There are many causes for power tripping in your home. Here are a few of the usual suspects:

  • Overfilled kettle/wet element
  • A faulty appliance
  • An overloaded circuit – too many electrical appliances used at once
  • An electrical fault on one of the circuits. This could be due to various reasons such as water leakage, rodents, age and deterioration or faulty wiring
  • Scheduled maintenance in your street. You should have been informed about this by your electrical supplier, but if viable, check if any of the neighbours have power out.

Before you call Fully Wired to request an electrician, complete the following steps (which may avoid unnecessary costs to you):

1) Test the safety switch

If the safety switch in your switchboard is still ON, turn the switch off, then back on again. If this does not re-establish the power supply, then push the ‘push to test’ button. Does the safety switch trip?

If YES, then you may have an issue with the wiring in your home or perhaps a faulty appliance. This test shows that you still have good electricity supply, but there is an issue further down the line which is causing the safety switch to trip the power.

ACTION: This is a problem within your home, and you will require a qualified electrician to come and rectify the issue.

If NO, then there is an issue with the electricity coming into your home.

ACTION: This is a problem with the electrical supply, therefore you need to contact your electrical supplier and request assistance.

2) Basic “Fault Finding”

You can quickly and easily complete the first step in finding out what may have caused the circuit to trip, and this is something an electrician would usually do when he or she arrives at your home.

  • Unplug every appliance from the wall within your home. This includes ovens, kettles, computers, air conditioners and lamps.
  • Go to the switchboard and flick the safety switch to an ON position. If it holds, then you are good to try a process of elimination.
  • One by one, plug back in and turn on each appliance. Stop when the power trips. This will hopefully identify the appliance issue.
  • An electrician will not be needed if you decide to remove the appliance. However, if the fault was caused by a larger appliance, such as an air conditioner, you may need an
  • electrician to quote you an upgrade on the power supply from your switchboard.