You don’t necessarily need to call an electrician if your home’s electrics have cut off; you may be able to resolve the problem simply by flicking a switch.
However, if you can’t get your electrics on again without tinkering with dangerous electrical components, then you’ll need a professional’s help. You can get an electrician to repair your home’s electrics and get them working for just £80 with 247 Home Rescue if you sign up for our £15/month home emergency cover!
Check your fuse box
Do you know how your fuse box operates? Most fuse boxes in the UK have a series of switches and a main switch, all of which should be pointing upwards – if this is the case in your home, then look for a switch that is pointing downwards and flick this up again. If it immediately clicks back down, then an electrical item that is currently plugged in is likely broken, or a circuit may be faulty. Unplug all the appliances on the circuit and try the switch again.
If you need further help, find out what to do if a fuse box keeps tripping. This will involve methodically unplugging every item in your home, switching off all the lights, turning your fuses back on again and going around plugging everything in one-at-a-time. This will not only get your electrics back on, but will alert you to any appliance breakdown or related issue.
Some houses contain replaceable fuses, if this is the case then read our advice about replacing fuses in fuse boxes.
Check with your neighbours
If there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with your fuse box, then there may be a local power cut. Your home is probably on the same ‘phase’ as your next-door neighbour, so check to see if they are also experiencing electrical problems.
Check social media
Social media sites can also be a good place to find information about your local electricity supply. Send a tweet to UK Power Networks, or put your town into the Twitter search bar to see if other people are tweeting about a power cut in your area. You can also contact your electricity supplier to find out if they are aware of any outages.
Mobile phones and even landlines work in power cuts – the only time your mobile phone will stop working is if there has been a massive power cut that has taken out the electricity supply for most of the country.
Still no luck?
If you’ve not been able to get your home electrics on again with your fuse box, and there isn’t a local power outage, then you have discovered the source of the problem – there is something wrong with the electricity supply in your property. Sorry about the bad news!
Identifying exactly what is wrong will be impossible without the help of a skilled electrician. The problem may be within just a circuit in your property, with the fuse box itself, with the main switch or with your Residual Current Devices (RCDs).
If you’ve got home emergency cover with us, then just give us a call and we’ll get an electrician to your home without delay. If you haven’t yet taken out a plan with us, then give us a call on 0345 3192 247, tell us what is wrong, and we’ll get you set up with us and get an emergency electrician to your home immediately for just £80!
247 Home Rescue accepts no liability for any injuries or damages you sustain following the advice on this website. If in doubt, seek professional assistance.
