It's important to understand which circuit breakers control which areas of your home. This information is useful when doing electrical work and you need to isolate an area of your home to shut off the power, but also in an emergency when the power goes out.
When the power goes out in just one section of your home, the likely culprit is a tripped circuit breaker. Usually, looking inside the breaker box will show you one tripped breaker switch that has flipped and is pointing in a different direction than the others. But by labeling your breaker box by room and area, you'll confirm which breaker it is that tripped, without playing the guessing game and resetting everything.
Don't rely on an electrician to have labeled your interior breaker panel or your main electrical panel outside. If you're lucky you will open the panel and see everything labeled. If not, take the time to flip and test every switch and label it yourself. It's also helpful to identify the main power switch to the house, which is useful in case of storm or flooding emergency that necessitates turning off all power as quickly as possible.
Label your electrical panel with a fine permanent marker, as pen and pencil will quickly fade over time. If you are curious about what's inside the panel, check out our guide of how a breaker panel works. If something doesn't look right with your panel or it seems damaged, contact an electrician immediately.
Timothy is a lifelong DIY enthusiast who is fixated on smart home tech, beautiful tools, and wrenching on his FJ62 Land Cruiser. He’s the DIY editor at Popular Mechanics and also the founder of the home improvement site, Charles & Hudson, the Webby-nominated family site, Built by Kids, and Tool Crave. When not working, you’ll find him on his board or bike enjoying the LA weather with his family and friends. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter.
