Types of Electrical Faults
Why Is Fault Finding Important?
Electrical fault finding isn’t just about fixing immediate problems, it’s also about preventing future ones.
Here’s why it’s essential:
• Safety First: Electrical faults can lead to fires, electric shocks, or damage to appliances. Detecting and resolving these issues early can prevent serious accidents.
• Compliance with Regulations: Faulty wiring or overloaded circuits may not meet current safety standards. Professional fault finding ensures your property complies with electrical regulations.
• Preventing Escalation: Small electrical problems often develop into bigger, more expensive issues if left unchecked. Early intervention will save you precious time and money.
• Minimising Disruption: Power interruptions caused by faults can disrupt your daily life. Finding the issue promptly is essential.
If you’re experiencing electrical problems, then our experts have years of experience in finding and diagnosing issues. Contact us today!
Common Electrical Faults in the Home
Circuit breakers tripping constantly
If your circuit breakers / RCBOs keep tripping or switching off, then it means that it has detected a fault in your home’s electrical system. This is a safety feature designed to protect against electric shocks and prevent electrical fires by cutting off the power. Older fuse boards lack this feature, which is why modern consumer units are much safer. If your distribution board keeps tripping, this can indicate a short circuit or overload on a particular part of the system.
2. Dimming or flickering lights
Dimming, flickering or lights which won’t work anymore (and it’s not blown bulb) can be concerning. This can be a sign of loose wiring, faulty connections, or voltage fluctuations and it’s best to get it checked out sooner rather than later.
3. Certain parts of your home have no power
If there are particular areas of your home which suddenly have no power, such as bathrooms, or there are specific sockets which no longer work, you should check your distribution board to make sure that no trips have flipped. If the cause isn’t immediately apparent, then you should contact us to find and fix the problem for you.
4. Overheating sockets or appliances
Overheating sockets or appliances can be a serious fire risk and can be very dangerous. The use of cheap chargers from overseas is a common cause, and they can cause deadly fires if they overheat while you are sleeping. This can also be caused by overloading the sockets, particularly extension leads. Plugging high-amp appliances into extension leads such as irons, hair straighteners or heaters can also cause them to overheat and potentially burn.
5. Persistent buzzing sounds from electrical outlets
If you or anyone from your family can hear a persistent “buzzing” noise coming from an electrical socket or device, then there may be a problem with it. You should turn off and unplug the device immediately.
6. Burning smell or fishy smell you can’t identify
If there’s a strange odour of fish in the air, or you can smell burning, then that can indicate a serious problem with your electrical system. A common reason for this is shower switches that have burnt out because they have overheated, or rodents who have chewed through electrical wiring. This can also be caused by frayed, exposed, or crushed wires, which can lead to short circuits or electric shocks. Loose connections in sockets, switches, or junction boxes can cause overheating and sparking, which you may not notice straightaway until a smell becomes apparent.
7. Issues with your consumer unit
If an RCD is not working correctly, it might not trip when there is a current electrical problem, greatly increasing the risk of electric shock. This is why it’s really important to have your consumer unit tested regularly to ensure that all of the fuses, RCDs and the board itself is functioning correctly and is safe.
Need help?
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