For many decades, the only line of defense between the power grid and an electrical problem in the home was a fuse. Without these fuses, an electrical issue such as a short or other problem could easily degenerate into a fire. However, with fuses, if a short took place, the fuse would overload and burn out. Sometimes, a fuse would blow for no apparent reason, leaving the homeowner quite literally in the dark.

The drawbacks to fuses are they’re one-shot devices. Once it burns out, it has to be replaced with a good one. If you didn’t have one to replace it, this meant you had to make an emergency trip to the store to buy some. Another drawback is the fact that there are many different types of fuses. Each fuse was designed to support specific amperage. If you consider electricity like water, then the higher the amperage of the fuse, the more “water” can flow through it before it blows out.

This meant a homeowner had to keep track of 10, 20 and 30 amp fuses and, to add insult to injury, “stick” fuses for the main fuse block designed to control how much electricity would flow into each sub-block had to be kept on hand as well. Not only was this an added, often unwelcome, expense but was confusing as well. Even though the fuses were different amperages, they were all the same size which could cause even more blown fuses.

Today, with the proliferation of inexpensive circuit breakers, the fuse box is no longer the hassle it used to be. With the simple flick of a switch, you can reset your circuit breaker if the circuit “blows” which means no more trips to the store in the middle of the night. If you’re home still has the old fuse boxes, and you live in the Conejo Valley area, contact Fornoff Electric in Thousand Oaks, California and have it replaced with a modern breaker box. Breakers are more effective, easier to deal with and, in the long run, much cheaper than fuses.