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—What you are noticing

When part of the house loses power

Power out on one floor or in one wing, with the rest working normally, usually means one part of the installation has switched itself off.

Homes are divided into circuits, and larger villas often have more than one distribution board, or a sub-board for an upper floor, an annex or the garden. When part of the property loses power and the rest is fine, the first place to look is the board — or boards — serving that part. A tripped RCD can switch off several circuits at once, which is why it often looks like a whole area has gone dark.

This guide describes what people notice and what is safe to do. It does not diagnose your installation; only someone who has seen it can.

If a device has tripped and resets and holds, note what was running at the time. If it trips again immediately, or if nothing at any board appears to have moved, stop there. A loose connection or failed device at a board, or a fault on the cable feeding a sub-board, needs testing rather than further resetting.

01In short

The points that matter most

  • Find the right board

    Larger villas may have sub-boards serving one floor or area.

  • RCDs cover several circuits

    One RCD tripping can switch off a whole zone.

  • Nothing tripped is a clue

    Power lost with no device moved points to a connection or feed fault.

02Detail

What an electrician checks

  • Protective devices

    Which device is serving the dead area and why it operated.

  • Sub-board feeds

    The cable and connections between the main board and any sub-board.

  • Connections at the board

    Loose or heat-damaged terminals that can cut power without tripping anything.

03Checklist

Before you call

  • Map what is off

    Which rooms, lights, sockets and appliances.

  • Check every board

    Including any in a store, garage or upstairs cupboard.

  • Photograph the boards

    Showing switch positions and labels.

04Questions

Questions people ask

Why did a whole floor go off at once?
An RCD or a sub-board feed can serve a whole floor, so one device or fault affects all of it.
Can I reset it again if it trips?
Reset once. If it trips again, leave it off and have it checked.
Could it be the supply company?
If only part of the house is off, the problem is almost always inside the property.

05Related

Related guides

This guide sits under troubleshooting. All topics are on the guides page.

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Part of the house without power?

Tell us which areas are off and send photos of your boards. We will tell you what to check and arrange a visit if needed.

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