10 guides
No power: what to check, in order
Whether it is your house or the street, what a burning smell or a tripping breaker actually means, using a generator without killing anyone, and what to throw out of the fridge.
The power is out or something is wrong
What to check, and what to stay away from.
- Is it you or the street? Look out of the window at the neighbors first, then check the breaker panel. Thirty seconds of looking decides whether this is a utility call or an electrician, and the two go in very different queues.
- A burning smell Switch that circuit off at the panel if you can reach it safely, then leave the building and call an electrician. A smell of hot plastic from electrical equipment is a fire that has not started yet.
- A breaker keeps tripping A breaker that trips is doing its job. Reset it once. If it goes again immediately, or goes repeatedly, stop resetting it: something on that circuit is drawing too much or is faulted, and the breaker is the only thing preventing a fire.
- Half the house is dead Check every GFCI reset button first. If that is not it, and the lights that do work are unusually bright or dim, stop using the house and call the utility: an open neutral damages appliances and can be dangerous.
- Water near the panel Do not touch anything and do not try to reach the panel. Get everyone out, call the utility to cut the supply at the meter, and let an electrician be the first person near it.
Getting through it
Generators, food, and what the outage did to your appliances.
- Generator safety Outside only, at least twenty feet from the house, with the exhaust pointed away from every door and window. Carbon monoxide from generators kills people in outages every year, usually in a garage with the door open.
- Food after an outage A closed fridge holds about four hours, a full freezer about 48 and a half full one about 24. Above 40 degrees for more than two hours, perishable food goes. Never taste anything to check.
- Damage after it came back Restoration surges and brownouts damage electronics and motors, sometimes days later. Unplug sensitive equipment during an outage, and document what failed and when if you want it paid for.
Insurance and cost
What a policy pays for after a surge or an outage, and what repairs cost.
- Does insurance cover this? Damage caused by a fault is usually covered; the failed part that caused it usually is not. Food spoilage often is, power surge sometimes needs an endorsement, and an outage on its own with no damage is generally nothing to claim.
- What repairs cost Ask whether you are paying for a service call, a diagnosis, or a repair, because they are priced differently. The number is driven by access and by how much has to come apart, not by how big the fault sounds.