The power has gone out and you are not sure whether to check the fuse box yourself or if it is time to call an electrician? With electricity, one rule applies above all: what a layperson can safely check and what is already work for a professional. Uncertainty at this moment is understandable, but rushing does not pay off. A safe inspection has clear limits and beyond them only a specialist should act. Here is the procedure on how to behave and when to pick up the phone and call an electrician without hesitation.
Safety first
If you smell burning near the distribution board, see smoke or sparks, or if the socket is visibly blackened, do not touch the distribution board at all. Switch off the main circuit breaker if it can be done safely, and call an electrician or the fire brigade. In all other cases, a basic check of the circuit breakers and residual current device is safe and anyone can perform it.
Check the fuse box
Open the fuse box and check if any circuit breaker is in a position between on and off, or all the way down. This means it has tripped. Try switching it back up once:
- Circuit breaker , if it stays up, the circuit was only temporarily overloaded.
- Residual current device (RCD) , usually larger and shared across multiple circuits. If an entire flat or part of it loses power, this is often the cause. Reset its switch back to the up position as well.
If the circuit breaker or RCD trips again immediately after being reset, do not keep trying repeatedly, further attempts will not solve the problem and only unnecessarily strain the installation.
Flat distribution board and main house circuit breaker
Apart from the apartment distribution board, the building usually also has a main circuit breaker or fuse box before the electricity meter, which belongs to the electricity distributor. A layperson should not touch this at all as it is outside the flat and outside your domestic installation. If the power has gone out in the whole building or even for neighbours, it is not a fault in your flat and checking your own distribution board will not help. In such a case check whether neighbours have power and if not report it to the distributor.
What to do before electrician arrives
If the fuse or RCD stays on after switching off the problematic circuit and you are waiting for an inspection, unplug sensitive electronics such as computers, televisions and routers from sockets on that circuit in case of further power cuts. Use a torch or your mobile phone for light instead of a candle, especially if you are unsure what is happening with the installation. If you are uncertain about the extent of the problem, it is better to leave the circuit switched off and wait for a tradesperson rather than repeatedly trying to switch it on.
What a power outage can cause
- Overloaded circuit, too many appliances running at once on one branch (kettle, oven, tumble dryer).
- Faulty appliance, try disconnecting appliances on the affected circuit one by one and then reset the circuit breaker.
- Moisture on a circuit protected by an RCD, typically in bathrooms, outdoor sockets or gardens.
When to call an electrician
Call an electrician if:
- the circuit breaker or RCD trips repeatedly even after disconnecting all appliances from the affected circuit,
- you smell burning or see sparks at a socket or distribution board,
- part of the flat remains without power even after resetting all circuit breakers,
- the distribution board is old, unclear or lacks labels for the circuits,
- the problem recurs regularly with no clear cause.
As a layperson, do not touch the wiring, cabling or replace the circuit breaker yourself , this is specialist work involving the risk of injury and fire. Your role ends with safely switching off the circuit breaker or residual-current device, which is already part of the installation and intended for that purpose.