> There's a reason people don't install electric equipment without training.
I’m not sure if I follow that logic and if your analogy follows. I would argue this is closer plugging in an appliance rather than running wires. If I run a 15A appliance on a 10A breaker, a normal person without training would expect the breaker to trip. This is like running a 10A appliance and the 15A breaker trips because the appliance is sometimes 16A when it works in the cold.
> If I run a 15A appliance on a 10A breaker, a normal person without training would expect the breaker to trip.
Would the breaker trip in this case? I thought in this case it'd be more likely to start a fire.
Edit: thinking about this more, I think I'm wrong. A fire would start if your wires were too thin for a given amperage. Breakers detect current flowing.
Yeah, you were wrong: 15A on thin wires would heat them up too much and could cause a fire after prolonged runtime.
A 10A breaker breaks the circuit much faster than it takes for the wires to heat up, thus stopping the current flow.