Circuit breakers serve the purpose of stopping the flow of electricity from a power source to a location when a specific circuit is overloaded. This helps keep the house wiring from overheating and melting.
According to the sources at Relectric Supply Company, there are three types of residential circuit breakers. These include the magnetic circuit breaker, the thermal circuit breaker and the electromagnetic/heat circuit breaker.
Magnetic circuit breakers utilize electromagnetism to break a circuit. Thermal circuit breakers utilize heat to break a circuit. Electromagnetic/heat circuit breakers utilize both of these methods to break a circuit.
Magnetic circuit breakers are equipped with an electromagnet that gets increasingly strong as the flow of electricity increases. The magnet activates a cutoff switch when too much power enters the circuit. Thermal circuit breakers employ metallic strips that bend and activate a cutoff switch when temperatures get too high.
There are a few common parts in each type of residential circuit breaker. All circuit breakers require a switch and a conductive contact plate which will activate the switch when it is supplied with electricity, according to Relectric Supply Company.