Your electrics

If it's a simple problem, you can avoid waiting for an electrician with these fixes.

• What should I do if my electricity goes off?

  It's a good idea to have a torch handy in case your electric goes off.  Check the following:

  • If you have a pay as you go meter, check your meter to make sure you're in credit. 
  • That the street lights and your neighbours have power?  If they are working, the fault is likely to be with your home.
  •  Your fuse board.

  You need to know where your fuse box and mains switch are so you're prepared if your electric supply goes off for any reason.

  Your fuse box will either have fuses or trip-switches. Modern fuse boxes are fitted with a circuit-breaker fuse system.

  • If there's a fault, a switch is tripped and the circuit is blown. Older fuse boxes have fuse holders and when a fuse blows it must either be replaced, if it's a cartridge, or rewired using special fuse wire of the correct amperage.
  • If you have a trip switch, check if any switches on the fuse box have turned to the ‘off’ position, and reset them to 'on'.
  • If a fuse continues to trip or blow, this may be due to a faulty electrical appliance. Unplug all of your appliances from their sockets and then plug in each appliance one at a time and switch it on. This way, if the fuse blows again, you’ll know you've found the faulty appliance. It's best to get this appliance checked by a qualified electrician, or recycle it if it's beyond repair. 
  • If you can’t find a tripped switch (or similar) in the fuse box, check with your neighbours to see if there’s been a power cut.

  Video on resetting a trip switch.

• How do I change a fuse?

  If you think that one of your fuses has blown or are experiencing electricity trips, the first thing to do is to locate your consumer unit and check that all your switches are in the up position.

  After a power outage, you may find that your RCD is in a down position, you should put all the MCB switches down and then take the RCD press it down and then up. You can then position all the switches into the up/ on position.

  If you find that when you lift one of the MCB switches up and it causes the RCB to trip out, you can look below or above the MCB switch to see where in your home the trip is happening.

  Once you've identified the fault area, turn off and unplug all the appliances in the affected room. You can then reset the consumer unit, following the directions above and turn each appliance back on individually to identify which is the faulty appliance.

  If you've followed these steps and found that you’re still experiencing energy trips please contact us right away.

  While most of our homes feature 17^th or 18^th edition consumer units, you may have an older fuse box. If you do, it's a good idea to keep fuse wire or replaceable cartridges handy in case a fuse blows. Before replacing a fuse, turn off the electric supply at the isolation switch (this is the main switch on the fuse box). Then replace the fuse with the fuse wire or cartridge.

  

• How do I test a smoke alarm?

  Always test the detector weekly.

  You can do this by pushing the detector button until the horn sounds. If you are elderly or disabled ask a relative, friend or neighbour to do it for you. If the smoke detector sounds a loud continuous sound and you have not pushed the test button, the detector has sensed smoke in the air. The alarm is warning you of a possibly serious situation which needs immediate attention, do not ignore it.

  Here's a video that shows how to do it.

Tips on electrical safety

• Take care in the kitchen – don't leave cooking unattended and keep electrical appliances and leads away from water.  
• Faulty appliances are a common cause of house fires  - so check your electrical appliances to make sure there’s no evidence of faults, loose or exposed wires. 
• Don't overload sockets or daisy chain sockets together (where you plug multiple extensions into each other) – this is extremely dangerous. 
• Avoid running appliances like washing machines, tumble dryers or dishwashers overnight or when you’re out (as you won’t be around to spot any problems). Clean lint from tumble dryers. 
• You can register your domestic appliances to be the first to find out if any safety issues or recalls affect you. It's easy to do and free. 
• Keep soft furnishings away from anything that generates heat, including light bulbs.