Every festive season, people like to celebrate with an elaborate visual display. Candles, electric lights and firecrackers light up both the sky and the ground, mesmerising all those who happen to glance at them. During this time though, there are several reported cases of light displays suddenly going out. This can even be experienced occasionally in homes with something as simple as plugging in an electric heater, switching on a hair dryer, or dropping a snack into the toaster. All these are perfect examples of an overloaded circuit. The power needed to use a certain number of devices that are connected to the same circuit simultaneously may be far greater than the electrical wiring capacity, resulting in an electrical overload. One can be assured that an electrical overload in properly fitted electrical systems is highly unlikely to burn the house down. A so-called ‘overcurrent protective device’ automatically shuts off power at the main panel before any sort of ...