MY ELECTRICITY HAS JUST STARTED TRIPPING. WHEN DO I NEED TO HAVE IT CHECKED BY AN ELECTRICIAN?

At SOR Electrical, we do sometimes get called out to sort out a tripping problem, when in fact it could have been easily resolved by the customer.

If your fuse box keeps tripping, it indicates that you either have a faulty electrical item or faulty wiring. There are 2 types of tripping; constant tripping, or nuisance tripping which can happen every couple of days or even once a week, and is much harder to isolate.

Once you have isolated the problem, a decision can then be made whether you need to call in a SOR Electrical qualified electrician to do some electrical fault finding.

Simple checks for constant tripping

Working out what is causing the tripping is largely a process of elimination.

1. What were you doing at the time?

Were you switching on a light, plugging in an appliance, turning on an overloaded socket? First try switching off any of these and turning on the main trip switch on the fuse box.

2. Check the switches on the fuse box.

If a switch has tripped, leave it down and switch the power at the main switch back on again. This will allow you to identify which room or circuit is tripping the fuse box. You can then unplug all the electrical items or switch off all lights on that circuit, and methodically switch them on again to identify the cause of the problem. You also might have plugged in too many electrical items into a single plug socket and overloaded the circuit.

If the cause of the problem is an electrical item or appliance, or overloading, then an electrician should not be necessary. However if the problem is related to a light switch or built-in light fitting which could indicate faulty household wiring, then you will need a SOR Electrical qualified electrician.

Nuisance tripping

It can be much harder to find the problem with nuisance tripping as the fault can sometimes clear itself only to return again a few days or week later. This can often be related to circuits shorting caused by leaks or moisture, when once the circuit dries the problem no longer presents itself making it difficult to identify. Often outdoor power points and external lighting are common causes and need to be visually inspected to identify damage or leakages. Some appliances like dishwashers can also clear the problem by drying out moisture.

Basically if you cannot identify the problem through a detailed visual inspection, or by using the simple checks for constant tripping, then you will need a qualified SOR Electrical electrician.