There are quite a few reasons why the electrics in your Cheshunt home will trip out, here are a few common causes and how to fix them.
The circuit has been overloaded:
The main cause for this is that you’ve plugged too many devices in and they are pulling too much power for the circuit, in turn overloading the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker is designed to protect the cable from overheating and potential causing a fire.
The best course of action is to unplug everything, give the circuit breaker 5 minutes to cool down and only plug in what is needed, overloading a circuit repeatedly will in the long run cause damage to cabling and possibly result in the rewiring of the circuit, or even worse a fire. It’s advisable to have an additional circuit installed to power devices https://www.jjb-electrical.com/services.
Short circuit:
This will be caused by damage to the cabling and could be caused by a screw or nail going through a cable or even a mouse taking a liking to your cabling.
The best course of action would be to turn the affected circuit off at the breaker and call your electrician in Cheshunt to diagnose and fix the issue https://www.jjb-electrical.com/contact.
A preventive measure for this is to never hang a picture or drill a hole directly above a socket or light switch as this is where the cabling will be installed in the wall.
RCD tripping out:
Firstly, what's an RCD? Come and have a look at our video on this subject which can be found here.
Nine times out of ten an RCD will trip due to a faulty appliance or a damaged cable. If your RCD won’t reset, unplug everything that’s plugged in and try resetting the breakers one at a time. Before plugging something in, always check the leads on appliances, to make sure there is no damage or visual problems with the appliance. This might be useful: https://www.jjb-electrical.com/blog/why-damaged-cables-need-be-replaced.
If the circuit won’t reset, call your Cheshunt registered electrician straight away, it’s not recommended to keep resetting the RCD until it stays on as this will cause damage and render the device useless, putting the safety of you and your family at risk.
Faulty and old fuse boards:
As fuse boards and protective devices age, they can go either one of two ways, firstly they can become sensitive and constantly trip or, they go completely the other way and not trip at all.
It’s recommended to have your home tested and inspected at no longer than 10 years intervals. Check out our video page for more information on EICR's.
It is important to have an Electrical installation condition report carried out for a variety of reasons:
• For safety – to make sure no live parts can be touched or if there’s any damaged parts that need to be addressed.
• To keep an eye on how your cabling is ageing.
• To make sure you have all the required safety devices installed.
• Efficiency.
• Above all, peace of mind.
If you need an electrician in Cheshunt to get you back up and running give us a call on 01992 276087
Your local Cheshunt electrician.
