Why are circuit breakers better than fuses?

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On the face of it, circuit breakers and fuses do much the same job: They both safely interrupt an overloaded circuit. Circuit breakers have safety advantages over fuses, however, as well as some practical benefits.

Descriptions

A fuse is a glass or ceramic plug containing a thin metal strip. The strip melts when overloaded, breaking the connection. A circuit breaker is a spring-loaded mechanism that trips when an excess of current flows through it. It acts as an automatic switch, opening the circuit.

Reset

You can safely and easily reset a circuit breaker after it trips. Just press a button or flip a lever to restore power. Blown fuses must be discarded and replaced, resulting in a trip to the hardware store.

Indicator

Standard circuit breakers used for household wiring show a red indicator when tripped. This makes finding a tripped breaker simple. A fuse has a clear window that can be used to see when the fuse has blown, but it can be hard to tell a blown fuse from a good one.

Electrical Code

Many electricians consider circuit breaker boxes safer than fuse boxes. If you sell a home with a fuse box, the buyer may require that it be changed to breakers to bring it up to local electrical codes.

Fatigue

A fuse's strip can fatigue from repeated near-overloads heating and stressing the metal. Later, when a heavy load is not present, the fuse may fail anyway due to weakness. A circuit breaker is not subject to this type of fatigue.

Source:

eLocalElectricians: Fuses To Circuit Breakers

"Electrical Apparatus;" Which is better protection: Fuses...or breakers?; Richard L. Nailen; March 2003

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