Just a little under two centuries ago, the discovery of electricity changed human life forever. With the development of electricity, we have become, in our current modern society, completely dependent on power. When we lose power to our homes, we lose our light, heating or cooling abilities, along with spoiling of refrigerated food, as well as the rest of our modern conveniences. Complete power failure can be caused by several different reasons. Sentry Electric will share some of the common causes of power loss to help determine if the power loss is singular or is affecting an entire area.
What Causes a Power Cut at Home?
Thunderstorms & Other Weather Cause Power Outages – A number of power loss situations are due to weather conditions. Weather can affect a single home as well as an entire region. Weather conditions that involve rain, snow, hail, ice, flooding, lightning, wind and even dust storms have an affect on electricity. Moisture exposure can lead to short circuits and power failures. Wind can damage electrical power lines, while lightning strikes can send a surge of power and blowout electrical systems. Dust that accumulates on switch boards and transformers can also cause short circuiting and power loss. Weather can cause physical damages to the home’s electrical system as well as pubic power lines. Major natural disasters from hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes, and other similar disasters can also cause power loss. Connecticut’s worst disaster threat comes from hurricanes. To protect your direct power systems, it’s recommended that you seal your circuit boxes.
Car Accidents Cause Blackouts – Some outages are caused by automobile accidents. Construction mishaps are another cause of power outages. Power poles and lines can get damaged unintentionally which will cut power flow. Sudden outages are often due to accident related scenarios. When power loss occurs without warning or explanation, call your local power company. They will able to notify you as to the cause.
Short Circuiting Causes Power Failure – Short circuiting is when an electric current flows down the wrong or designated path. When the electricity flows down the wrong path, it can cause damages, fires, and even small scale explosions. Short circuiting will damage the electrical wiring which cuts the power flow into some parts of the home or even the entire home. Short circuits are one of the leading causes of structural fires throughout the world. Short circuiting can occur when the wiring insulation breaks down, or when the wiring comes in contact with water or liquids. Another cause of short circuiting is the result from an abnormal build up of electrical currents within the electrical wiring system.
Determining Power loss versus Short Circuiting – When you have complete power loss it could be due to short circuiting. In this case, you may need to reset your home circuits. When you go to investigate the cause of power loss, first go to your circuit box and reset all of the switches inside the panel. If you just short cycled and the power is still running into your home, the circuit box outside will still be making a humming sound or the digital gauge will be on. If there is no power going to your circuit box or panel then the fault is an outside problem and has nothing to do with your home electrical system. If you have no power going into your home, contact the power company to determine the cause and alert them as to the situation. If they say the power current to your home is still active, then contact an electrician.
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Sentry Electric provides emergency electrical repair along with electrical installation and maintenance. If you lost power to your home and need help determining the cause, contact Sentry Electric today.