subject: About Single Pole and Double Pole Circuit Breakers [print this page] About Single Pole and Double Pole Circuit Breakers
Circuit breakers are an important part of electrical circuit due to its ability to control the amount of electricity power that flows through the wires in your home. It will automatically remove the flow whenever the electricity current flows over the rate of the device. Therefore, the risk of serious problems such as fires, electrical shocks, or damaged appliances and fixture caused by the excessive current could be significantly reduced. Usually, you will find two different types of breaker, consists of single pole and double pole one. In this article, you will find some differences of those two breaker types.
Now let us have some basic understanding on electricity before going further to the differences. As we know, electricity flows through some wires at a high voltage to your home. Therefore, you will easily find a transformer near your home that works well to reduce the voltage or the electricity to 120 volts. Then, the electricity power in this certain voltage then is brought through a pair of wires into the house as well as into the service panel. So, each home typically has 120-volt electricity sources that could provide 240 volts combined power.
You will find breakers are located in to the service panel that receives the electricity power through that pair of wire. You will find that each of the wires is connected to a hot bus. This is a thick conductive wire, or often called pole, that emerge the terms of single pole and double pole.
Mostly, household circuits usually need 120 volts of electricity to provide power to the fixtures as well as appliances. Some kinds of appliances such as dryers, air conditioners as well as electric ovens usually need more power. Therefore, heavy-duty circuits that carry 240 volts of electricity are also built into your homes. Although some heavy duty circuits are using thicker wire for safety reasons, the breakers installed inside the service panel will establish whether the circuit carries electricity of 120 or 240 volts.
Moreover, every circuit in your home is controlled by a circuit breaker attached to either one or both hot buses. Since each of the buses provides electricity of 120 volts, most circuit for your household are protected by single-pole breakers that is attached to just one bus. The heavy-duty circuits that need 240 volts usually accept electricity power from both of the buses. Besides, the circuits also need a breaker that covers both poles. These are called double pole breakers.
Both types of the breaker come in switches that are quite sensitive to the change of temperature. They are completed with spring-loaded bimetal strips that secure the electrical circuit as well as allow the electricity power to flow. When a certain fault occurs, the strips will be heated up and bent. It will release a lever to open the circuit so the electricity power in that circuit could be cut off.
Now you have more understanding in both single and double pole circuit breaker.
