Electrical emergency? Read this before calling an electrician.

No power or an electrical emergency? Read this before calling an electrician.

Simple solutions to attempt before having an electrician visit your home. If you experience any trouble, you can always call us for help or service, but here are a few simple solutions you can attempt before having us visit your home.

Some Common Issues

No Power in some areas of your home – here is what to do.

What’s the issue? There is no power in your home.
How dangerous is this? Medium. This issue can range from low to high depending on the issue.
What can you do?
- If partial power loss eg. Kitchen powerpoints physically unplug all appliances in the affected area, attempt to turn circuit breakers back onto the on position.
- Make sure neighbours’ power is on.
- If nothing caused the power outage or even partial power outage, contact your local power company and check if there is a power outage in your area. Phases from the power company may be out, even in the case of partial power.
- If this is a repetitive issue (it’s happened multiple times), please ensure you call our expert electricians to come out.

Overlamping

What’s the issue? A light fixture has a bulb with a higher wattage than the fixture is designed for.
How dangerous is this?High. The bulb’s intense heat can scorch or melt the socket and insulation on the fixture’s wires, which increases the risk of arcing — sparks that jump through the air from one wire to another — a chief cause of electrical fires. The damage to socket and wires remains even after the bulb has been removed.
What can you do? Stay within the wattage limit listed on all light fixtures made since 1985. For older, unmarked fixtures, use only 60-watt bulbs or smaller.

Uncovered Junction Box

What’s the issue? The junction box is uncovered. The junction box is where wires are connected to one another. Left unfixed someone could inadvertently damage the wires or get a shock.
How dangerous is this?Medium. This is not considered highly dangerous however if left unfixed a person may get a shock if they are working around the wires or damage can be caused to the electrical connections due to no cover being installed.
What can you do? Call a licensed electrician to rectify this issue by install a new junction box cover to prevent further breakdowns and safety risks.

Lights Flicker When It’s Windy

What’s the issue? This issue occurs when the frayed wiring in the weather head (the place where overhead cables from the power line come meet the house) is causing a short whenever the cables move.
How dangerous is this?High. The frayed wiring can start a fire if left untreated and there is also a risk that someone in your household could get injured, particularly if they are walking around in the dark.
What can you do? Contact your electricity company, they may replace the weather head, alternatively give us a call and our experts can take a look.

Too Few Outlets

What’s the issue? This issue occurs when there is not enough powerpoints and you are using several power boards.
How dangerous is this?Medium. If the load is too heavy for the cable this can cause overheating and start a fire. Make sure that you are only using heavy duty cables or you get our experts to give you a quote on getting new power points installed.
What can you do? The team at Service Heroes recommends having an electrician come out to provide you the best options possible on installing additional powerpoints to remove unreliable power boards and possibly installing new power circuits to even the usage around the home.

No Safety Switches

What’s the issue? No safety switches installed in the switchboard.
How dangerous is this?High. If left unfixed this can cause a deadly shock.
What can you do? You should definitely have a licensed electrician attend and quote you on installing Safety Switches on power and lighting circuits to greatly increase the safety in your home.

Aluminium Wiring

What’s the issue? This older style of wiring is considered unsafe as it’s a cheap alternative to copper used in the 60’s and 70’s.
How dangerous is this?High. Aluminium breaks down over time especially if it has contact with copper. This can cause connections to loosen and can lead to arcing causing fires.
What can you do? The team at Service Heroes recommends having an electrician come out and provide a quote for replacing the old and dangerous wiring in the home.

Globe that keeps blowing

What’s the issue? A light fitting in the home needs to be changed frequently, this is particularly important if dealing with older fittings and newer globes.
How dangerous is this? Low. this problem is more of a nuisance issue and tends to make a customer spend quite a bit of money on purchasing new globes.
What can you do? Have an electrician come out, this problem is highly likely to be a loose connection in a line fitting which can either be repaired or a new light fitting will need to be purchased, the team at Service Heroes also recommends always using the manufacturer rated globe to avoid this issue.

If these simple solutions do not solve your problem, contact us and have an expert take a look. Always have model numbers ready if there are products involved.

Call your local expert now on 1800 694 376 or email us at info@serviceheroes.com.au