How to Check and Reset Your Breakers During an Outage

When the lights go out, the fix is often right inside your home's breaker panel. If your house is the only one without power - or if only one room or area is affected - checking your breakers first can save you time and may restore service right away.

What Your Breakers Do

Circuit breakers protect your home by automatically shutting off power when there's an overload or a fault on a circuit. Sometimes a breaker trips without a major surge, especially when multiple appliances run on the same circuit. A quick check can often reveal whether the outage is isolated to your home.

How to Reset a Tripped Breaker

1. Find your breaker panel. Most panels are located in a garage, utility room, basement, hallway, or near the electric meter.
2. Identify the tripped breaker. A tripped breaker is usually slightly out of line with the others or sitting in a middle position rather than fully on.
3. Turn the breaker fully OFF. Push the switch all the way to the off position. Breakers won't reset correctly unless they're fully switched off first.
4. Flip the breaker back to ON. Move the switch firmly back to the on position. You should feel or hear a click as it resets.
5. Confirm your power is restored. Check the room or area that was out. If lights or appliances work again, you've successfully reset the circuit.

Safety Tips While Checking Breakers

• Make sure your hands are dry, and you're not standing in water.
• Reset breakers by hand only - never use tools.
• Avoid touching the electric meter; leave that to trained technicians.

When to Give Us a Call

If the breaker won't stay on, or the power doesn't return after a reset, the issue may be outside your home. Call us at or report the outage through your SmartHub account.