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What To Do When The Power Goes Out.

Power Failure
Everyone has been without electricity at one time or another. The first thing to do when the electricity goes out is to determine the extent of the outage. If you next door neighbor lost power also, then the problems is at the power source and you should call the power company.

If the neighbors on either side have power and your entire house is powerless, the main breaker (or fuse) may have tripped. The main break can trip if you overload the max current for the entire house (usually around 200 amps), In this case, turn off some appliances in your house and reset the mains. If it trips again, you have a serious problem like a short in the wires from the street. This is a very dangerous situation that should only be handled by an electrician.

If the loss of power is limited to one or more rooms in the house and there is a GFI (ground Fault Interrupt) outlet on the circuit that lost power, then there may have been a quick or temporary spike that tripped the GFI. GFI outlets are very sensitive and may trip even when there is no serious problem. Caution: Make sure there is NO water in the area. If the area is clear, then turn off or disconnect as many appliances or lights as possible from the powerless circuit before resetting the GFI. If the GFI reset and works then re-start the appliance one at a time. If the GFI trips again when you start an appliance, then this is the source of the your problems and you should repair (or have someone repair) the appliance.

If there is no GFI, the next thing to check is the circuit breakers in the main breaker panel or power box. The tripped breaker will have the reset leaver in a different position than all the working breakers. It may also have a red portion of the reset visible. Locate the breaker that feeds the powerless circuit.

First turn off or disconnect as many appliances and lights as possible from the powerless circuit. Then reset the breaker (or replace the fuse). If immediately trips again, there may be a short or poor connection in the circuit somewhere. This is a potentially hazardous situation that is best handled by an electrician. If it resets, then power up your appliances one by one until you find the defective appliance or you have everything operating again.

The most important thing is to be safe, GFIs, circuit breaker, and main breaker are design to remove the power from your house before anyone comes into contact with the power. When you have a problem, play it safe.


Electrical work is highly dangerous. Let us help you find a great Electrician to do this job for you.

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