Circuit breakers, along with fuses, are known as overcurrent protective devices. They protect you, your electrical equipment, and your wiring. They are matched to the ampacity of a circuit’s conductors, and they shut the current down if there’s an overload or a short-circuit. Breakers are clearly marked (15, 20, 30 amp, and so on) and must be used accordingly. You can’t stuff a 20-amp breaker into your panel box and use it on a 15-amp circuit, especially if the circuit only has 14-gauge wire. This is a recipe for fire because you’ll be allowing the wire to carry more current than it’s designed to carry, and the breaker won’t sense the problem and thus won’t trip.
Breakers are either single pole or double pole (sometimes referred to as a two-pole breaker). Double-pole breakers are used for 240-volt circuits and draw power from each of the 120-volt hot wires entering the panel. A double-pole breaker can be either a single device or two single-pole breakers tied together so they’ll both shut off at the same time.
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