Why Do Outdoor Circuit Breakers Trip?
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Circuit Breaker Basics
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A circuit breaker prevents a circuit from getting overloaded. All the power that flows into your house goes through a circuit breaker and, from there, runs to the different rooms. Outdoor appliances are sometimes wired to a special supplementary circuit breaker called a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). The GFCI can detect ground faults, a safety feature that other circuit breakers do not have.
Overloading
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The circuit breaker is designed to trip if too much current runs through it. Electricity heats up the wires that run power through your house. Too much current can potentially cause a fire, so the circuit breaker is designed to automatically turn off when power use hits a dangerous level. If you use an outdoor circuit breaker to power too many things, you may trip it.
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Ground Fault
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Outdoor circuit breakers can also trip from an event known as a ground fault. Electricity normally flows into the circuit through a wire called the hot wire and out again through the neutral wire. If the circuit gets wet, however, it can cause electricity to flow into the ground. Water will conduct electricity from the circuit into the earth, or potentially into a person nearby, which can cause injury or death. The GFCI in an outdoor breaker compares the current coming into the circuit to the current coming out of it. If significantly less current comes out of the circuit, the GFCI trips the breaker to prevent electrocution.
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