DALY CITY — Long before circuit breakers were developed, homes used to get their electricity from fuses. This is still the case for some homes that have their original fuse boxes. However, even if they’re functional, using fuses to power your home can lead to a potentially dangerous situation if you aren’t careful.
The biggest problem with using fuses to power your home is power needs have significantly increased over time. Since fuse boxes weren’t designed to handle modern power loads, homeowners often have to increase the sizes of their fuses from 15 amps to 20, 30 and even 40 amps. This ongoing inflation of fuse sizes is very dangerous because it puts the wires at risk of overheating and starting a fire.
If you find yourself in this situation, call an electrician to evaluate your system. In some cases, you may be able to redistribute the power load so it’s not all saddled on a couple of fuses. Even better, consider replacing your old fuse box with a modern circuit breaker box, which will bring improved performance and safety.

Learn how to prevent hazardous situations by understanding and properly using electrical fuses. Essential tips for home safety and electrical maintenance.

Avoiding Dangerous Conditions with Electrical Fuses by Sergey Ivanov

by Sergey Ivanov of Bit Electrical Inc.

Avoiding Dangerous Conditions with Electrical Fuses

GFI Protection in Ungrounded Homes

Video: Avoiding Electrical Fuse Burnout

 If you find yourself using bigger and bigger fuses to fill your home's power needs, it's time to update your electrical system. To learn more, we're in Daly City with Brian Polly, a B.I. Electrical speaking on behalf of our Diamond Certified expert contributor, Sergey Ivanov. Yeah, an old house with fuse boxes. You know, we used to have like, you know, 10 or 15 20-amp fuse. When you put the 15-amp fuse, that would burn out. You put a 20-amp fuse, that would burn out. But a 30-amp fuse that burns out. Then you put a 40-amp fuse in, you burn your house down.

So, the best thing to do is that if you keep on having to put in larger and larger screw-in fuses, call an electrician out. Have them reevaluate the system so that maybe you can move some power different places, but to increase those fuses, you're just guaranteed to eventually overheat your wires and burn your house down.

To learn more from local top-rated companies, visit our Diamond Certified expert reports at experts.diamondcertified.org. 

Video: The Value of GFI Protection


When it comes to electrical safety in the home, GFI protection is a top priority. To learn more, we're in Daly City with Brian Poly, a Bit Electrical speaking on behalf of our Diamond Certified expert contributors, Sergey Ivanov.

"Yes, GFI breakers are really good in properties that are not grounded. What happens is that when it's not grounded, if you ever touch something that's not grounded, you're going to have a shock that's going to go all that the 20 or 30 amps. And what's going to happen is that you're going to get the full voltage through your body until 30 amps trips.

Okay, with a GFI breaker, the measurement measures power out and measures power back in. So when you touch something and that voltage changes and it measures it going out but not coming back in, it trips itself. So whenever you touch something that's hot that's not GFI protected, you get the full voltage. When you touch something that is GFI protected, you just get that measured distance between the two. Long story short, what happens is that trips.

To learn more from local top-rated companies, visit our Diamond Certified expert reports at experts.diamondcertified.org."


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