What’s Causing My Circuit Breaker to Buzz?

Buzzing Fuse Box Keeping You Up at Night?

Is your circuit breaker buzzing or making other strange electrical noises? You’re probably here because you’ve been searching high and low for the cause of the strange electrical buzzing sound in your home. Electrical components were designed to run smoothly and quietly. Therefore, when they start making annoying humming, clicking, or buzzing noises, it can be a cause for concern. The different sorts of sounds that breakers make can indicate different kinds of problems. This guide from CMC Service Experts can help you figure out the source of that suspicious electrical noise in your home and what to do about it.

CMC Service Experts can repair many kinds of electrical problemsHere are just a few of the potential issues:

  • Your outlet timer is making noise
  • A loud buzzing coming from the AC panel board
  • Loud or intrusive electrical buzzing sounds
  • Your fuse box is buzzing
  • The circuit breaker is humming or clicking
  • Your dryer is making a buzzing noise while running

A professional electrician should inspect these problems, as well as other unusual occurrences, for the safety of you and your family. A circuit buzz could be the sign of a fire and electrocution hazard, depending on its intensity. Leaving electrical issues unresolved isn’t a low-risk venture like delaying the replacement of your windows. Instead, having a functional breaker box is crucial to the safety of your home.

Thankfully, you can count on CMC Service Experts for all your electric panel upgrade and maintenance. Here’s what to look out for based on the type of electrical panel buzzing you’re hearing at home.

Light Buzzing: Probably No Need for Alarm

If you’re hearing a faint electrical buzzing sound coming from your circuit breaker, don’t worry — it’s completely normal. Electrical currents run through your breaker box, this flow of current results in a slight hum. However, if you notice that the hum grows louder over time, you should have it inspected.

Overall, a slight electrical humming noise coming from your circuit breaker is normal. It’s when the sounds evolve to become louder, or involve clicking or any other strange sound, that you should get a professional opinion about it. Only a licensed electrician can discern if the breaker buzzing that you’re hearing is worthy of a real repair.

Medium Volume Buzzing & Annoying Humming: Get it Checked

Experienced electricians can easily figure out the noise breakers tend to make when they go bad. If you hear an annoying humming or buzzing sound, it can mean the circuit breaker is overloaded, which can be hazardous.

If the noise coming from your circuit breaker is louder than a low hum, there’s most likely a problem brewing. A breaker box buzzing at a volume that’s higher than its normal operative mode means that you need to call an electrician right away. There are also other noises and occurrences that can mean trouble.

Contact us if you these warning signs occur:

  • A sizzling noise
  • Sparking of any sort
  • You circuit breaker is humming
  • Your outlet timer is making noise
  • A circuit breaker clicking noise

If you hear a sizzling noise or notice any sparking on your panel, you may have loose wiring in your home. This is incredibly dangerous as it’s both an electrocution and a fire hazard. It’s important to eliminate the hazards of loose wires. Thankfully, the noises that loose wires make is distinctive. If you hear popping sounds coming from your electrical system, it can be a tell-tale sign of loose wiring.

Loud & Continuous Buzzing: Call an Electrician ASAP

When your soft or moderate electrical humming noises become a loud and persistent circuit buzz, it’s a sign of real trouble. A normal circuit breaker should be running almost silently.

You’ll hear a loud buzz when a circuit breaker has stopped working correctly. Unfortunately, loud noises coming from your breaker panel means you have a bad circuit breaker that needs repairs. Circuit breakers go bad for all kinds of reasons. Wear and tear can cause them to overload and short circuit, or you could have gotten a faulty panel to begin with. That’s why it’s important to enlist the help of an electrician with a comprehensive guarantee that can keep your parts covered.

The loud and continuous buzzing coming from your bad circuit breaker means that it didn’t trip like it was supposed to. This ultimately leads to damaged wiring, which is an electrocution hazard. Leaving these noises untreated can result in permanent (and expensive) electrical damage. Before this loud circuit breaker buzzing can persist, you need to resolve it to prevent more costly repairs.

Calling a professional electrician is mandatory at this point because a loud buzzing means that your breaker is no longer working. Only licensed electricians have the right tools and training to safely remove and replace your nonfunctional breaker.

Let the Experts at CMC Service Experts Take a Look

No matter what’s causing your circuit breaker panel to make noise, one thing’s for certain: having a professional inspect it is always a good idea. At CMC Service Experts, we’ve been ensuring that our customers in Raleigh, ClaytonWilmington, and Fayetteville, NC are protected against every sort of electrical problem for years. Whether you want to find out what’s causing your breaker box to buzz or you need to take care of another electrical problem, CMC Service Experts is your trusted partner.


For electrical services you can trust, contact our team to request a service!