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After one oven turned itself on middle night, everyone in my family is now scared stiff silly of ranges!!! We always turn off all Branch Circuit Breakers ("BCB") except for fridge, before we leave condo to vacation. We livein Toronto Canada. Certified ON technician found nothing wrong.

Still we want turn off BCB for range EVERY TIME WE LEAVE HOUSE – ALMOST EVERY DAY – this is how much we distrust ovens! But this website discourages it.

golden23 Mar 2017

You are right, katiekate. They are not for regular flipping. A switch installed by an electrician would be better or remove all the knobs before you leave the house.

Katiekate Mar 2017

I would not be flipping the circuit breaker off and on. They are not designed to act like a light switch...they will not stand up to the wear involved.

As you request I picture my Circuit Breakers and range details.

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    If you use it so often, you should get a separate switch. You don't want to wear out your breaker so it doesn't work when you need it most. – DKNguyen Nov 11 '19 at 0:04
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    as i said in your first post ... are you sure that you did not set it to turn on in the middle of the night? – jsotola Nov 11 '19 at 0:28
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    I would say it is not sensible. You are worrying about a very unusual mode of failure assuming that it was not some kind of error. It such a failure does occur, it would be unlikely to cause a fire assuming that the oven is closed and nothing flammable is stored inside. I would recommend never leaving an oven open or storing something flammable in it. There is a risk of the circuit breaker expiring prematurely, but a breaker failing in an unsafe manner is quite unusual. – Charles Cowie Nov 11 '19 at 1:05
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    I have a different problem. A profoundly autistic daughter in her 30's who will turn on burners and leave them on. (Different reason, same problem.) My solution was to design and build a system at the stove which requires code access to activate the stove and which uses multiple sensors (radar and ultrasound) to monitor motion and activity. If the room is vacated for some given time (2 minutes, for example), then the relays are turned off and the stove is isolated from power. I use hybrid relays composed of both mechanical and TRIACs to minimize dissipation at 40 A, when operating. – jonk Nov 11 '19 at 4:12
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    @Harper I started out using 60 A relays. But there were other considerations which I think justified adding semiconductors to remove arcing and to keep the dissipation while active to under 2 watts. These balancing act considerations would get us into a discussion here that commenting probably won't support. The switching system required significant attention, I grant. (By the way, I don't use TRIACs but pairs of SCRs for hybrid switching which I feel is more robust and manageable.) But the sensor arrangements and data fusion software was also "interesting" to get working "just so." – jonk Nov 11 '19 at 18:09
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I can’t quite make out the brand of breaker or the age. If you are using the circuit breaker like a switch it should be switch rated “SWD” stamped on the breaker or the breaker is listed for switch duty. Many modern breakers are listed for switch duty but not stamped. The one advantage you have is the oven s not on when you throw the breaker off or on, this helps but constantly flipping the breaker not rated for switch duty damages the hammers and can cause early failure.

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  • hi. thanks. i can take more close up pictures if you want? what you want me to zoom in? – P L Nov 14 '19 at 0:24
  • I don’t recognize the panel and the breakers look to be Snyder but that’s all I can see , if we know the type of breaker it may be switch duty rated so it would not be a problem to turn it off and on by the breaker. – Ed Beal Nov 14 '19 at 14:05
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    i added a picture. do you need more? – P L Dec 11 '19 at 5:42
  • I don't think you'll find SWD breakers rated greater than 20A, the purpose of the rating is switch fluorescent lighting and greater than that misses the point of the rating. You will find HID rated breakers in higher amperage, also a lighting application. The NEC 404..11 allows standard breakers to be used as a switch . – NoSparksPlease Dec 16 '19 at 14:01
  • @nosparksplease, I ~agree with your reasoning kind of, the NEC allows switch rated breakers to be used for switching but not under load unless rated. 404.11 states in the event of a power failure the breaker can be used as a switch.. all square D QO breakers are switch rated I have been looking for the S1 Schneider listing but have not found the listing information. 240.83.D is the section you should be looking at as it specifically mentioned used for switches they should be marked SWD or HID. I use square d QO as they are made to toggle more often under load or not compared to HOM or others – Ed Beal Dec 16 '19 at 14:24
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Leaving circuit breakers on during vacation like holiday trips, except for essential devices like heating system for freezing protection and refrigerators, may be a problem in some insurance contracts. There were cases in Europe where appartments were left only for a 2 hours' shopping without switching off all electric items, and the laptop's power supply plugged into the 230V outlet started a fire. The insurance refused to pay the damage and won in court. A look into the insurance contract(s) may help.

In Europe, most domestic fires start in the kitchens. As mentioned in other comments, pets and non-pet animals, sleep walkers, older people with Alzheimer, a long emotional telephone call - normal ovens and plates have a certain risk.

One way to reduce the risk is to replace normal electric oven and hotplates with a combined microwave oven (MW + grill + oven) and induction plates. A MW oven can only operate if the door is closed, and the time is automatically limited. Induction plates do only operate if a pot or pan is put on the plate, and the time is limited, too. The plates do not get hot by itself, but only indirectly by the contact with the pot - the temperature will be much lower compared to ceramic or convection plates.

Both devices can be each operated by a standard inexpensive switch - f.e. a plug- in adapter switch with indicator lamp -, since the wattage is less enough (f.e. 16A @ 230V).

The low temperature of the plate is saving time and energy in multiple ways - f.e. the danger of burning-ins in the plates or their surrounding from over-boilings is much less saving again energy/chemical detergents and time. So by saving energy costs, the investment should be returned in a couple of years. And of course, it is more environment-friendly.

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    "There were cases in Europe where appartments were left only for a 2 hours' shopping without switching off all electric items" sources please? pls add them to your answer – no need make new comment. – P L Dec 16 '19 at 6:28
  • @PamelaLee I learned that from a lawyer, but couldn't find any hint in the Internet. It may be annoying to shut down the PC/Laptop everytime the user leaves home. But there is a possibility to change the behaviour of the physical on/off button of most computer systems to go into hibernate status rather to shut down every running program. After pushing the button again and logging in, the system will be in the exactly same status as before. – xeeka Jan 4 at 20:38
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If you don't trust the switches on your range, why should you trust your circuit breakers? Do they just seem more robust? The "fast" way to disconnect power to your range is the switch that comes pre-installed. In answer to your actual question, though - would something like this work for you? It's a "Smart Circuit Breaker", features are listed as follows:

Features: Offers Remote Control Capability with Overload and Short-Circuit Protection of Your Electrical System, Accessory That Enables Remote Control of The Connected Device, Allows Devices to Be Managed Without Sacrificing Convenience or Comfort

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