How to Reset a Circuit Breaker

Where did the lights go? 
How to reset a circuit breaker...

Everyone should know how to locate and reset a tripped circuit breaker. A tripped breaker can leave you in confused darkness, trying to remember what you did last time to restore power. Here are a few easy steps to restore power to a dark room...



Note: This is not the fix if your entire house or neighborhood loses power. For widespread power outages, make sure you have flashlights, extra batteries and know the phone number to report the outage to your power company. (Duke Energy customers can call 1-800-POWER-ON to report power outages.)


A tripped breaker should not be a common occurrence and usually occurs when your circuit is temporarily overloaded. (Using a space heater, vacuum cleaner and hair dryer at the same time may temporarily overload your circuit, causing it to trip.) If your circuit breakers are tripping on a regular basis, call an electrician to determine the cause; it may indicate a short circuit in your wiring system which can lead to a house fire.


(1) First, you need to find your circuit breaker box. It is usually located in the basement, garage or utility room. It probably has a cover door. Open the door and it will looks like this...



(2)  Next, find the flipped breaker. It is the switch that is flipped to the middle, or neutral, position.  

(3) Once you find the switch that is in the neutral position, you will need to reset it. To do so, look at the surrounding switches and notice which direction they are flipped. Take the switch and flip it the opposite direction of the others and then flip it all the way to the position matching the others.

  NOW YOUR POWER SHOULD BE RESTORED

(4) If possible, identify the appliance or tool that caused the circuit breaker to trip, unplug the appliance, and change outlets. If a circuit breaker trips again, STOP using the appliance and have it inspected by a professional.  

Hope this post helped! 

Read my other posts for other helpful insights and look for my future posts!