What do you mean by a Dedicated Circuit?

The electricity that enters the home first goes through the fuse panel or the circuit breaker panel. Inside the fuse/circuit breaker panel you will find individual circuits. They feed various sections of the house or business. Each of these circuits are protected by either a fuse or breaker.

Here is a list of some of the 120V appliances that require dedicated circuits:

Refrigerator
Freezer
Microwave
Dishwasher
Garbage disposal
Kitchen countertop
Washer
Central vacuum

Here is a list of some of the 240V appliances that require dedicated circuits:

Electric range
Wall oven
Electric dryer
Baseboard heater
Furnace
Hot Water Tank
Heat Pump
Hot Tub

Now, that you are aware of what a dedicated circuit is as well as its function and now you are not sure if your system is operating safely. Then you should call Butterworth Electric and set up an appointment to check out your system. This way, you can feel assured your home or business is operating safely. We would also check to see if your lighting and all purpose outlet circuits are not over loaded.

What will happen if you have undedicated circuits?

If the wire for a dedicated circuit is under sized, then it is quite likely that if the load draws more current than it can actually handle then it could cause the wiring to overheat and the insulation around the wire to melt down. When the insulating barrier has broken down or melted, then the current won’t be confined and it could ignite and cause an electrical fire. However, the fuses or circuit breakers should sense the excess flow of current and it should help stop the surge, unfortunately this is not always the case.

If you notice that a circuit breaker is warm/hot or constantly trips then you should call Butterworth Electric to look into this.