March 01, 2017
If you’ve ever taken a peek at your home’s main circuit panel, you’ve probably noticed 2 different kinds of breakers: Single pole breakers and double pole breakers.
If you’ve ever taken a peek at your home’s main circuit panel, you’ve probably noticed 2 different kinds of breakers: Single pole breakers and double pole breakers.
But what’s the difference between the two?
Well, single-pole breakers and double-pole breakers differ in the voltage and amperage they provide as well as how they are wired.
We’ll take a closer look at the differences between each of these breakers and discuss when you should use one over the other.
Single-pole breakers are the narrow switches located on your home’s electrical panel.
Appliances/circuits they’re used for:
How they’re wired:
Single-pole breakers are wired with one hot wire and one neutral wire. When there is an overload in a single-pole breaker’s circuit, only that particular breaker trips.
Appliances/circuits they’re used for:
Note: While an entire double-pole breaker can be dedicated to the above appliances, double-pole breakers can also serve lower-voltage circuits/appliances (see explanation below).
Double-pole breakers have two hot wires that are connected by a single neutral wire. That means if there’s a short circuit on either of the poles’ hot wires, both trip.
These breakers can be used to serve two separate 120-volt circuits or they can serve a single 240-volt circuit, such as your central AC’s circuit.
Need to replace a breaker or have general questions about your home’s electrical system?
Just contact us. Our electricians are here to help.
Posted in: Tips