Installing A Tandem Circuit Breaker

If these devices were dangerous ge tandem breakers square d tandem breakers and options from other well respected brands wouldn t exist.

Installing a tandem circuit breaker.

Not all qo load centers wi. A tandem circuit breaker is a double circuit breaker that takes up the space of a single circuit breaker on a panelboard. Your home s breaker box has a limited number of circuit breaker slots available. Loosen the two terminal screws before you install the breaker.

The problem is that when the openings are all used up and you still need to add another circuit what do you do. Tandem breakers often called split twin or double breakers provide two separate circuits in the space of a regular sized breaker slot every circuit breaker panel a k a. Installing a circuit breaker is sometimes considered the most intimidating part of home electrical work. Fortunately despite that moniker tandem circuit breakers are completely safe to use provided your panelboard was meant to house them and that you install them in the correct locations.

Take a look at the breaker and the mounting rail to familiarize yourself with each of them. In fact most people choose not to do it themselves out of fear of being shocked. Next make sure each of the tandem breakers are off. However installing circuit breakers into most residential electrical panels doesn t have to be dangerous or overly complicated.

A tandem breaker fits two individual breakers into the size of one. The new tandem breaker has a knife like mounting cam that fits in the open pan rail slot on the mounting rail bead. Tutorial for identifying tandemized tandem compatible slots in qo load centers and installing qot tandem qo circuit breakers. That allows you to add new breakers when your breaker box doesn t have any new slots open for it.