Electrical Knowledge from the Experts These Houston Electricians Know Best!
Why Motors Trip Circuit Breakers
Motors are inductive loads, that means there current lags behind there voltage. When a motor first turns on, it requires a larger amount of energy to start it turning, and then it does to keep it running. In E style motors this start up energy demand can exceed 1300 times the amount of energy to run the motor. However for most common a/c units the demand is about 150% to 300%. If the a/c unit is older it may require a longer start up period. This in turn can cause the breaker to trip. Older A/C units also may have weak or bad motors, and this will occur with them as well. a common attempt to remedy this is the installation of a capacitor to assist the motor on start up, commonly referred to as a hard start kit. Be aware, this does not always work.
