hot bag of popcorn on a Friday night, when all of a sudden, boom! No power? After you realize that it’s just your house and not a massive wind that caused the entire city to black out, it dawns on you that you have no clue how to fix this sort of thing. Calm down boo, before you dial up PSE&G, you might want to learn a thing or two about fuses and circuit breakers.

Electrical systems vary from house to house, so your job is to figure out whether your electrical box is composed of fuses or circuit breakers, and where in your home the box is located (they’re usually in the basement, but can be set up in other places, like a closet). Once you get that info, it’s pretty much a piece of cake. For a circuit breaker, simply flip the switch and voila, magic! If your electrical wires are protected by fuses, it’s good to keep a few spares (hit the local hardware store and pick some up). A blown fuse takes a little more work, but nothing a big girl can’t handle. Just unscrew it and replace it with a new one.

Note: remember that when your power shuts off, this most likely means you’re running too many appliances at once—like an air conditioner and microwave or a heater and a curling iron. Be sure to unplug a few things before you restore your power. Otherwise, it’ll go right back out. And make sure your hands are dry when dealing with your electrical box!