Power Gone Off? What to Check Before Calling an Electrician

Lost power at home? Follow these simple checks to find out whether you’re dealing with a local power cut, a tripped circuit or an electrical fault that needs professional attention.

Losing power unexpectedly can be frustrating, but it doesn’t always mean there’s a fault with your home’s electrical installation. The problem could be a local power cut, a faulty appliance, or simply a circuit that has tripped.

Before arranging an electrical callout, there are a few simple checks you can safely make yourself. This guide will help you work out what may have happened, what information to gather, and when it’s time to call an electrician.

Safety First

Before carrying out any checks, look and listen for signs of an electrical problem that could require immediate attention.

Do not attempt to reset your electrics if you notice:

A burning smell or smoke
Sparks
Buzzing or crackling sounds
Scorching, melting or discolouration
Unusual heat around electrical equipment
Visible damage
Water in or around electrical equipment

If you notice any of these signs, do not touch the affected equipment or attempt to restore the power. Contact a qualified electrician for advice. If there is a fire or immediate danger to life or property, call 999.

This guide covers basic checks using controls designed to be operated by the user. Never remove covers, interfere with sealed equipment or attempt electrical repairs yourself.

Is All Of Your Power Off, or Just Part Of It?

Start by working out how much of your property has lost power. Try a few lights in different rooms and check whether sockets or appliances elsewhere in your home are still working.

Everything Is Off

None of your lights, sockets or electrical appliances appear to have power.

Follow the whole-property power loss checks below.

Only Some Lights or Sockets Are Off

Some parts of your home still have power, but particular lights, sockets or appliances are not working.

Follow the partial power loss checks below.

EVERYTHING IS OFF – WHAT TO CHECK

If there is no power anywhere in your property, the problem may be with your incoming electricity supply rather than a fault within your home.

1. Check Your Consumer Unit

If you feel confident doing so, visually check your consumer unit for a switch that has moved to the OFF or tripped position.

Only attempt to reset a switch if the consumer unit appears undamaged and there are no signs of burning, overheating, unusual smells, buzzing, crackling or water ingress.

If the switch will not reset, or immediately trips again, do not repeatedly attempt to reset it.

Modern domestic consumer unit with circuit breakers and RCD protection

2. Check for a Local Power Cut

Check whether neighbouring properties or nearby street lighting also appear to be without power.

You can call 105 free of charge to check or report a power cut, or use the online 105 service below. This will connect you to the electricity network operator responsible for your area.

In much of our local area, the electricity distribution network is operated by National Grid Electricity Distribution.

CHECK FOR A POWER CUT

Call 105 free of charge to check or report a local power cut

3. Check Your Incoming Supply

If you know where your electricity meter and incoming supply equipment are located, visually check them for any obvious signs of damage, overheating or burning.

Do not touch, open or interfere with the electricity meter, main fuse or any sealed equipment.

If you have a digital or smart meter, check whether its display is illuminated and make a note of this. This can be useful information if you need to report the problem.

If there is no reported power cut, nothing has obviously tripped and your whole property remains without power, contact Starkey Electrical for advice.

Electricity meter and incoming supply equipment in a domestic property

ONLY SOME LIGHTS OR SOCKETS ARE OFF – WHAT TO CHECK

If some parts of your home still have power, a circuit or protective device may have tripped.

1. Check Your Consumer Unit

Check your consumer unit for a switch that has moved to the OFF or tripped position.

Before resetting it, think about what happened immediately before the power went off.

Did you:

Switch on a particular appliance?
Turn on a light?
Plug something into a socket?
Start using equipment outdoors?
Notice anything unusual?

If there is an obvious appliance or item involved, switch it off and unplug it where possible.

If you feel confident doing so, and there are no signs of electrical damage, you can attempt to reset the tripped switch once.

Consumer unit showing a circuit breaker in the tripped position

2. Reconnect Things One at a Time

If the power stays on after the reset, reconnect or switch appliances back on one at a time.

If the circuit trips when a particular appliance or item is switched on, leave it switched off or unplugged and stop using it until it has been checked.

For lighting, you can use the normal wall switches to see whether operating a particular light causes the circuit to trip.

Do not remove switches, sockets, light fittings or covers.

Person reconnecting kitchen appliances one at a time after an electrical circuit has tripped

3. If It Still Won’t Stay On

If the circuit will not reset, immediately trips again, or you cannot identify what is causing the problem, do not repeatedly attempt to restore the power.

Contact Starkey Electrical for advice and fault finding.

Starkey Electrical electrician carrying out electrical fault finding at a consumer unit

MY ELECTRICS KEEP TRIPPING RANDOMLY

If your electrics occasionally trip but reset successfully afterwards, it can be tempting to ignore the problem.

However, your electrical protection is operating for a reason, and repeated or unexplained tripping should be investigated.

What appears to be random can sometimes have a pattern. Keeping a few simple notes when the problem occurs can help identify what may be causing it.

What to Make a Note Of

The next time your electrics trip, try to record:

The date and time
Which lights, sockets or appliances lost power
Which switch tripped at the consumer unit
What appliances were running at the time
Anything that had just been switched on
Whether heating, hot water or other automatic equipment was operating
Whether outdoor electrical equipment was being used
Weather conditions, particularly heavy rain
Whether the power reset successfully

If possible, take a photo of your consumer unit while the switch is still in the tripped position. This can be extremely useful to an electrician investigating an intermittent fault.

Electrical fault diary checklist showing what to record when your electrics keep tripping

When Should I Get It Checked?

If the same appliance consistently causes the problem, stop using it and leave it unplugged until it has been checked.

If there is no obvious pattern, the tripping becomes more frequent, a circuit will not reset, or you are concerned about the condition of your electrical installation, contact Starkey Electrical to arrange fault finding.

Need Help With a Fault That Keeps Tripping?

If your electrics continue to trip, you can’t identify the cause, or the problem is becoming more frequent, our qualified electricians can carry out fault finding to identify the problem and recommend the appropriate repair.

Don’t worry if you haven’t been able to work out what’s causing it. Any information or photos you’ve collected using the checks above can help our electricians investigate the fault.

CONTACT STARKEY ELECTRICAL

Keep This Guide Handy

Want a quick version of these checks to keep for future reference?

Download our free Power Gone Off? checklist. It covers the key safety checks, what to look for at your consumer unit, how to check for a local power cut, and what information to record if your electrics keep tripping.

DOWNLOAD THE POWER CUT CHECKLIST